We hope that you, your family and your business continue to be healthy and safe. As we navigate thru these unprecedented challenges, we want to assure you we are working together with AMT’s Board of Directors, the IMTS Show Committee and the IMTS Community to develop strategies that meet these challenges in the most effective ways possible.
In our first correspondence, we promised to give you regular updates regarding IMTS. While we know you can watch our video updates thru our social media channels, we felt it was time to give you a written update as well.
We are committed to opening IMTS as scheduled on September 14. There are many indications that show us the Manufacturing Technology community is looking forward to IMTS. At this point, from an overall standpoint, IMTS 2020 is at 94% of capacity for exhibit space, some exhibitors are hoping to take more space and grow their booth, and registrations have been steady throughout the onset of the crisis.
We recognize that IMTS will need to look different in order to keep our audience safe and secure – so we are investigating ways to keep you protected. We are currently redesigning high traffic areas (such as registration, conferences and receptions), working with trade show partners to ensure a higher level of cleaning protocols are made, and considering new entry point measures such as temperature checks and mask distribution.
And we have some exciting news! We will be welcoming a new audience to IMTS. The Smart Manufacturing Experience (SMX), originally scheduled to be in Pittsburgh in June, will now be co-located at IMTS. More information on this can be found at www.smartmanufacturingexperience.com.
We realize that during this time, many of you are experiencing supply chain struggles. We are dedicating significant staff & financial resources to develop a campaign project devoted to rebuilding the supply chain by giving you information on how you can rethink, reengage and reestablish your methods. You can look for this campaign on our social media channels, our website (IMTS.com) and at IMTS 2020.
As for Chicago, we remain in constant communication with McCormick Place, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois to stay abreast of their ever-changing landscape. We have been advised that 2,000 beds have been removed from the alternate care facility and, to date, have had less than a dozen patients. We have also been advised that they are planning to move the entire facility out by June for shows to start up again in July.
In closing, the safety of our IMTS community and helping you grow your business remains our top priorities. We will continue to bring you updates thru our various channels and make sure you know what we know. Thank you for your patience, loyalty and partnership as we move through these uncharted waters.
Sincerely,
Peter Eelman
AMT Vice President & CXO
