Manufacturing, jobs take center stage at IME South

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—An early morning thunderstorm did not dampen the spirits of nearly 2,300 attendees who filed in the doors of the Charlotte Convention Center June 14 for the inaugural IME South, a six-in-one collaboration "to facilitate new technology and product discovery."

The three-day event—through noon on June 16—is bringing together the aerospace, medical technology, food packaging, advanced machining and manufacturing, packaging, bulk solids, adhesives and many other markets under one roof for the first time, according to Steve Everly, group event director with Informa Markets for IME South.

"It is all-new," he told Rubber News before he cut the ribbon at the 280,000-sq.-ft. convention center (moved indoors with the inclement weather). "Advanced manufacturing is not just alive and well in North Carolina, it is growing. We have some renowned event brands here."

Those half-dozen recognized event brands include ATX South (robotics and innovation); D&M South (manufacturing design ideas and time-to-market); MD&M South (med-tech solutions, with the greatest splashover into the rubber world); Plastec South (materials, molding and manufacturing solutions); Powder Bulk Solids South (dry processing and handling solutions); and SouthPack (innovations in the packaging industry).

There is a significant cross-section representing the non-tire elastomer world at IME South, including upstream and downstream manufacturers and distributors.

Included here are micro-molding companies (both the niche machinery-makers as well as processors), wire and tubing businesses, silicone fabricators and manufacturers of automated rubber testing equipment, among many of the 350 exhibitors.

Forty-three states and 54 countries are represented at IME South, Everly said.

"It is truly an all-encompassing, six-in-one manufacturing and design exposition," he said.

The decision to conduct the conference in North Carolina was not by accident, according to event organizers.

North Carolina has gone from experiencing "the great sucking sound," as Ross Perot said in 1992 of projected job loss in the region, to being on the cutting edge of the aforementioned markets.

"It was indeed a strategic decision," Everly said. "The manufacturing and design industry has experienced a huge migration of OEMs and others ... to North Carolina and surrounding states.

"This should present some fantastic opportunities for suppliers and sourcing partners."

Speakers that took the stage are diverse in their expertise, including Joel Leonard, consultant at MakesboroUSA; Jordan Schindler, CEO and founder of Newfabrx; Donald Duncan, county manager in Caldwell County; and Maria Esquela, CEO of Enable Alliance.

Leonard, a champion of "starting early" when instilling the virtues of the manufacturing industry, recently invested $100,000 in a mobile training lab to visit rural and lower-income children from around the state, intent on helping them see the virtues of a career—or at least a job—in manufacturing.

"We need to fill this megaboom of jobs that is coming to the state," Leonard said. "North Carolina and the Southeast region is no longer the place where people left, we are the place where people are coming to."

Schindler's company is at the intersection of med-tech, drug delivery systems—and textiles.

Newfabrx marries topical analgesics and creams (perhaps even in pillow cases infused with melatonin) and wearables.

"Instead of having to take a pill or a cream or put on a patch, what if you could just get dressed in the morning?" he asked. "Patient compliance (to take medication) is one of the biggest challenges, and it is hard to change consumer behavior.

"I am excited to see this growing collaboration at this conference and moving forward."

Marshall Brain, director of entrepreneurial programs at N.C. State, said he is fascinated with the number of entrepreneurial companies in N.C., as well as the reshoring trend—especially back to the Southeast.

"Having seen the supply chain problems and the difficulties with COVID, I am at the conference as a speaker but also as an attendee ... to see this phenomenon," Brain said.

Outside of supply chain difficulties and labor market hurdles, other topics that will get a deep dive at the conference include leveraging the U.S.' ability to get technology to market fast; and geopolitical factors around the globe.

"COVID is going to be with us for awhile, at least a year or eight months," Leonard said. "And there is political upheaval in different parts of the globe, like Taiwan and Eastern Europe."

And then there is construction, with its limited workforce and materials and subsequent long lead times.

"If you thought it was going to cost 'x,' double it. If you thought it was going to take 'x' time to complete a project, double it," Leonard said.

Many more panelists are set for this second day of IME South, visit imengineeringsouth.com for more information.

For much more on the conference, visit rubbernews.com or see the June 27 issue of Rubber News.

"It is pretty obvious we have a diverse group and a passionate group here," Everly said. "We are touching on all of that with our content."