This week it feels as if manufacturing might be back in fashion, and that feels good. One reason for the change might be that I attended the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) at McCormick Hall in Chicago. As you may have read, the attendance totaled over 100,000 people, the most for any IMTS since 2002. Both the number of organizations displaying their wares and the head count of attendees reviewing the displays suggest that there is renewed interest in US manufacturing.

My feet still hurt. After two days at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago's McCormick Place, I'm pretty sure I'd walked more miles than Harold Fry.

Make no mistake. Manufacturing in the United States and abroad is alive and well, and so is the technology to automate it. The last count I'd heard had the event flirting with 100,000 registrants for the trade show and conferences. It was indeed a sea of attendees flooding the venue's 470,000 square ft.