With an annual turnover of more than 50 billion euros, industrial automation is one of the most important economic sectors in Germany. SPS - Smart Production Solutions in Nuremberg has established itself as a globally established meeting place for the automation technology industry. Following offshoots in Italy and China, the organizer, Mesago Messe Frankfurt, has now decided to take the SPS brand to America. For the first time, the automation technology industry gathering will be held as "Automation Sector powered by SPS" as part of IMTS 2024, before an independent trade fair takes place in Atlanta in 2025.

After industrial automation has become increasingly important for the International Manufacturing Technology Show, or IMTS for short, in recent years, this topic will now be deliberately brought into focus with the "Automation Sector powered by SPS - Smart Production Solutions" at the event from September 9 to 14, 2024 in Chicago. With its expertise, Mesago is supporting the organizer AMT (Association For Manufacturing Technology) in the realization of this special display area, which is intended to showcase smart and digital automation solutions for industrial production.

"The Automation Sector at IMTS makes our show even more attractive to companies looking to increase their manufacturing efficiency through automation," explains Douglas K. Woods, President of IMTS organizer AMT. "By partnering with SPS - Smart Production Solutions, we expect to see even more exhibits at IMTS 2024 in the areas of advanced drive systems, vision and image processing, data analytics, systems integration, artificial intelligence, cloud and edge computing." Another cooperation partner is Gardner Business Media (GBM), an American publisher and event organizer for the manufacturing industry.

From 2025 in Atlanta

In view of the rapid developments in automation technology, the American sister company of Mesago Messe Frankfurt, Messe Frankfurt Inc., will also hold an independent industry event in Atlanta every two years under the name "SPS - Smart Production Solutions", for the first time from September 23 to 25, 2025.

"Manufacturing is thriving in the southeastern United States, and as one of the leading states in industrial manufacturing, Georgia provides the perfect backdrop for an automation industry event in the U.S.," said Constantin von Vieregge, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, Inc. "In partnership with AMT, GBM and our sister company Mesago, the evolution of SPS - Smart Production Solutions in Atlanta will appeal to a variety of industries and provide them with a platform to promote technological advancement."

"We are pleased to enter into this cooperation and offer the global automation industry a high-quality platform to intensify cross-border business relationships," said Martin Roschkowski, President of Mesago Messe Frankfurt. "A fast exchange of knowledge is crucial in today's world and we are convinced that this new concept will meet the needs of the industry."