CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The second edition of Informa Markets Engineering’s (IME) IME South was held June 4-6, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center, bringing together six co-located shows: Medical Design & Manufacturing South; SouthPack; ATX South; Design & Manufacturing South; Plastec South; and Powder & Bulk Solids South.
More than 2,500 manufacturing professionals, including engineers, designers and decision-makers, and students visited the event, which featured approximately 250 exhibiting companies.
According to Melissa Magestro, Vice President and Group Portfolio Leader – Advanced Manufacturing Group at IME, the growing manufacturing industry in the Southeastern U.S. created demand for a trade show in the region.
“Since COVID, and all of the disruptions to the supply chain … companies that were previously doing manufacturing internationally are now bringing their operations back into the U.S., and the Southeast is really attractive to them for a lot of reasons,” Magestro explained. “Our customers were saying ‘there’s not really an event [in the region] like what Informa Markets Engineering does in other places around the U.S.’ and … missing an opportunity to get in front of their customers in the Southeast.”
North Carolina was chosen to host the event due to its position as one of the U.S’ top manufacturing states.
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Two discoveries from the show’s inaugural 2022 edition influenced its 2024 version.
IME South’s management team found that the medical device manufacturing sector, a major component in IME’s other regional shows, IME East and IME West, is not as established in the Southeast as it is elsewhere in the U.S.
In response, they tailored educational programming for medical device manufacturing startups and brought investors to the show floor to kickstart industry growth at the 2024 show.
Additionally, to address a shortage of skilled manufacturing labor in the region, IME South increased its focus on workforce development this year. The show’s team added educational opportunities covering relevant topics, such as resume building and job searching, and worked to connect qualified applicants with hiring companies.
Also, IME South partnered with local universities to bring students to the show, exposing them to the manufacturing community and hiring companies.
“There’s an opportunity here for us to have an impact on the industry, and to really help the manufacturing community in that region,” Magestro said, noting that these additions were well-received by exhibitors, and increased energy on the show floor. “It’s really exciting to see that sort of enthusiasm around the exhibitor community.”
The show also added new partnerships this year, increasing its local audience and enhancing diversity, including one with the National Society of Black Engineers.
IME South will return to the Charlotte Convention Center — which Magestro praised for its staff, walkability, local footprint and proximity to hotels and networking spaces — from May 20-21, 2026.
“Manufacturing is still in sort of a development phase in the Southeast. It’s growing really rapidly, and I think when we come back there in 2026 it’ll probably be a little bit of a different landscape,” Magestro explained, adding that she anticipates the show to stay “in tune with what’s happening in the region, [and] where the industry is going.”
Learn more about IME South here.
