North America’s most influential additive manufacturing event took place in Detroit, May 20-23 featuring 434 exhibitors on a show floor measuring 112,200 sq.ft. More than 5,200 unique attendees experienced a state-of-the-art showcase of additive manufacturing.
By SME
Exhibitors and visitors alike have hailed the 2019 edition of RAPID + TCT as the best event in its history, with record attendance numbers engaging with the largest show floor ever seen at the event.
The 3-day event took place in the heartland of industrial America at the Cobo Center in Detroit and had an incredible display of cutting-edge, design-to-manufacturing technologies on the show floor, plus a full program of inspiring and thought-provoking conferences.
Many of the 434 exhibiting companies used the show to launch new products, these included Xjet, Titan Robotics, EOS, Materialise, Fabrisonic, Makerbot, Impossible Objects, Markforged, Formalloy and BigRep, once again reaffirming that RAPID + TCT is the key launch event for North America when it comes to additive manufacturing.
The exhibitors were assembled from 22 countries and included a record 143 exhibitors making their debut, demonstrating the immense speed of development in the industry and the focus on RAPID + TCT as a place to go to market in North America.
“I think this is the most important event of the year for us in North America,” said Patrick Boyd, Marketing Director of EOS. “If you are trying to understand how additive manufacturing fits into an advanced manufacturing environment, this is the place to come.”
Alongside the vibrant show floor, conference delegates and visitors had the opportunity to listen to and learn from over 300 experts from across the world on multiple stages, platforms and engagement zones. The learning, intelligence and networking on offer from the brightest minds ensures that a visit to RAPID + TCT delivers huge benefits.
“It’s my first show and I am blown away,” said Jim Hall, Attendee. “I am just happy to walk around and see what everybody is doing, all forms of additive manufacturing.”
“It’s fun to be at RAPID + TCT; it’s very productive for us in terms of the investment and the outcome, the number of leads that we get at the end of the show and more than that the quality of the leads make a difference,” added Dror Danai, CBO of Xjet
RAPID + TCT 2019 was the third edition that has been jointly produced by SME and Rapid News Publications Ltd since the two organizations announced their intention to combine their collective industry knowledge and global networks to address the challenges of 3D manufacturing and drive even greater adoption and progress across all industries.
“RAPID + TCT brings the entire additive manufacturing community together to share the latest knowledge and technology, allowing the industry to move forward and keep up with evolving demands,” said Sandi Bouckley, executive director and CEO, SME. “SME’s partnership with Rapid News Group allows us to continue serving this vital community that is changing the face of manufacturing as we know it.”
“There was a recurring theme of collaboration at this year’s show. Many partnerships were announced, and alliances formalized,” said Duncan Wood, CEO, Rapid News Publications Ltd “and this trend reflects precisely why RAPID and TCT came together three years ago. The pace of development and technology adoption is much accelerated when leading organizations combine their expertise and capabilities and the growth of RAPID + TCT is proof of this too. We are already working on our 2020 event with plenty of exciting enhancements in the works!”