As chairman of MHI and on behalf of our officers and members, it is my privilege to welcome you to ProMat 2017.
ProMat 2017 will be four days of non-stop solutions for your manufacturing and supply chain operations. I am pleased to tell you that for the first time, ProMat exhibits and educational offerings will be on two show floors at McCormick Place. In addition to the South Hall, ProMat will showcase autonomous vehicle and sustainability solutions in the North Hall.
ProMat is once again co-locating with Automate 2017. Automate exhibits located will be located in the North Hall. Your badge will provide you entrance to ProMat, Automate as well as all keynotes and ProMat show floor seminars.
To make it easier for you to find the solutions you need, ProMat’s 950 exhibits are organized into convenient solution-specific centers: South Hall Solution Centers are manufacturing and assembly solutions; information technology (IT) solutions; and fulfillment and delivery solutions. North Hall Solution Centers are autonomous vehicles and sustainable facility solutions.
The ProMat Supply Chain Conference includes theater centers on the South Hall show floor featuring more than 100 show floor educational seminars. The North Hall theaters will include open air, town hall style theater presentations on sustainability facility solutions and autonomous vehicle and drone technology. Please consult your ProMat Expo Guide for titles, locations and times of these sessions. You can also download the official ProMat app at ProMatShow.com/app.
The ProMat Supply Chain Conference will also four feature keynotes today, tomorrow and Wednesday that will explore many issues and trends impacting supply chains. Today, sustainability expert Andrew Winston and a panel with sustainability leaders from UPS, REI and Boeing will discuss how to build supply chain sustainability for competitive advantage at 8:45 a.m. in Room S100.
In addition, we will announce the 2017 MHI Innovation Award winners during Wednesday’s MHI Industry Night with comedian Dana Carvey. This award showcases new products and innovations presented by exhibitors. The winners will be chosen in three categories: Best New Innovation, Best IT Innovation and Best Innovation of an Existing Product. I encourage you to view all the MHI Innovation Award submissions on Level 2.5 of McCormick Place. If you would like to attend Industry Night, tickets are $50 and can be purchased at ProMat Registration on Level 3.
ProMat offers many opportunities to connect with your peers in The Hub at the center of the show floor. The Hub offers opportunities to meet and network with other attendees as well as wi-fi, e-mail kiosks and access to information on career opportunities offered by ProMat exhibitors in Career Forum kiosks.
MHI is proud to sponsor ProMat and Modex 2018 (April 9-12, 2018 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center) and to represent the industry that provides the essential solutions that make supply chains work. For more information on MHI programs, the MHI booth located in The Hub or visit mhi.org.
John Paxton
Chairman, MHI