Five Trade Shows And Conference Programs Powered By HANNOVER MESSE Focused On Industry 4.0. And Industrial Internet Of Things Capabilities

Hannover, Germany and Chicago - Hannover Fairs USA (HFUSA), the U.S. subsidiary of Deutsche Messe, in partnership with AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology, today announced that its five industrial technology trade shows co-located at IMTS 2016 at McCormick Place in Chicago successfully mirrored the HANNOVER MESSE 2016 "Integrated Industry" theme. The five trade shows and corresponding educational conferences organized by HFUSA showcased industrial technology solutions that support Industry 4.0 factory operations and help manufacturers implement equipment with Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities.

HFUSA introduced three new industrial technology trade shows at IMTS this year - Surface Technology North America, ComVac North America, and Industrial Supply North America. The three new events were staged in the East Hall together with Industrial Automation North America launched at IMTS 2012 and Motion, Drive & Automation North America (MDA North America) introduced in 2014. All five industrial technology trade shows demonstrated solutions, ranging across industrial sectors from automation to motion drive and fluid technologies to surface cleaning and sealing treatments, as well as air & vacuum technologies and industrial supply parts, components and systems.

Larry Turner, President/CEO of Chicago-based HFUSA, said, "Industrial Automation North America and MDA North America continue to be very popular with IMTS attendees. IIoT and digital factory solutions were demonstrated in almost every booth across these two shows. The addition of three new industrial technology events allowed us to create and demonstrate the full range of Internet 4.0 solutions at IMTS this year.

The entire IMTS 2016 event attracted more than 115,612 registered visitors and hosted 2,407 exhibiting companies, the highest number of exhibitors in its history. HFUSAs five industrial technology trades shows co-located at IMTS 2016 accounted for 90,750 net square feet of exhibition space, or double the space in the East Hall compared to IMTS 2014. The five co-located events hosted 490 exhibiting companies and visitors from more than 18 countries.

HFUSA also expanded its educational conference offerings at IMTS 2016. On Tuesday, September 13, the new Integrated Industries Conference featured a global lineup of experts who shared best practices and new technological advancements demonstrated on the floor of Industrial Automation North America, MDA North America and Surface Technology North America. As an extension of the Integrated Industries Conference, HFUSA introduced the Fluid Power Track on Wednesday, September 14, highlighting energy conservation, productivity, and machine safety themes. The Fluid Power Track also reflected the various technologies demonstrated on the floor of MDA North America. HFUSA again hosted the Global Automation & Manufacturing Summit at IMTS 2016 on Wednesday, September 14. This years summit highlighted Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) discussions and was an extension of Deutsche Messes globally focused manufacturing technology trade show, HANNOVER MESSE. Cloud-based manufacturing, robotics and maintenance in the age of IIoT were highlighted.

"All five of our trade shows and new conference offerings were a perfect extension of HANNOVER MESSE and this years U.S. partner country," added Turner.

Industrial Automation North America Doubles Exhibition Space
Industrial Automation North America doubled its exhibition space this year, ramping up its focus on digital factory systems and intelligent solutions. New and returning exhibitors demonstrated a range of technologies from Industry 4.0 innovations and advances in robotics to entire building automation processes.

Beckhoff Automation of Savage, Minnesota showcased its wide range of advanced automation solutions for the machine tool, metalworking and additive manufacturing industries, including robotics, advanced CNC systems, and high-performance servo systems with One Cable Technology (OCT). The firm also demonstrated its TwinCAT IoT, TwinCAT Analytics, and new IoT Bus Coupler, showcasing how manufacturers can connect the plant floor with higher level production networks, enabling them to communicate with databases, perform remote maintenance over the Internet or request cloud-based services. "Our IoT hardware and software solutions demonstrated at Industrial Automation North America drew a huge number of high-level engineers, machine builders and household name manufacturers who attended this years show," said Shane Novacek, Beckhoff Automation Marketing Communications Manager. "Also a big draw, Beckhoffs IoT demos incorporated a Microsoft HoloLens as a ‘wearable HMI that can be used in plant floor applications. Many attendees came to our booth to evaluate this brand new augmented reality technology concept for their automation projects. Beckhoff has been demonstrating its solutions at Industrial Automation North America since the inaugural show in 2012. We have consistently exceeded our trade show return on investment."

Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. of Vernon Hills, Illinois demonstrated its new M8 series CNCs, as well as its e-F@ctory automation products that provide connectivity, improved visibility and analytics across the factory floor. Scott Rohlfs, Director of Marketing at Mitsubishi Electric Automation, said, "Industrial Automation North America 2016 was an outstanding show for us. We targeted users from all over the Americas and were very satisfied with the new business contacts this years show produced. We look forward to returning to Industrial Automation North America 2018."

Phoenix Contact of Middletown, Pennsylvania launched its new line of Quint Gen 4 power supplies and power solutions. Michael Brooks, Industry Manager Automotive at Phoenix Contact, said, "Our solutions were very well received among the U.S.-based visitors. Also, we secured additional credibility and a spike in booth attendance following Phoenix Contact USA Presidents, Jack Nehlig, Industry 4.0 specific keynote address at the Global Automation & Manufacturing Summit."

MDA North America Spotlights Process Improvement Solutions
MDA North America 2016 offered IMTS visitors the opportunity to discover the latest advances in power transmission, hydraulics & pneumatics to improve process efficiency, reduce downtime and increase product quality. Within the show, the IFPE Fluid Power Zone more than doubled its footprint this year, showcasing the latest hydraulic & pneumatic products, technology and services.

Festo of Hauppauge, New York is known as one of the technology leaders in the field of automation solutions. The company utilized MDA North America 2016 to showcase its new line of cost effective pneumatic and electric components developed for basic automation tasks and motion processes. Commenting on the firms attendance at this years MDA North America, CEO Richard J. Huss said, "Its always important that Festo attend vertical shows in the U.S. to showcase our latest solutions. Industry 4.0 is important to our current customers and potential customer base, and attending MDA North America offers us the chance to demonstrate Festos cutting edge preventative maintenance, safety solutions and machine system efficiency products to IMTS visitors."

THK America of Schaumburg, Illinois demonstrated an extended linear motion system with lengths up to 23 feet (seven meters) for a variety of industrial sectors. Eiji Tanaka, General Manager of Sales Planning for THK America, said, "Our new linear motion system proved extremely popular with visitors from around the world. THK America significantly expanded its footprint at MDA North America this year. We were so happy with the booth location and the thousands of sales leads we generated at the show that we have already signed up for MDA North America 2018."

Three New Shows Prove Popular With Exhibitors and IMTS Attendees
With the addition of three new industrial technology trade shows at IMTS 2016 - Surface Technology North America, ComVac North America, and Industrial Supply North America - HFUSA successfully showcased the broadest range of solutions to unite manufacturing operations and Industry 4.0 implementation across the factory floor. The new shows covered the entire spectrum of industrial surface treatment and finishing, compressed air & vacuum technologies and industrial subcontracting, including outsourced solutions for OEM and MRO applications, parts, components and systems. Germany, China, the Netherlands, Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan featured solutions across the three shows in their Country pavilions.

In its booth on the floor of the inaugural Surface Technology North America trade show, Stronghold Coatings of Franklin, Ohio showcased its Blue Dichtol sealer, which can be utilized to seal all types of castings and industrial applications. The company also demonstrated its MM 1018 material, a load bearing polymer. During the show, the company conducted many discussions about its products with potential buyers from across the Americas. President of Stronghold Coatings Systems Larry Grimenstein said, "We were extremely pleased with the high-quality of the visitors looking to source solutions for their sealer problems. Because our sealers and coatings are so highly specialized, we interfaced with more Surface Technology North America show visitors than we originally expected."

At the inaugural Industrial Supply North America 2016, Taurus of Ramsey, New Jersey, the premier global sourcing company for forgings, castings and related quality engineered components, showcased solutions from medical to automotive applications. The company also met with trade show visitors to discuss its ability to effectively source suppliers, as well as to warehouse and transport parts for U.S. buyers. "We attended HANNOVER MESSE 2016 and felt Taurus would be well served to attend the new Industrial Supply North America trade show. We did secure a number of solid sales leads from the event after meeting decision makers from a variety of industries," said Richard E. Toth, Vice President & General Manager of Taurus.

HFUSA will again stage all five industrial technology events in conjunction with IMTS 2018 from Sept. 10 - 15, 2018 at McCormick Place. For more information on exhibiting or attending the shows in 2018, contact Katherine Childress, HFUSA Group Show Director, at (404) 214-0432 or kchildress@hfusa.com and Ethan Carter, HFUSA Sales Director, at (773) 796-4250 or ecarter@hfusa.com.