Registration for IMTS 2026 is now open. The event, scheduled for September 14-19, 2026, at Chicago’s McCormick Place, will turn the venue into the epicenter of the manufacturing world. Over six days, visitors from more than 110 countries will gather to connect with leading technology providers, innovative startups, industry experts, and peers from around the globe.
IMTS 2026 will showcase the latest advances in manufacturing technology, spanning machine tools, metrology, industrial AI, automation, additive manufacturing (AM), software, and digital solutions. The event serves as a key platform for driving business growth, exploring cutting-edge innovations, and experiencing firsthand the technologies shaping the future of the manufacturing industry.
“IMTS is a catalyst for performance – it is where people, products, and process technologies come together to shape the future of manufacturing,” says Travis Egan, chief revenue officer of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, which owns and produces IMTS. “The improvements made as a result of attending IMTS are critical for the progress of not just manufacturing but also our nation.”
Economic Foundation
Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT, notes a governmental push to strengthen the defense, aerospace, and marine industrial base.
“Several provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act benefit manufacturers and small businesses by helping to stimulate capital investment, enhance innovation, and maintain American competitiveness in global markets,” says Woods. He cites 100% bonus depreciation, immediate R&D expensing, and a doubling of the Section 179 expensing cap to $2.5 million.
Woods also notes that more than $8 trillion of investments have been pledged since January 2025. The United States continues to be the biggest consumer market in the world, and companies want to make products closer to their point of consumption. As an example, he cites GE Appliances announcing a $490 million investment to reshore production of washers and washer-dryers to Louisville, Kentucky, and Apple committing to invest $600 billion across the United States and launching its American Manufacturing Program.
Reshoring also presents opportunities for the small contract manufacturers who attend IMTS to find solutions that drive efficiency. Catamount Machine Works, a 10-person shop in Florida, uses automated machining systems from Haas Automation to win reshoring business by achieving more than 150 production hours per system per week, versus 35 hours for an attended machine.
“With automation, we get products to the customer much quicker while being more profitable and competitive on pricing – and when I say more competitive, we are taking work from overseas,” says Catamount CEO Chris Basgall.
“The theme for IMTS 2026 is ‘Achieve the Impossible.’ With the technologies showcased at IMTS 2024, manufacturers are achieving efficiencies they once thought impossible and are winning new business as a result,” says Michelle Edmonson, vice president, exhibitions, AMT. “From additive to even more automation, exhibitors in all 10 technology sectors will talk about how they leverage AI. I think that the AI possibilities exhibited at IMTS 2026 will be talked about in the same way the internet was for previous generations.”
AI Leaders and Industrial Innovators
“IMTS visitors can divide AI into two categories: 1) business management AI tools to help make decisions about the work, and 2) process management AI tools that make decisions inside the work,” says Ryan Kelly, vice president of technology at AMT.
“We believe AI will be a dominant theme at IMTS, not only because it’s accelerating production and increasing competitiveness but because it’s helping address the labor gap by preserving legacy expertise,” says Ryan Pembroke, product manager, production software at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.
AI tools that leverage real shop data (such as Hexagon’s ProPlan AI) can reliably predict the best toolpath and machining strategy, which can reduce programming time by 75%. Critically, AI can capture the logic behind a company’s best programmers and make it reusable across the team, ensuring that the knowledge gained by experienced employees over many years doesn’t disappear when they retire.
“We’re seeing real value in AI reducing onboarding and training time and ensuring consistency across shifts, machines, and locations,” says Pembroke.
“IMTS is consistently the go-to event for all the latest innovations related to manufacturing and machining,” says Bridget Spears, marketing and communications manager at Mazak. “The displays, booths, presenters, and topics are always at the vanguard of the transformative changes that will impact industry, and we anticipate another great IMTS in 2026.”
Open Your Mind To Improve Your Bottom Line
Visitors come to IMTS because they want to find the next innovation that elevates performance and precision, and they can find smarter solutions to enhance every step of their operation.
“Day to day, you become stuck in a bubble that’s your shop,” says Tom Bassett, the owner of Pro-Cam Services LLC in Zeeland, Michigan. “When you go to IMTS, the whole world opens up. It’s a powerhouse of innovation, bringing together everything related to manufacturing under one roof.”
For example, while Bassett did not have plans to purchase a machine while attending IMTS 2024, by Friday of the show, he had negotiated a deal for a DN Solutions 5-axis DVF 5000. At IMTS 2016, he discovered Zoller’s tool presetter and heat shrinker. Initially, he thought those were for production shops, not job shops, but adding them to his 24-person CNC job shop has helped increase revenue by more than $1 million.
Max Egan, CEO of thermoset leaders Atlas Fibre and Acculam, says that “IMTS helps you understand what good looks like. So many of the technologies work together. Having them all in one place enables you to draw connections and see how they play in your ecosystem.”
To obtain up to 72 hours of unattended run time, Atlas Fibre has integrated a Fastems FMS pallet handling system with six Okuma MU 6300V 5-axis vertical machining centers. Coupled with other technology additions, the company has grown its revenue by 500% in five years.
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