IMTS 2026 to Feature New Floor Plan; 85% Booked
With more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space already booked for the 2026 show, IMTS -- The International Manufacturing Technology Show -- returns to McCormick Place in Chicago next Sept. 14-19. Currently, 85% of the booth space capacity is filled, and several exhibitors have secured larger footprints on the show floor.
IMTS 2026 will feature a new floor plan layout, where the South Building will host the Metal Removal Sector and the Additive Manufacturing Sector, accelerated by Formnext.
"IMTS provides manufacturers with the opportunity to explore technologies and ideas to solve production challenges, so combining additive and subtractive technologies showcases the best of both technology platforms," says Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT -- The Association for Manufacturing Technology, which owns and produces IMTS. "Featuring subtractive machining, additive manufacturing, and hybrid solutions together will inspire visitors to find new ways to grow their markets, boost capacity, and lower costs."
The Tooling & Workholding Sector will be the focus in the West Building. Companies such as Kennametal will occupy a larger exhibit space. The Smartforce Student Summit, powered by AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology and SME, which welcomed nearly 15,000 students and educators in 2024, is moving back to Level 1 of the North Building. This move accommodates the expanding Software, Quality Assurance, Fabricating & Lasers, and Machine Components / Cleaning / Environmental sectors in the East Building.
The largest manufacturing technology show in the Western Hemisphere, IMTS 2024 showcased 1,226,523 square feet of manufacturing technology, featured 1,737 exhibitors, and attracted 89,020 registrants from more than 110 countries.
A Solutions Approach
Moving additive manufacturing (AM) to the South Building will help accelerate the adoption of a technology that strengthens U.S. manufacturing capabilities, re-shoring, and boosts supply chain security. The move also makes sense from an end-user perspective, as delivering a finished AM part often requires subtractive operations to machine features, tap threads, create smooth surfaces, and cut parts from build plates, as well as automated part and pallet handling systems for unattended operation.
"AM adoption continues to become more integral in manufacturing organizations, and this is reflected with the AM Sector moving to the South Building at IMTS," says Patrick Boyd, marketing director at EOS, an IMTS exhibitor and leading global provider of AM technologies. "Rather than viewing AM as a competing or replacement process, more manufacturers now understand that AM is a complementary technology to deliver new solutions, fill production gaps, find new efficiencies, and allow for faster innovation. AM wholly strengthens manufacturing, and the move to the South Building validates this."
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