Peter Eelman, the chief experience officer of AMT, is retiring after almost 30 years. Peter has, quite literally, spent the entirety of his 45-year career working on IMTS. On his first day at his first job, he was tasked with figuring out how to consolidate his company’s five divisions into one major booth for their display at IMTS 1980. Unbeknownst to him, that first step into the professional world would shape his career for nearly half a century. Since then, Peter has led the orchestration and execution of the biennial IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. His impact on both the manufacturing and trade show industries has helped them evolve, innovate, and thrive.
Given his extensive involvement and leadership over the years, we want to acknowledge Peter’s contributions to the manufacturing technology community. We also want to share some of the lessons he’s learned throughout his career. While the context of each may differ from what you deal with every day, they are completely transferable – and quite valuable.
Remember Who the Real Customer Is
Eelman says a notion commonly held by people who organize and execute trade shows is that the exhibitor is the customer. After all, they buy the space on the exhibition hall floor.
But Eelman’s approach focuses on the attendees, those who show up at the venue. If he can entice them to attend even when they are not in a buying cycle, then he can assure the exhibitors that their presentations will get traffic.
This thinking can even be applied to equipment sales: If you can convince the operator that a machine or system will improve their job, they’ll likely be a good ally.
Just Because It Worked Before Doesn’t Mean You Should Do It Again
Plenty of successful IMTS events have been held during Eelman’s tenure at the helm. You’d think he’d simply use the template from one show to the next. After all, it worked, right?
But Eelman says he does something with his team after they decompress from each IMTS. They have a meeting.
Eelman gets in front of the group with the various plans, layouts, and documentation they created for the last show.
And he throws it all into a wastebasket.
He does this to dramatically underline the need to make the next one not only better but different.
Many companies still have the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. While that might be comfortable and easy, it won’t be that way for long, given changing customer dynamics.
Stick With It
While this seems to contradict the previous lesson, it is about an individual, not an organization or event.
Coming out of Drexel University, Eelman started his career in the manufacturing technology industry at the Wiedemann division of Warner & Swasey. His new boss told him he would likely stay in the industry for his entire career. That must have sounded silly to someone in their early 20s, even in 1980.
But he was right. Eelman has stayed in the industry. Warner & Swasey is no longer in business, and Wiedemann was acquired in 1989.
Eelman says that some of the folks he went to college with have had a multitude of jobs in a multitude of industries. He isn’t against getting different experiences. But he is a proponent of depth of knowledge.
The grass may seem greener elsewhere. And it may be. But then, sticking with something – if you have the opportunity to advance with it – could, in the long run, be absolutely advantageous from a career perspective.
Prepare To Pivot
IMTS 2018 could have been the “drop the mic” event for Eelman. Records abounded: 129,415 people registered, and 2,123 booths represented 2,563 exhibiting companies on 1,424,232 square feet of exhibit space. More than 2,500 people attended technical conferences.
It was simply an amazing event.
Additive manufacturing had a huge footprint. The Olli, a digitally manufactured self-driving bus from Local Motors, gave rides to attendees. Dell, Microsoft, SAP, and others exhibited in a Digital Factory.
Eelman and his colleagues pulled off a magnificent show.
Had he left after the 2018 IMTS closed, he would have gone out as a success.
Then 2020 happened. The State of Illinois banned public gatherings in response to COVID. And IMTS didn’t happen at McCormick Place.
Rather than throwing in the towel, Eelman and his colleagues made a pivot.
They took the event online through IMTS spark.
IMTS spark included over 2,000 exhibitor showrooms, live equipment demonstrations, Q&A panels, educational sessions, and more.
Eelman and his AMT colleagues had to do things they hadn’t done before – at least not to the extent of IMTS spark.
Sure, they’d organized and executed online events – but for a few hundred people, not thousands.
They reached out to new partners and tapped into the resources of new people.
And even though it was the first time since World War II that a physical IMTS was cancelled, their pivot worked beyond expectations.
Success Goes Both Ways
One of Eelman’s long-time colleagues put it simply: “He makes you successful, so you want to make him successful.”
Clearly, putting on a huge event with a multitude of moving parts like IMTS requires the skills, talent, and hard work of a team.
Eelman established his team, hiring people for roles that he thought they were best suited to handle. When it was time to start executing, he provided clear objectives and let them use their abilities to get it done.
Like any undertaking, part of getting it done is essential work – but not glamorous. Tedious tasks. Eelman would join in and help support his team. He was with them.
Consequently, they delivered. He knew they would.
