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International Manufacturing Technology Show: What Manufacturing Taught Us About Technology, Change and the Future

29 Sep 2026

Aaron Pallares

Five Days

It took us five days to walk around IMTS 2026.

Okay, maybe I’m being a little facetious, but not by much.

The fact is, it was a great week. Any week in Chicago is a good week, but add more than a million square feet of manufacturing technology, machinery, automation, software, robotics, and some of the biggest names in the industry, and I was in heaven.

IMTS 2026 brought more than 90,000 attendees and over 1,700 exhibitors together across more than 1.17 million square feet of exhibit space.

For the team at ioVista, however, IMTS 2026 wasn’t simply about seeing cool technology.

We went to listen.

We went to learn.

We went to meet manufacturers and understand where their businesses are headed,and, more importantly, whether their digital infrastructure is prepared to go there with them.

And after spending five days walking the show floor, one thing became increasingly clear:

The manufacturing floor is changing incredibly fast. The digital infrastructure supporting it needs to change just as quickly.

What is IMTS?

The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) is one of the world’s major manufacturing technology events and is described by its organizers as the largest manufacturing technology trade show in the Western Hemisphere. The 2026 event took place September 14–19, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago, bringing together manufacturers, engineers, technology providers, executives, operations leaders, suppliers, and innovators.

The roots of IMTS stretch back nearly a century. The first National Machine Tool Builders’ Exposition was held in Cleveland in September 1927. That first show occupied approximately 63,000 square feet, attracted more than 12,000 attendees, and featured 428 operating machines. Nearly 100 years later, the scale has changed dramatically, but the basic purpose remains remarkably familiar: bring together the people and technologies that are changing how things are made.

Walking through IMTS today, you can see that evolution firsthand. Machining is still a major part of the show, but it’s now surrounded by automation, robotics, additive manufacturing, software, digital manufacturing solutions, quality systems, connected equipment, data, and emerging technologies.

[ ALBERT WOOD]

“When coming to IMTS, you definitely want to bring comfy shoes… and your A game!”

Why Did ioVista Go To IMTS 2026?

Let’s be transparent: we went to generate business.

We wanted to meet manufacturers, create relationships, talk with potential clients, reconnect with partners, and identify opportunities where ioVista could help.

But you can’t effectively sell to an industry you aren’t willing to understand.

That’s why one of our biggest objectives at IMTS 2026 was simply to listen.

What are manufacturers investing in?
Where are they struggling?
What technologies are becoming important?
What are customers and distributors asking for?
Where are companies experiencing friction between their manufacturing operations and their digital systems?

And perhaps the biggest question: Does the digital side of the organization reflect the sophistication happening on the manufacturing floor?

A manufacturer may invest millions of dollars in new equipment, automation, robotics, software, and operational improvements while still asking customers to navigate an outdated website, email someone for a quote, download a PDF catalog, call for product availability, or wait for a salesperson to provide information that could have been available online.

That’s a disconnect.

And it’s exactly the type of problem we wanted to better understand at IMTS.

The Cost of Not Wanting to Change

One of our biggest takeaways from IMTS 2026 had less to do with a particular machine or technology.

It was about change itself.

Manufacturing has always evolved. What feels different now is the speed.

Automation is improving. AI is entering workflows. Customers expect better digital experiences. Buyers are doing more research before speaking with sales representatives. Internal systems are becoming more connected. Data is increasingly expected to move between systems rather than remain isolated.

That creates an uncomfortable reality for some organizations: What worked for the last 10 or 20 years may not be what carries the business through the next 10.

This doesn’t mean every manufacturer needs to chase every new technology.

Quite the opposite.

Digital transformation should solve business problems, not create technology for technology’s sake.

But refusing to modernize because “we’ve always done it this way” creates its own risks.

Legacy websites become harder to maintain. Systems stop communicating effectively. Employees create manual workarounds. Customer information becomes fragmented. Sales teams spend time completing tasks that could be automated. Product information becomes difficult to manage. And competitors with better digital experiences can become easier to do business with.

The question isn’t: “Do we need the newest technology?”

The better question is: “Where is outdated technology creating unnecessary friction in our business?”

That’s where meaningful digital transformation begins.

The Leaders Change Often and Quickly

Another lesson from IMTS 2026 was just how quickly leadership positions can change when technology changes.

A company can lead an industry for decades, but history alone doesn’t guarantee its position tomorrow.

New technologies create new competitors.
New buying behaviors create new expectations.
New platforms create new distribution models.

And AI is introducing another significant change: how customers discover companies and products in the first place.

For years, manufacturers thought primarily about Google when discussing digital visibility. Today, businesses also have to think about how their information is understood and surfaced through AI-driven search and discovery experiences.

That doesn’t mean traditional SEO suddenly disappears. It means the digital discovery ecosystem is getting larger.

The manufacturers that navigate this transition successfully will likely be the ones willing to continually evaluate how customers discover them, research their products, request information, purchase, reorder, communicate with sales teams, and receive support.

[ MIKE PATEL]

“If you don’t change, your situation will change without you, and YOU get left behind.”

Your Machines May Be Modern… Is Your Digital Infrastructure?

This became one of the most interesting questions for us during IMTS 2026.

Walk onto the show floor, and you see incredible engineering.

Then visit some manufacturing websites and the experience can feel like you’ve traveled backward in time.

That gap represents an opportunity.

Imagine a manufacturer where the website isn’t simply an online brochure.

Instead, customers can:

Search complex product catalogs quickly.
Access technical specifications and documentation.
See products relevant to their account.
Request quotes digitally.
Reorder previously purchased products.
Upload SKUs and quantities for bulk orders.
Access customer-specific pricing.
View inventory or availability.
Manage invoices and order history.
Communicate with sales representatives.
Receive personalized content.
Interact with AI-powered tools.
Move seamlessly between the website, CRM, ERP, PIM, marketing platform, and other business systems.

Now the website isn’t just a website.

It becomes part of the manufacturer’s infrastructure.

That’s the conversation we’re interested in having.

Who is ioVista?

ioVista is a Dallas-based digital commerce agency with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations build, improve, and grow their digital operations. The company works across eCommerce strategy, design, development, integrations, support, digital marketing, SEO, conversion optimization, and related digital initiatives.

For manufacturers, that can mean much more than simply building a new website.

It can mean helping connect the different parts of the business into a more cohesive digital ecosystem.

That could involve eCommerce, B2B commerce, ERP integrations, CRM integrations, PIM systems, customer portals, product catalogs, platform migrations, marketing automation, analytics, SEO, AI search visibility, and other technologies.

ioVista also works with major commerce platforms, including Adobe Commerce/Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Shopware.

Our objective isn’t technology for technology’s sake.

It’s figuring out where technology can remove friction, improve the customer experience, help sales teams, simplify operations, and create opportunities for growth.

IMTS 2026 Wasn’t Just About Machines

That’s probably my biggest takeaway from five days in Chicago.

Yes, we saw machines.

A lot of machines.

Seriously, a lot of machines.

But underneath all of it was something much bigger.

We saw an industry transforming.

We saw manufacturers thinking about automation, efficiency, workforce challenges, data, software, AI, customer expectations, and what their businesses need to look like over the next several years.

And we came home with an even stronger conviction: The innovation happening on the manufacturing floor shouldn’t stop when you reach the company’s website.

Your equipment can evolve.
Your processes can evolve.
Your products can evolve.
Your digital infrastructure can evolve with them.

So after five days, countless conversations, a lot of walking, and probably more coffee than we should admit to drinking, we’re leaving IMTS with one question for manufacturers: What’s the most technologically outdated part of your business, and what’s it costing you?

Let’s Continue to Conversation

If you met the ioVista team at IMTS 2026, we’d love to continue the conversation.

And if we didn’t get a chance to meet, we’d still like to hear from you.

Tell us what your organization is trying to accomplish, where your current technology is creating friction, and what you want your digital infrastructure to be able to do.

We can start there.

Talk with ioVista

IMTS 2026 Gallery