Manufacturing + Industrial Exhibits
Your products get tested under real conditions. Your trade show exhibit should prove you build things the same way.
INDUSTRY CONTEXT
Manufacturing trade shows run on proof. At IMTS, exhibitors bring CNC machines and multi-axis turning centers that weigh tens of thousands of pounds. At FABTECH, 1,700 exhibitors fill 885,000 square feet with equipment that cuts, welds, and bends live on the floor. The exhibit isn’t a backdrop: it’s the operating environment.
Every design decision starts with engineering.
Floor load ratings at McCormick Place, where IMTS fills 1.2 million square feet every two years, cap at 350 pounds per square foot.
That means your structural engineer is involved before your graphic designer. Live demos require 480V three-phase electrical drops, compressed air lines, coolant management, and OSHA-compliant safety guarding. If your equipment produces chips or fumes, containment is built into the booth, not added later.
The buyers on these floors aren’t browsing.
Plant managers and production engineers evaluate equipment like a capital purchase: by watching it run, checking tolerances, and asking the operator hard questions. Your exhibit needs to give them a reason to stop, watch a cycle, and start a conversation about specs.
That’s why the exhibit partner matters as much as the exhibit. You need a fabrication team that understands load-bearing structures, electrical integration, and demo workflow. We build from a 160,000-square-foot Minneapolis facility with CNC machinists, structural welders, and scenic fabricators on staff.
McCormick Place floor load cap (home of IMTS). Your structural engineer gets involved before your graphic designer.
SHOWS WE KNOW
The manufacturing calendar runs on a mix of biennial flagships and annual industry events. If you’re building an exhibit program, these are the shows where your investment has the most impact.
Chicago · Biennial (even years) · McCormick Place
The largest manufacturing trade show in the Western Hemisphere. 89,000+ registered attendees, 1,700+ exhibitors across 1.2 million net square feet. Equipment on display topped 40 million pounds in 2024.
Rotates annually · 885,000 sq ft
North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event. 42,000 attendees and 1,700 exhibitors. The show moves annually: Chicago in 2025, Las Vegas in 2026.
Biennial · Rotating cities
Orthopedic device manufacturers need exhibits that handle hands-on surgical instrument demos and cadaver lab adjacency logistics. A more specialized audience focused on evaluating purchases, not browsing.
Chicago · Biennial · McCormick Place
The packaging and processing industry’s largest event. 48,000 attendees and 2,700 exhibitors across 1.32 million net square feet. Booths here need to accommodate conveyor runs, film handling, and live product flow.
Hannover, Germany · Annual
The world’s largest industrial trade fair. 127,000+ visitors from 150 countries and 4,000+ exhibitors. For U.S. manufacturers expanding into European markets, exhibits tend toward integrated technology demonstrations.
Rotates annually · Produced by SME
North America’s most influential additive manufacturing event. 400+ exhibitors showcasing 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and production additive systems. The buyers here are evaluating equipment purchases, not browsing.
OUR WORK
Capabilities
Manufacturing exhibits need structural integrity that matches the equipment inside them.
We design and build booths rated for heavy loads, integrated electrical systems, and demo workflows that keep your machinery running safely for the full show schedule.
When your actual equipment is too large, too expensive, or too dangerous to run on a show floor, we build scaled replicas, cutaway models, and interactive product displays that let buyers see what’s inside the machine.
Technical buyers respond to data they can interact with.
We build touchscreen configurators, AR overlays that show internal components, and connected demo stations that pull live production metrics into your booth presentation.
FAQS
Start with the equipment. The size, weight, power requirements, and safety profile of what you’re demonstrating will drive every design decision. A 20,000-pound CNC machine needs reinforced flooring, dedicated 480V electrical service, and chip containment built into the booth structure. Finalize your equipment list and demo plan before you start talking about graphics, layout, or traffic flow. The demo is the exhibit.
Yes, but with constraints. McCormick Place, where IMTS and FABTECH take place, has floor load ratings of 350 pounds per square foot in most exhibit halls. Your equipment needs to fall within that limit, or you’ll need load-spreading platforms engineered into the booth. You’ll also need to plan for electrical service (480V three-phase is available but must be ordered), compressed air, coolant handling, and OSHA-compliant safety guarding around any moving parts. We handle this engineering as part of the booth design, not as an afterthought.
At RSNA, compliant pharma exhibits typically include clearly separated promotional and medical education zones, fair-balance signage visible from required sightlines, and demo stations configured for no-touch or limited-contact product interaction. The best designs make these requirements feel intentional rather than bolted on.
Scale and cycle are the biggest differences. IMTS is biennial and massive: 1.2 million square feet, 89,000+ attendees, 40 million pounds of equipment on display. It’s where you make your biggest statement. FABTECH is annual and focused on metal forming and fabrication, with a regional draw that shifts as the show rotates cities. Automate skews toward robotics, vision systems, and AI-driven manufacturing with a more technically specialized audience. Your exhibit strategy and demo plan should reflect each show’s format.
We handle the full scope: concept design, structural engineering, custom fabrication, equipment integration testing, freight, installation, and dismantling at McCormick Place. Our Minneapolis facility includes CNC machining, structural welding, and scenic fabrication under one roof, which means your booth components are built and tested together before they ship. For IMTS specifically, we work backward from the show’s freight deadlines and union labor schedules to keep your install on track.
Custom manufacturing exhibits with equipment integration take 9 to 12 months from concept to show floor.
If you’re planning for IMTS 2026 or FABTECH 2026, the design window is already open. The longer you wait, the fewer options you’ll have for booth placement, fabrication scheduling, and freight logistics.
Start the conversation now and give your team the full timeline to get it right.
