NC: 'IME South' Event Launch Draws Attendees from Major Advanced Manufacturing Companies

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 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, 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