The city of Atlanta offered a great backdrop to this year’s Fabtech event with her mild temperatures, endless restaurant choices, and constant activity. As a venue, the Georgia World Conference Center felt noticeably smaller than Chicago’s McCormick Place for those accustomed to that location.  None the less, as an attendee this year’s show was booming.  In the main exhibit halls, traffic was shoulder to shoulder at times and filled with a sea of stimulus for the eyes and ears.  The primary equipment exhibitors spared no expense with their sprawling displays, fully operational production equipment, and even open bars in some cases.  With hundreds of exhibitors in each of the main exhibit halls, it was impossible to see everything. The Fabtech app made navigating the show and finding your desired supplier exhibits simple.
 
There seemed to be a great deal of excitement from most exhibitors and attendees around manufacturing and simply being able to gather again after the pandemic. Although most individuals had opinions about the potential of recession, all the short educational courses offered solutions for employee shortages, how to manage business growth, implementation of new technology, and creative financing options. This information and many of the stories shared during the sessions suggests that manufacturing in the United States is booming.
 
Exhibitors toward the perimeter of the main halls observed lower, but steady traffic. Visitors to these booths seemed to know what they were looking for and had interest in growing their supply base. Despite representing Midwest-based manufacturers, many booth visitors had interest in learning about manufacturing services (even from the four corners of the country and abroad). There was extensive talk of labor shortages and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic and interest in creative new solutions to these challenges.
 
As an attendee, all learning goals were accomplished and supplier connections established. It was great to be a part of this event and the current energy around manufacturing in the United States.