Jun 22, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

"IME South" Event Launch Draws Attendees from 3M, Amazon, DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, Space X, Stryker, Toyota, Among Others

IME South, a conference and exhibition serving the multi-billion-dollar advanced manufacturing industry, convened nearly 2,300 buyers and 300+ exhibitors across the advanced manufacturing industry for the event's launch.

Held last week from June 14 through 16 at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, IME South comprises six complementary event brands to facilitate cross-category discovery: Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) South, Automation Technology Expo (ATX) South, SouthPack, Powder & Bulk Solids (PBS) South, Design & Manufacturing (D&M) South, and Plastec South.

An event of IME South's categorial breadth was highly anticipated in the Southeastern region of the U.S., as industrial production and capacity utilization continue to surpass pre-pandemic levels and address new market demands born from accelerated digitization and smart factory adoption. Thousands of senior-level engineers, executives, and buyers from the industry's most sought-after companies participated in the three-day event, keen on discovering solutions to pressing challenges, networking, inking deals, and learning from renowned experts.

"Nearly every major segment in the advanced manufacturing industry was represented at IME South last week, from automotive and aerospace, medical and pharmaceutical, packaging and plastics, industrial automation and energy, to infrastructure and construction," said Steve Everly, Group Event Director, IME South, organized by Informa Markets – Engineering. "Nearly half of our attendees hold significant decision-making power and leveraged IME South as a strategic means to move business forward, whether that be learning a solution to a challenge they are facing in an expert-led session, meeting a customer face-to-face, or discovering a new partner to break into a new vertical."

Notable attendee companies represented at IME South include 3M, Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, BASF Corporation, Boston Scientific, Bosch Rexroth, Chevron Phillips, DuPont, Corning, Covestro, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Eastman, Electrolux, G.E. Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Hanes Brands, Honeywell, Michelin, Panasonic North America, Red Star Yeast, Siemens, Space X, Stanley Black & Decker, Stryker, Toyota Motor North America, and Yamaha Motor Corporation.

Everly continued, "It was remarkable to see the event come to fruition after so many years of planning. We walked away with learnings and new opportunities to tap into that will greatly elevate the experience for our second edition in 2024."

Given IME South is a Smart Event, event participants benefit from an online platform in addition to the live event. The platform is strategically designed to augment the in-person experience, enabling exhibitors to hold meetings with new leads, and houses educational content to tune into conveniently.

The expo floor hosted more than 310 exhibitors representing the automation, design manufacturing, plastics, processing, packaging, and medical sectors. Prominent exhibiting companies that played a substantial role in the event's success include ARBURG, AstroNova Product Identification, Automation NTH, B. Braun OEM, Bole Machinery, Carclo Technical Plastics, Cefamol, Delta Modtech, FANUC, Invotec, Japan Steel Works Americas, Inc., Jenike & Johanson, JR Automation, Keyence, LUTZE, Medical Murray, National Bulk Equipment, NETZSCH, Nordfab Ducting, PAC Machinery, Pak-Tec, PakSouth, Qosina, Renishaw, and Vac-U-Max, among others.

In addition to a robust selection of companies and technologies on display, event participants benefited from three days of free and paid education. The PBS Conference explored a range of highly technical and topical issues impacting the processing and bulk solids handling industry.

IME South produced a robust free educational agenda focused on topics pertaining to the medical, processing, and advanced manufacturing segments and partnered with The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) to host the highly specialized ANTEC® conference, bringing 80+ years of global and national advocacy for advancing the plastics industry to curate the event's conference and networking opportunities.

Well-attended sessions are as follows, indicating industry-wide challenges and bringing to light upcoming trends to watch.

  • Keynote: Miniaturized Devices: Current and Future State-of-the-Art High-Volume Micro Molding
  • Keynote panel: Collaborative Manufacturing to Keep America Competitive
  • Keynote panel: Everything Old is New Again – Reviving a Legacy Industry in the U.S.
  • Digital Tech in the OR: How to Plan for SaMD & A.I. in your Medical Devices
  • State of Medtech Investment in the North Carolina Region
  • Taking the Sting Out of Growth - Financial Incentives & Tax Strategies for Manufacturers
  • Redefining the Manufacturing Cell: New Economics, New Teams, New Tech
  • Fighting the Maintenance Crisis
  • New Workforce Development Strategies for a New Era
  • How Local Governments Play a Role in Energizing the Manufacturing Sector

IME South Exhibitor Commentary:

"The Southeastern region of the U.S. is an area that has seen significant growth in the injection molding market and plastics industry as a whole. We're very excited to have a trade show back in this area – it's a huge benefit to us to meet with our customers in the area and connect with potential new customers." – Dale Bartholomew, National Technical Manager, Japan Steel Works Americas, Inc.

Bartholomew added: "The return to in-person events like IME South is priceless – you can't, no matter how many sales calls you make in a day, get the visibility that you can face-to-face at a show like this. You have a captive audience of your customers all under one roof. You can do your presentations, and they can see your equipment running live, which during a sales call, you can't do. Having this level of visibility is invaluable in front of our customers."

"IME South was pretty extensive as far as attending companies are concerned – for example, there is a company here from Virginia Beach that is a very large, well-represented company. But this show is so much more than a regional show; it's attracted a wide range of attending companies geographically, and I must say, even some of the exhibiting companies are our customers. It's very exciting to have IME South in Charlotte; there is so much going on here, and it's only just begun." – Jeff Sauter, Director of Business Development, SteriTek

"IME South has been a very successful event; we had strong leads only halfway through day two and were able to leave the show with new prospects. A show like this is a great opportunity for us to grow and find new customers, and I'm blown away by how many people we're seeing attend from outside the Carolinas. We're already starting to plan for the show's return to 2024." – Mitch Davey, Sales Development Manager, Pak-Tec

Davey continued: "Face-to-face events are essential for us. We sell industrial equipment, and our selling approach is visiting our customers, seeing their processes, feeling their products, and talking person-to-person. Events like IME South are crucial for us to show off our equipment and what's new and meet new customers."

IME South is held on a biennial cadence and thus is confirmed to return to Charlotte for the second edition in two years’ time, slated for June 4-6, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center. In the interim, the industry is encouraged to reunite next year at IME East, the sister event held from June 13-15, 2023, in New York City at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, which is home to six leading event brands: MD&M East, EastPack, ATX East, D&M East, Plastec East, and Quality Expo East.

CLICK HERE to Save The Date for IME East and receive a notification when registration opens.

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About Informa Markets – Engineering:
Informa Markets' Engineering portfolio is the leading B2B event producer, publisher, and digital media business for the world's $3-trillion advanced, technology-based manufacturing industry. Our print and electronic products deliver trusted information to the engineering market and leverage our proprietary 1.3-million-name database to connect suppliers with buyers and purchase influencers. We produce more than 50 events and conferences in a dozen countries, connecting manufacturing professionals from around the globe. The Engineering portfolio is organized by Informa, the world's leading exhibitions organizer that brings a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.

About Informa Markets
Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. Our portfolio comprises more than 550 international B2B events and brands in markets including Engineering, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure, Construction & Real Estate, Fashion & Apparel, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, and Health & Nutrition, among others. We provide customers and partners around the globe with opportunities to engage, experience and do business through face-to-face exhibitions, specialist digital content and actionable data solutions. As the world's leading exhibitions organizer, we bring a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.