New Machine Tool Show Launches

September 1, 2010

Some big names in the machine tool industry are working together to create a new type of event designed to revitalize manufacturing.

Scheduled for Sept. 12 - 14, 2011, in Las Vegas, the Interactive Manufacturing Experience (imX) will combine the best features of a corporate open house, customer training seminars, client appreciation programs, and new-product launch events.

The seeds of imX were planted more than two years ago, when CEOs from machine tool manufacturers began looking for new ways to engage and educate their customers. These CEOs asked the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to help create a new kind of event that would bring manufacturers together with decision-making buyers in meaningful and informative ways that would help customers find the best solutions for their manufacturing needs.

Since then top executives from DMG Mori Seiki, Doosan, FANUC CNC America, MAG, Makino, Methods Machine Tools, Okuma America, and Sandvik Coromant have been meeting with the two associations, conducting extensive research into alternative ideas and working together to create a new business model for industry events.

The result is imX, a more intimate, experiential, and efficient event. Competing suppliers with similar product lines will be located near each other, so that attendees can easily compare all the options available to meet their needs. Product and technology demos, learning labs, and other interactive activities will occur on the show floor within the Experience areas, facilitating productive, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange and networking.

“Traditional tradeshows, where booth locations are chosen by the exhibiting company, require the buyer to focus on one product or one manufacturer at a time, delivering information in a piecemeal format. The attendee has to wander from one end of the show to the other to determine which products would work into a solution for his needs,” said Okuma America President and COO Larry Schwartz. “We envision that imX, which will group OEMs and their partners, will allow decision-makers to see their options in one area, make price and value comparisons, and, ultimately, make better decisions.”

The emphasis will be on collaboration, not competition, and the show will have a strong focus on education. Learning labs - located right on the show floor - have been designed to allow attendees to increase their knowledge through practical, hands-on demonstrations; see new and existing manufacturing technologies; and hear case studies presented by suppliers and customers who have already applied those manufacturing technologies.

“I expect imX to be an industry-changing event,” said Don Lane, CEO, Makino. “It is a fresh, new approach, attractive to the host companies as well as customers. We will offer concentrated exposure to breakthrough technology development, help buyers find the business services they need, and assist them in setting up and conducting high-level private meetings.”

For more information, visit www.imxevent.com.