For job shop owners and manufacturing supervisors, there are many advantages to bringing your team to IMTS. Beyond saving $20/person and the ability to cover the entire show floor, attending IMTS with your team will help broaden your workforce knowledge base, retain employees, boost morale, and shorten the purchasing process.
Expand Your Workforce Knowledge Base
With the Americas’ largest collection of manufacturing technology on display, employees visiting IMTS 2018 can learn about technological advances that will ensure competitiveness. Employees can also participate in live demonstrations and speak directly to machine builders.
Peter Claus, a CNC Supervisor for a machine shop in Buffalo, N.Y., brought a team of eight machinists to IMTS 2014. “It opened their minds up to see the technology out there,” he said. “They still reference the technology we saw as solutions for current problems.”
By bringing a team to IMTS, your company can gain more information from exhibiting companies and make more business connections. “When we come to IMTS, we cover every single aisle in three days,” said Bob Bechtold, President of Harbec, Inc., a high-precision parts manufacturer in Ontario, N.Y.
With more than 150 employees, Bob brings 10 people to cover more ground and combine knowledge later. “We're focused, getting in when it first opens and staying until the show floor closes,” he said. “We want to explore the entire show in case we come upon something new and unexpected. It might be related someday.”
After the show, when machinists face new challenges, they think back to a solution that they learned about at IMTS. “I can look around at equipment that doesn’t fit our shop now, but it will in the future,” said Roger Pyle, President of Banister Tool, Inc., in Pflugerville, Texas.
Retain Employees
Asking employees to contribute to the equipment purchasing process empowers them. This sense of empowerment leads to new ideas to enhance operations, encourages teamwork, and creates a positive work environment. Ultimately, encouraging employee involvement increases retention.
This year, Rick Hoffman, CEO of EIMCo, a 150-person machine shop in Farley, Iowa, is bringing 20 employees. “By attending IMTS, they get more involved with their job,” said Rick. “I tell them to look for something that's going to improve their lives, so they can work smarter, not harder. When they have that level of control and satisfaction, they are more likely to stay with us.”
Improve Employee Morale
There’s nothing more re-energizing than taking a break from your daily routine. Bringing a team to IMTS 2018 shows employees that you value them as individuals and not just the work they do.
Visiting IMTS can be a real boost for employees. “Attending the show is a minimal investment for what we can save in the long run,” Peter said.
Julie Hoban, CEO of JTD Enterprises, a machine shop of 20 employees in Chilton, Wis., agreed. “Visiting IMTS is one of the ways JTD keeps employees engaged in their work. Happy workers are more stable and productive, so we are more profitable, which benefits everyone.”
Shorten the Purchasing Process
Comparing products, researching options, and connecting with vendor companies takes time—sometimes weeks or months. With 2,400 exhibitors, the concentration of resources and information available at IMTS can shrink that timeline down to a single day.
Marcus Alexander, owner of MCC Tooling of Garland, Texas, can trace most of his major equipment purchases to IMTS. “The big advantage at IMTS is I can check out everything and compare pricing,” said Marcus. “There's no place else I could get so much information at one time.”
Roger and his team will not make an equipment purchase before coming to IMTS. “There’s nothing like seeing many kinds of equipment operating and talking with experts in person,” said Roger, who has purchased demo machines off the show floor because some exhibitors offer discounts.
SOWANT PRECISION GAGE will visit IMTS.
