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Past, Present, andFuture
AMT: THE ASSOCIATION FOR MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2010—Sept. 13–18, Chicago www.imts.com
Since 2002, IMTS’s Emerging Technology Center has been a main attraction on the exhibit
floor. “It has become known as the place to see the future of the manufacturing technology industry,” said Bonnie Gurney, director of communications forAMT, which owns and manages IMTS. But last year’s show at McCormick Place in
Chicago also provided a look back at the his- tory of the industry by introducing a new com- ponent: the Manufacturing Museum…IMTS Remem- bers. IMTS 2010 also focused on the present, by showcasing recent industry accomplishments.“We worked with partners to bring in a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft,” Gur- ney said, “which had many components built by IMTS exhibitors and was worked on by IMTS attendees.” While IMTS exhibitors
and attendees may be on the bleeding edge of manufac- turing technology, bringing them up to speed on social media has been “somewhat of a challenge,” Gurney said. “Facebook and Twitter are things their kids do; it doesn’t have anything to do with their business. At IMTS 2010, we tried several social-media experiments”— including a TweetChat feed of the #IMTS hash- tag displayed throughout the show. In addition, some exhibitors tweeted as a
way to entice attendees to their booth by announcing prize drawings and special presen- tations. “It was a fun, non-threatening way to talk directly to attendees and other exhibitors,” Gurney said. “There were a few conversations between exhibitors who were bantering back and forth—all in good fun. But their company name and brand was very prevalent on the
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Twitter feed, and attendees were following it like a sitcom from the blog areas. Seeing the interaction and hearing attendees and other exhibitors talking about the Twitter feed gave them an ‘in’ and an idea of how they can use these social-media channels to converse with their customers.” The 2010 show was also marked by an
increased focus on partnerships. “Two confer- ences were co-located with IMTS, and brought visitors who may not normally attend a trade
IMTS by the Numbers
The show runs every even-numbered year for six days. IMTS 2010 attracted 82,411 attendees and 1,728 exhibitors, and cov- ered 1.14 million square feet of exhibit space.
show,” Gurney said.“We also partnered with one of the largest trade associations in the man- ufacturing industry, and its president and CEO opened day two of IMTS with a keynote address in the Emerging Technology Center. “Looking ahead,” Gurney said, “we announced during IMTS 2010 an agreement with Deutsche-Messe AG to bring its world- class event, Industrial Automation, to North America for the first time as part of IMTS 2012.”
—Michelle Russell
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft was an attendee draw at IMTS 2010 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.