IMTS 2018 Breaks Record Attendance

IMTS 2018 didn’t just break records; it crushed them. According to Peter Eelman, Vice President – Exhibitions & Business at AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, the show attendance will approach 130,000 at its close. The prior record was 121,764—and that was during the dot-com bubble. But Eelman is quick to point out that the numbers aren’t as much about the show itself as the industry it serves. “These are exciting times for manufacturing,” he says, with a level of technical innovation and a pace of change that is unprecedented. “Whoever thought you’d see companies like Cisco, HP and GE at a manufacturing show? Yet here they are, and they’re in with both feet.”

He is referring, of course, to the rise of additive and data-driven manufacturing. Additive has become an essential part of the show, and at more than 30,000 square feet, the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion proves it. The emerging digitalization of manufacturing can be seen throughout the halls of IMTS, with its promise finally coming into focus for equipment builders and manufacturers alike.

It’s the transformative nature of these technologies that is making manufacturing cool again, and turning IMTS back into more of a learning experience, as evidenced by the innovative integration of new digital and software technologies with production equipment throughout the show and the robust attendance at this year’s technical conferences. “There’s a real thirst for knowledge out there, and we’re really seeing it at this show,” says Eelman. For the builders, IMTS isn’t about selling standard equipment anymore, he says. It’s about showing customers what’s possible with the adoption of new technologies.

IMTS is a lot of things to different people, but Eelman stresses that the “T” for technology is first among them. The vibe of innovation and change at this show certainly proves that notion right.