Traveling always broadens your horizons, and it also helps you to relate more to things back home. “Adventures with:,” the newest IMTS+ miniseries, explores this theme as it follows AMT executives and industry leaders at three international trade shows, EMO 2023, Formnext 2023, and SPS – Smart Production Solutions 2023. The series connects with AMT members exhibiting internationally and with industry standouts to discuss the similarities and differences between the shows and cultures, highlights technologies making their world debut, and provides a preview of what might come to IMTS 2024, Formnext Chicago 2025, and SPS Atlanta 2025.
Bringing the European Market to the States
“Adventures with:” starts in Hannover, Germany, at EMO 2023. While EMO might be a new experience for many American manufacturers, there are similarities with industry sectors and market trends that are explored in this series. Peter Eelman, AMT’s chief experience officer, provides a tour of the Hannover Fairgrounds, while co-hosts Travis Egan, AMT’s chief revenue officer, and Nicole Wolter, president and CEO of HM Manufacturing, interview FANUC America, Haimer USA, HEIDENHAIN, ZOLLER Inc., and RoboJob. They dive into digitalization, automation, robotics, supply chains, labor, reducing energy consumption, and building relationships the European way.
For Wolter, the highlight of the trip was her interview with Barbara Colombo, CEO of FICEP S.p.A., a three-generation family company. Colombo holds officer positions at several international manufacturing trade organizations, and she notes that women leaders in European manufacturing face similar challenges with breaking the glass ceiling as their American counterparts.
The Gold Standard of AM Events
In the second “Adventures with:” episode, Egan joins me and Debbie Holton, principal at Converge Consulting, at Formnext 2023. Held in Frankfurt, Germany, Formnext is the largest additive manufacturing (AM) show in the world, and it covers the full breadth of AM ecosystems.
We interviewed several AM luminaries for key takeaways, including former AMT Chair David Burns on the interdependency of digital technologies and Jay Rogers on using AM to bridge the generational gap. Viewers also get updates on Makino’s Formnext debut (with a 5-axis LMD system), an ultrafast quad-laser system from Renishaw, and EOS’ outlook on AM markets.
Smart Ending
The “Adventures with:” season ends with AMT President Doug Woods and Michelle Edmonson, AMT vice president – exhibitions, exploring the SPS – Smart Production Solutions show in Nuremberg, Germany. With 1,200 exhibitors and approximately 50,000 visitors, SPS represents the complete spectrum of smart and digital automation, from simple sensors to intelligent solutions.
Excitement Brewing
While German in origin, Formnext and SPS will become familiar to U.S. audiences on Sept. 9-14 at IMTS 2024 as a result of the partnerships that AMT, the owner and producer of IMTS, has established with these organizations. At IMTS, they will showcase their respective technologies in the Additive Manufacturing Sector, accelerated by Formnext, and the new Automation Sector, accelerated by SPS – Smart Production Solutions. Each sector will also feature an embedded stage for technical presentations. Save the dates for Formnext’s arrival to North America with Formnext Chicago, April 8-10, 2025, and for SPS Atlanta on Sept. 16-18, 2025.
To explore the excitement, register now at IMTS.com/register.
To read the rest of the Digital Manufacturing Issue of MT Magazine, click here.
