FABTECH 2019 to inspire, inform your metal fab business transformation

The FABTECH 2019 tradeshow, educational conference, presentation forum, and event will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago, Nov. 11-14.

This year’s theme for FABTECH® 2019, Technology and Innovation to Transform Your Business, is rather fitting. Manufacturers in the metal fabrication, stamping, welding, tube fab, finishing, and 3D printing industries have experienced their share of turnaround and transition stories. Circumstances have required them to reinvent their businesses, and sometimes their own roles, to continue success.

Tuesday’s keynote speaker, Frank Abagnale Jr., has a transformation story if there ever were one.

At the age of 16, Abagnale left home and began forging a living by transforming himself into a Pan Am pilot to get free flights, a doctor to live in a pricey apartment complex and write bad checks unquestioned, and a lawyer—for real, passing the bar exam without a formal education. He lived a lavish lifestyle for years until his past caught up with him.

After fleeing to France and continuing his fraudulent lifestyle there, he was arrested and transformed into an inmate in a harsh French prison, then a Swedish prison, then a U.S. prison. After four years in the U.S. prison, he was offered an opportunity to transform once again, this time as a legitimate consultant to the FBI on countering fraud, forgery, embezzlement, and cybersecurity.

He continued to consult for the FBI for decades after his obligation ended. He received no financial compensation from it, nor from the film (“Catch Me if You Can”), book, TV series, and Broadway musical that were produced about his life story. He turned down three presidential pardons.

Abagnale will keynote on cybersecurity and how to keep your manufacturing plant safe from fraud on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The FABTECH 2019 tradeshow, educational conference, presentation forum, and event will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago, Nov. 11 to 14.

Evolving Expo

The ever-growing and always evolving expo is transforming as well.

New pavilions include the 3D/Additive Manufacturing Pavilion and a Robotics & Industrial Automation Pavilion.

The expo expands onto three halls of the McCormick Place this year. Exhibits will fill the Lakeside Building as well as the North and South buildings of previous years.

FABTECH features industry leaders in metal fabrication, stamping, welding, tube fab, finishing, and additive manufacturing.

Emerging and disruptive technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI, robotics, and automation join long-standing technologies in stamping, fabrication, tube and pipe fabrication, welding, and finishing.

More than 48,000 attendees and 1,700 exhibiting companies are expected to converge once again to explore, learn, and share the latest trends and technology in the metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing industries in preparation for their own continued transformations.

Special Events

Presentations on manufacturing trends and topics include workforce development, women in the industry, and veterans filling critical industry roles.

The popular FABx Tech Talk series returns with keynote presentations, expert panel discussions, and interactive networking events. They are scheduled to fill the hours before and after the tradeshow hours.

Keynote. Manufacturers sometimes use military terms and tactics as a platform for organizing processes, managing personnel, and tracking work-in-process.

The opening FABx Tech Talks keynote will pay special tribute to veterans in the manufacturing industry. Five vets will describe how they have drawn on their unique experiences in the military and applied them to achieve excellence in the frontlines of business. Speakers include Jason T. Ray, CEO of Paperless Parts; Shelly C. Rood, educational consultant; and Michael Walton, industry solution executive of Microsoft, as well as Chad Hennings, NFL Super Bowl champion;  and Hernán Luis y Prado, president of Workshops for Warriors.

Keynote. Frank Abagnale Jr.

Keynote. Grant Imahara, former host on Discovery’s “Mythbusters” and an animatronics engineering expert, provides a behind-the-scenes look at his work on various sets and productions.

He has worked on films such as the “Matrix” sequels, “A.I.,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Terminator 3,” “Van Helsing,” and “Star Wars: Episodes 1-3.”

Imahara will address the importance of advancing the engineering/manufacturing industry. He shares his experiences in science, which include a current consulting role for Walt Disney Imagineering, where he works on next-generation robots to go into Disney’s theme parks.

Educational Sessions

Manufacturing professionals will have the option to attend more than 175 educational sessions with targeted technical, operational, economic, and managerial topics.

The technical sessions focus on cutting, lasers, finishing, stamping, forming, fabricating, automation, and 3D/additive manufacturing. Management sessions will highlight strategies for marketing, sales, lean, smart manufacturing, and workforce development

The 90-minute sessions offer practical knowledge intended to be immediately applicable. Some sessions combine classroom instruction with expert-led guided Tech Tours on the show floor.

Chicago Venue

Chicago is an apropos site for a transformational event. It has been reconstructed, reinvented, reinvigorated, and transformed many times over its nearly 200-year history. Its many scaffolded renovations are a living example of continuous improvement.

Chicago’s exciting vibe is buoyed by its multicultural ambience, sights and sounds of a city on the move. If you’re planning to add some days to your FABTECH itinerary, you may consider embarking on any of the boating or walking tours or attending one of the many spectator sports. After expo hours, you may enjoy sampling the nightlife at numerous bars and nightclubs, theaters, live music venues, and comedy clubs.

Standout attractions include Skydeck at Willis Tower; “Cloud Gate” at Millennium Park; lake cruises from Navy Pier; a multitude of world-class museums, aquariums, zoos, planetariums, conservatories, parks, and gardens; and of course a cornucopia of five-star and just really good restaurants and eateries.

Chicago is one of the few cities that offers miles of public space along its waterfront. You can access the 18.5-mile-long Chicago Lakefront Trail, a shared-use path, from McCormick Place. The trail passes through and connects Chicago's four major lakefront parks and several beaches.

Getting to Chicago. By Air, by Train, by Road, by Boat …

Located in the center of the U.S., Chicago historically has been one of the most traversed cities in the nation. The multimodal metropolis is well-equipped to transport attendees to the city and to the expo.

Chicago’s first-class airports—Midway International Airport and O’Hare International Airport, have a combined 80 carriers and their regional airline partners.

Seven class-one North American railroads converge in Chicago. Amtrak services 56 trains daily in and out of Chicago, including those from Michigan and downstate Illinois, with recently increased speeds of 110 MPH. Chicago’s Union Station is centrally located, featuring guest check-in kiosks and ticket agents, meeting and event spaces, wheelchair accessibility, shipping services, eateries, retail shops, and even a day spa.

Greyhound, a nationwide bus service, has five metro-Chicago locations, including two 24-hour stations and 20 express routes to cities such as New York and Atlanta.

Commuting to and from McCormick Place

FABTECH organizers provide free shuttle service from most hotels. Attendees need only to wear the badges they receive at registration. For those who want to commute like a local, the Metra Electric commuter railroad can transport attendees directly to McCormick Place from downtown. The McCormick Place Metra Electric Station, located on Level 2.5 of the Grand Concourse in the McCormick Place South building, provides direct service within seven minutes to and from downtown Chicago’s Randolph Street Metra Station, right next to Millennium Park. It was renovated in 2017.

The L Green Line directly services McCormick Place and McCormick Square via the Cermak-McCormick Place Green Line Station. The station is a 21⁄2-block walk from the McCormick Place West building.

Plus, there’s the usual smattering of taxis, ride-hailing and ride-sharing transport, bikes, and ample vehicle parking—and for those staying at adjacent hotels, walkways.

Show Info

Monday, Nov. 11: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 12: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 13: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 14: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

McCormick Place

2301 S. Martin Luther King Drive

Chicago, IL 60616