We have two movements on the automation trade show front that are interesting. IMTS, the International Manufacturing Technology Show and formerly the International Machine Tool Show, is a huge event held in September every other year. Some time ago, organizers added an automation segment partnering with the company behind Hannover Messe.
This automation show was given a few aisles in the East Hall. The first year is was only a couple of aisles, but even this year there were not that many exhibitors. They were mostly German automation suppliers.
The Hannover Messe group pulled out of IMTS after the last event. It has announced the formation of a new annual show that will be held in Indianapolis in October. IMTS, meanwhile, has filled the open automation slot with a joint venture of AMT and Mesago Messe Frankfurt.
The new Hannover Messe event.
Industrial Transformation USA in 2023. The organizers of Hannover Messe USA have announced the event will be rebranded as Industrial Transformation USA and held annually, beginning in October, 2023 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
“Our exhibiting companies have been telling us they want to get in front of their customers more frequently (annually) for a number of years,” said Ed Nichols, CEO of Industrial Transformation USA. “Our focus groups at HANNOVER MESSE USA 2022 demonstrate that our attendees, primarily OT, also want to meet more frequently and bring more members of their team.”
Industrial Transformation USA joins the Industrial Transformation brands currently serving Mexico and Asia-Pacific. Industrial Transformation USA will be built from the Operational Technology (OT) user perspective, engaging a Board of industry professionals that will guide the development of the events format and content.
Filling the opening at IMTS are AMT and Mesago, Messe Frankfurt
Two of the global manufacturing industry’s premier organizations, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and Mesago, a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Group, announced a collaboration to create the Automation Sector at IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show in 2024, and SPS – Smart Production Solutions in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2025.
The Automation Sector at IMTS and SPS – Smart Production Solutions in Atlanta will be held in alternate years, and both events will be supported by Gardner Business Media (GBM), the leading publisher for manufacturing in North America.
IMTS 2024 runs Sept. 9-14 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
SPS – Smart Production Solutions will be held Sept. 23-25, 2025, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The inaugural event will host exhibits from simple sensors to intelligent solutions, from what is feasible today to the vision of a fully digitalized industrial world.
The Atlanta event is an expansion of the SPS – Smart Production Solutions trade show held annually in Nuremberg, Germany. It is Europe’s leading trade fair for digital industrial solutions. SPS 2022 attracted 44,000 visitors and featured about 1.2 million square feet of gross exhibition space and 1,000 exhibitors involved in advanced automation solutions.
Mesago Messe Frankfurt also produces SPS fairs in China, Italy, and the Middle East, as well as events focusing on electronic assemblies, intelligent motion, and additive manufacturing.
