What’s My IMTS Experience Like?

For attendees and exhibitors alike, there’s a lot more to planning for the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago besides deciding where to stay, how best to get to the show, which restaurant to hit after each long day of walking and so on.

In my case, I’m a hybrid show participant of sorts. My company, Gardner Business Media (GBM), is an exhibitor located in booth #236600 near the entrance of the North Building. But I’m also an attendee walking the show (I’m not working our booth per se) as well as a “journalist” (I actually don’t like that term to describe what I do, but it gets the point across) covering the show from that perspective.

Like the exhibitors which plan their booths many months in advance, my IMTS experience begins well before the show. You’ll see that the new products section that starts on page 34 in this issue is dedicated to equipment and software that select exhibitors will be introducing at the show. These we solicited months ago to cull and present in this collection. It’s a small sample size relative to the massiveness of IMTS, but it offers a glimpse of technology that high-volume machine shops might be interested in seeing.

In addition, I and other GBM editors write most of the articles that appear in the event’s Show Daily publication. These articles tend to focus less on products and more on interesting booth demonstrations, new booth designs, contests, giveaways and so on. This helps me hone in on what to possibly focus on as I visit those particular companies. An as a result, I’ve heard about some interesting ideas some exhibitors have come up with to maximize the show experience for their booth visitors, but I’m not at liberty to divulge any information at this point. Be sure to grab a copies of the Show Daily, which will be handed out as you enter McCormick Place as well as provided on many shuttle buses and delivered to select area hotels.

So, during the show, you’re less likely to see me at our company’s booth compared to some other booth learning about new technology on display. My goal is to identify seeds for possible stories to write for Production Machining or opportunities for video. Having intel about the new products to be unveiled and booth happenings prior to the show certainly helps relative to planning for visits and discussions.

Outside of that, it’s possible you’ll see me scurrying about trying to get from one scheduled booth visit to the next. Even though I’ll be at the show for pretty much its entirety, there’s a lot of ground to cover and many companies and industry friends I want to see. That said, feel free to stop me and say hi if even if you see me walking about at a brisk pace.

Similarly, it’s a good idea for you to develop a game plan before the show. If you have a large contingency attending, it might make sense to break people into smaller groups to explore specific different technologies your shop is interested in. Perhaps that’s software (maybe ERP or CAD/CAM), some new machine tool platform (maybe yours is a Swiss shop interested in multi-spindles) or robotic automation (robots will be everywhere at the show). The divide and conquer strategy can be helpful for a show such as IMTS, which offers 1.2 million square feet of exhibition space.

What I’m wondering, though, is if this might be your last time attending IMTS due to retirement, passing your company down to the next generation or selling it. If that’s the case, are you approaching IMTS 2024 differently than in the past? Are you bringing more employees along with you to see it, perhaps so you can offer advice as to how to manage such a big event? Are you hoping to connect with specific industry friends possibly for the last time?

I know many who have attended IMTS for many even-numbered years, so I’m curious as to how it might feel for those of you who feel this might be the last one. Let me know if this describes you, and what your feelings are. Or, how many of these great events you still might have coming at you in the future. I know I still have a number of IMTS events ahead of me.