UPDATED: January 10, 2012
I recently made a Facebook post about the value of smaller, more specialized regional industrial trade shows for SMB industrial & manufacturing companies. It was based on an excellent article I read on Regional Manufacturing Expos.
My twitter friend and fellow industrial marketer @Achintamitra added even more insight to the subject in his Internet Marketing Today blog post about B2B Industrial Marketing.
So to carry on this discussion thread, here is a…
list of smaller, more specialized industrial trade shows.
- Design2Part Trade Shows – Job shop design & contract manufacturing shows. Upcoming spring 2012 shows include Grapevine, TX; Santa Clara, CA; Atlanta, GA; Secaucus, NJ; Schaumburg, IL and St. Charles, MO.
- Process Technology Expo International (PTXi) / International Powder & Bulk Solids
- AmCon Design & Contract Manufacturing Expos – Spring 2012 shows in Orlando, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, and Houston
- Facilities Expos – spring 2012 shows in Portland OR, Modesto CA, Anaheim CA, Santa Clara CA, and Phoenix AZ
- Building Facilities & Maintenance – upcoming shows in NYC & Tampa. Recent shows in Charlotte, Philadelphia, Ft. Lauderdale, Washington DC
- Plastics – a huge list of trade shows and events around the US and worldwide. Hadn’t thought about exporting? Maybe you should!
The organizer of the following shows groups all of these shows together in locations nationwide to cover all of these market sectors simultaneously in various cities. They’re basically shows within shows. Upcoming locations include:
- Medical Design & Manufacturing
- Packaging
- Design & Manufacturing
- Plastics
- Automation & Assembly
- Electronics
- NTMA Purchasing Fair – June 13-14, 2012. The show’s purpose is to “align OEM’s and large companies with highly competitive and skilled domestic small to medium sized manufacturers that specialize in machined, stamped and fabricated parts, special tooling (dies, molds, jigs, fixtures and gauges) and special machines, ultimately providing a more economical resource for sourcing needs. (show site not yet updated for 2012 show).
- Composites Manufacturing 2012 – March 13-15, 2012. Mesa, Arizona. Practical solutions and cutting-edge knowledge on composite applications, processes and best practices.
- Fabtech Canada 2012 – March 20-22, 2012. Toronto, Ontario. The ONLY exclusive fabricating, welding and metal forming event in Canada.
- Westec 2012 – March 27-29, 2012. Los Angeles. Twitter: #westec
- Micro Manufacturing Conference & Exhibits – March 28-29, 2012. Boston, MA
- Nano Manufacturing Conference & Exhibits – March 28-29, 2012. Boston, MA
- FABTECH Mexico 2012 – May 2-4, 2012. Mexico City
- Manufacturing 4 the Future – May 8-10, 2012. Hartford, CT – manufacturers supplying aerospace, defense, medical & energy sectors
- Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show (MMTS) – May 14, 2012. Montreal, Quebec
- RAPID 2012 Conference & Exposition – May 22-25, 2012. Atlanta, GA. Additive manufacturing solutions.
- Medical Manufacturing Innovations – October 24-25, 2012. Missisaugua, Ontario. Connects medical and dental device manufacturers with companies that supply their production technology and equipment
- FABTECH 2012 – November 12-14, 2012. Las Vegas. North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event.
- AeroDef Manufacturing 2013 – March 19-21, 2013. Long Beach, CA. aerospace and defense manufacturing.
- EASTEC 2013 Exposition – May 14-16, 2013. West Springfield, Massachusetts.
#### BELOW SHOWS ADDED JANUARY 11, 2012 ####
- Amerimold 2012 – June 13 – 14, 2012. Novi, Michigan. Tool and mold making, molding and additive manufacturing.
If you know of other industrial / manufacturing trade shows, especially smaller local or regional shows, or specialty industrial / manufacturing trade shows, please take a moment to list them via the comment section for this article. We’ll then update our list above and tweet it out to the world. We hope you find this list helpful and we hope you’ll add to it!