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This Just In

IMTS Commits to Three More Shows at McCormick Place

HIL ANDERSON, SENIOR EDITOR

Chicago, IL – The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) has committed to holding three more of its massive machinery trade shows inside the now-friendlier confines of Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Peter Eelman, vice president of exhibitions and communications for the Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT), said the agreement covers the 2012, 2014 and 2016 editions of the biennial IMTS, historically one of the largest exhibitions in the U.S. The 2008 show spanned 1,233,878 net square feet and was ranked fourth on the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 rankings of largest U.S. trade shows.

The 2010 IMTS runs September 13-18. It is expected to draw more than 92,000 attendees from around the world. The three-show contract is estimated to generate an economic impact of $600 million on the local economy, according to Mayor Richard Daley’s office.

While McCormick Place has been the long-time home of IMTS, the August 12 announcement was treated as major news by the city. Daley appeared with Eelman and other IMTS officials at a news conference where the newly implemented labor reforms were given a large share of the credit for the AMT’s decision.

“We’re now as competitive as ever and we have a new system in place to take our convention industry to the next level,” said Daley.

The mayor said the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau had secured recommitments from six McCormick Place trade shows and signed three new shows since June. Additional show renewals at McCormick Place, as well as new business, will be announced over the next 60 days, he added.

Reach Peter Eelman at (703) 827-5264 or peelman@amtonline.com

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