Past eventHeld September 14–19, 2026
IMTS - International Manufacturing Technology Show 2026
IMTS is a biennial manufacturing technology trade show organized by AMT, The Association For Manufacturing Technology, held at McCormick Place in Chicago.
McCormick Place, Chicago
- Held
- September 14–19, 2026
- Venue
- McCormick Place, Chicago
- Scale
- Largest trade show in the Western Hemisphere
TL;DR
- IMTS 2026 took place September 14–19 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
- AMT, The Association For Manufacturing Technology, organizes the show, which it describes as the largest trade show in the Western Hemisphere.
About
IMTS was first held in Cleveland, Ohio in 1927 and was renamed from the International Machine Tool Show in 1990 to reflect its expanded scope into technologies such as welding, lubrication, and materials engineering. The show runs every two years in even-numbered years at Chicago's McCormick Place, alternating with Europe's EMO trade show under an agreement between AMT and CECIMO. IMTS was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but reconvened for 2022. AMT organizes the show and, according to vice president of technology Ryan Kelly, created a new Industrial AI Conference for 2026 to help manufacturers move beyond experimentation and understand where AI can deliver measurable business value.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Manufacturing_Technology_Show
Who was in the room
Manufacturing & production management
Manufacturing/production managers, plant/operations managers, and corporate management/executives.
Engineering & quality
Production/quality engineers, design/R&D engineers, quality assurance/inspection leads, and maintenance/technical supervisors.
Procurement & digital manufacturing
Procurement/purchasing managers and software/digital manufacturing specialists.
Industries represented
Contract manufacturers/job shops, defense, aerospace, medical, energy, and automotive companies.
Public posts about this edition
3 postsQuoted word for word from public posts; each links to the original.
“This year, I had the privilege of sitting in on visitor focus groups and hearing firsthand how our visitors experience the show and how we can continue to deliver the best experience.”
Kristin Bartschi, AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology
Read the post“For me, it was six days of customer conversations, prospect meetings, investor discussions, analyst meetings, and a lot of time walking the show floor.”
Mark Schwans, DeepHow
Read the post“I surprised myself at this year's IMTS - International Manufacturing Technology Show.”
Jim Mayer
Read the post
Featured speakers
1 listedDr. Jay Lee
Featured keynote speaker, IMTS Industrial AI Conference (September 16, 2026) · A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland
Partners on record
1 listedWhat attendees say
“The Navy is here [at IMTS] to support the recapitalization of American manufacturing.”
Past editions
2 on record| Edition | Dates | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | September 9–14, 2024 | McCormick Place, Chicago | 89,020 registrants; 1,737 exhibiting companies; 1,226,523 sq ft of show space, including 14,713 at the Smartforce Student Summit |
| 2018 | McCormick Place, Chicago | 129,415 registrants; 2,563 exhibitors across four buildings; 1,424,232 sq ft of exhibit space |
Venue & travel
Venue
McCormick Place, ChicagoQuestions people ask
7 answeredThe next edition, IMTS 2028, is scheduled for September 11-16, 2028, in Chicago, IL.
IMTS 2026 took place September 14–19, 2026.
IMTS 2026 was held at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Attendees include manufacturing/production managers, production/quality engineers, corporate management and executives, design/R&D engineers, procurement/purchasing managers, plant/operations managers, quality assurance/inspection leads, maintenance/technical supervisors, and software/digital manufacturing specialists. They come from industries including contract manufacturers/job shops, defense, aerospace, medical, energy, and automotive.
IMTS did not publish an attendance figure for the 2026 edition on this page, but the previous edition, IMTS 2024, drew 89,020 registrants and 1,737 exhibiting companies across 1,226,523 square feet of show space. The 2018 edition drew 129,415 registrants and 2,563 exhibitors across four buildings. AMT describes IMTS as the largest trade show in the Western Hemisphere.
Visitors after one narrow topic would get less from a show of that size, though the new Industrial AI Conference on September 16, with Dr. Jay Lee as keynote speaker, was scheduled to offer a tighter focus.
Attendees at manufacturing trade shows usually wear business casual with very comfortable walking shoes, as the exhibit halls of McCormick Place involve long days on concrete floors.
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