Advanced Manufacturing Expo 2021 Moves to the DeVos Place
/Advanced Manufacturing Expo 2021 News Release
With its new venue at DeVos Place, the Advanced Manufacturing Expo (AME) 2021 will bring compelling sights and sounds to downtown Grand Rapids Aug. 26 and 27 with live metal-cutting demonstrations, a packed agenda of informed speakers and a FIRST Robotics Invitational competition of more than 20 teams.
And if air travel restrictions from the United Kingdom can be ironed out, a Gravity Industries pilot will lift off from DeVos Place and whoosh around the Grand River in a stunning display of an Iron Man-type personal jetsuit.
“There isn’t another high technology show in Michigan that is as convenient, fun and affordable as the AME – for attendees and vendors alike,” AME Founder Mark Ermatinger said. “The AME has free admission, it’s being held at DeVos Place so everyone can experience downtown Grand Rapids, and it’s our best showcase ever of solutions for companies looking to adopt Industry 4.0.”
In addition to a private party for exhibitors and sponsors on Aug. 25 as they set up displays, the AME provides free lunches for exhibitors during the show that runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 26 and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 27. The AME has even taken steps to reduce the cost of parking downtown by offering free 2-hour parking vouchers valid at city of Grand Rapids parking ramps, limited to the first 2,000 attendees between both days.
Now in its sixth year, the AME has attracted more than 200 vendors situated in three halls that emphasize automation, metalworking and mechanical solutions for manufacturers. Many of the vendors will be using eye-catching and entertaining ways to demonstrate how their equipment and products can increase efficiency, reduce downtime or cut costs. The Automation Hall is sponsored by Industrial Control Service Inc. in Zeeland, the Metalworking Hall is sponsored by Creston Industrial Sales in Grand Rapids, and the Mechanical Hall is sponsored by Motion industries Inc. in Walker.
For the first time, full-sized metal working equipment will be making chips at the show. Braun Machinery will be running a Hurco VM20i CNC with an integrated Universal Robot, Gosiger will be operating an Okuma LB3000 with robot load and unload, and Millennium Machinery will be making a “king” chess piece on a Citizen L20 type X machine that can perform turning, milling, drilling, ID threading, and engraving.
“These vendors are making sizable investments to transport and set up equipment on this scale,” Ermatinger said. “Their investments are testimony to the size and quality of the attendees we draw from all around Michigan.”
Also new to the show is a Smart Technology Zone organized by the industry 4.0 team of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, which was established in 1991 to assist Michigan's small and medium-sized businesses to compete and grow. The center’s staff and suppliers will be giving talks and hands-on demos in the Smart Technology Zone that deal with advanced manufacturing technologies, digital process controls, human-machine interaction and enhanced operations management.
The FIRST Robotics Invitational competition for high schoolers running 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 26 also promises to be a show favorite. Founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kaman, FIRST seeks to introduce young people to technology and teamwork through a competition that centers on building robots that perform certain tasks. The AME will be installing bleachers around the competition area so attendees will be able to watch the competition live.
First Robotics
20 Highschool teams duking it out on during the AME show!
“The AME is built on the values of personal networking and the responsibility to mentor the next generation,” Ermatinger said. “We think it is critical to support a youth-oriented event that will expose teenagers to technology and give them the opportunity to walk the show floor to see how technology is used every day.”
Show staff is working with the office of U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), state and local officials to determine a practical way to allow Gravity Industries to send its flight crew from the United Kingdom to Grand Rapids. Based in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Gravity Industries has pioneered the practical use of a jetsuit, showing its military, commercial and recreational applications.
“As of today, restrictions remain in place for air travel from the United Kingdom to the United States, and state and local governments can place further requirements for self-quarantine,” Ermatinger said. “So we are working with everyone to try to make a Gravity demonstration happen in Grand Rapids.”
With all its new attractions, the continued success of the AME comes from the fact that the show was organized with both visitors and exhibitors in mind, Ermatinger said.
“Exhibitors are burnt out on large, expensive shows, and they are diverting their marketing dollars to more local venues,” he said. “AME allows them to get in front of their customers right here in Michigan at a low cost.
“We also take away worries, distractions and costs: we provide lunches for them during the show, we provide lead generation software to them for free, and we only run a couple of days instead of week-long trade shows.”
For more information on the show, interested individuals can access the website at http://www.AdvancedManufacturingExpo.com or contact the AME’s Marketing Manager Joe Teague at joe.teague@industrialcontrol.com and (616) 299-7610.
