– Held for 4 days in Mississauga, Ontario in an online/offline hybrid format –
– Participation in various fields such as automation robots, electric vehicles, and engineering consulting companies –
– Face-to-face exhibitions expected to increase in the future due to high distribution rate of COVID-1919 vaccine –
From October 2021 to 4, 7, the 2021 Canada Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS), Canada's representative manufacturing conference, was held. Over the past year, most major exhibitions in Canada have been canceled or replaced with online exhibitions in the form of digital platforms due to COVID-1919. In particular, large-scale exhibitions that require a large demonstration space and bring together many visitors and products from around the world have been subject to many restrictions. However, this year's 2021 Canada Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) was held in a hybrid format that combines online and offline exhibitions in line with the COVID-1919 era, and I visited the exhibition site directly at the KOTRA Toronto Trade Center.
2021 CMTS Event Overview
CMTS is Canada’s leading manufacturing technology trade show, held every two years in Ontario and Quebec. This year’s event was held at The International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. As in-person events are gradually being held due to the accelerated distribution of COVID-1919 vaccines, it was a great opportunity to experience the exhibition scene in the post-COVID-19 era.
CMTS' main exhibition areas include a variety of manufacturing industries including manufacturing technology, 3D printing, automotive, aerospace, and metal manufacturing. A total of 4 manufacturing companies from Canada, USA, Czech Republic and Italy participated in this exhibition held in Mississauga for 4 days from October 130th. In addition to participating companies, this event provided an opportunity to research the local market and meet potential buyers as various visitors including related industry experts, industry associations and government officials participated. The CMTS exhibition consisted of various programs such as Tech Exhibits, Industry Panels, Smart Hub, and Tech Talk. Among them, in the case of events such as industry expert panel and tech talk, representatives of manufacturing companies, associations, and government officials participated as speakers and delivered a wide range of contents to the audience.
CMTS Event Overview
Offline exhibition hall configuration
The atmosphere of exhibitions held offline after COVID-1919
In Ontario, where the COVID-1919 vaccination rate is over 84%, offline events and exhibitions are gradually increasing. Last year, CMTS, which was the first offline participation in the trade center since COVID-1919, was a new experience. To participate in this exhibition, you must present a Vaccine Passport, which is a proof of the second vaccination, and an ID to enter the exhibition hall. Masks must be worn at all times at the exhibition hall, and masks can only be removed when eating food at the food court. The total number of people who can attend the face-to-face exhibition was 2, and the liveliness was enhanced by the presence of many people from all over the world.
CMTS field photos
Meanwhile, according to an interview with an official from Cadmicro, an engineering consulting firm that participated in the on-site booth, the lack of communication due to the prolonged non-face-to-face situation since COVID-1919 is currently a major issue for all companies, regardless of the specific industry. To solve this problem, the company said it has developed a program that enables communication with employees in other departments without detailed explanations by integrating a technical conversation tool into its 3D design software. In addition, it expressed expectations for the return to daily life and normalization of the economy due to the accelerated distribution of the COVID-1919 vaccine, and added that it highly values Korean technology and the competitiveness of the Korean manufacturing industry.
It is conducted in a hybrid method, so non-face-to-face visitors can also participate.
It is noteworthy that CMTS, where both online and offline exhibitions were held at the same time, utilized the strengths of online to the fullest. The event organizer opened the CMTS online exhibition website to provide information on the exhibition schedule, companies and exhibition items, and vividly delivered the offline seminar site through a live stream. At the same time, a real-time chat window was used so that visitors could directly inquire if they had any questions for the seminar speakers. In addition, by providing a mobile phone application, you can check the exhibition schedule in advance, and you can also apply for networking by registering interested parties participating in the booth. CMTS introduced an online exhibition website and an accessible mobile app at the same time to provide improved convenience to non-face-to-face visitors.
Online exhibition and mobile app screen
Industrial panel event with various themes of changes in manufacturing and the future of electric vehicles
The main seminar of CMTS focused on topics such as the direction of change in manufacturing after COVID-1919 and the future of major manufacturing industries. Jayson Myers, CEO of NGen, who participated as a speaker in the industry panel event, said that the factors that had the greatest impact on the manufacturing industry due to COVID-1919 were supply chain shortages, changes in customer demand, and logistics disruptions and delays. Accordingly, he added that new changes are needed in the post-COVID-19 era, such as sustainable ESG supply chain management, reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, expansion of electric vehicle distribution, and development of digital platforms in the manufacturing industry. He also emphasized that cooperation among companies is important in managing risks in introducing and integrating new technologies in the manufacturing industry.
* NGen (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada) is a non-profit organization leading the Canadian advanced manufacturing supercluster.
The next industry panel event attended was hosted by Flavio Volpe, president of the Canadian Automobile Parts Manufacturers Association, on the theme of the future of the Canadian electric vehicle manufacturing industry. CEO Volpe advised that efforts should be made to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the process of manufacturing electric vehicles in Canada in the future. Although there is no carbon emission when operating an electric vehicle, it is mainly generated during the manufacturing process of the electric battery, so it is expected that it is necessary to switch to an eco-friendly energy source that supplements this. In addition, he emphasized that charging station facilities should also be accelerated in line with the supply of electric vehicles in Canada. In addition, seminars were held on various topics such as ESG management in the manufacturing industry, supply chain resilience, employment recovery, and cyber security.
Online exhibition industry panel event photo
Non-face-to-face events expected to gradually increase after the second half of 2021
The 2021 Canada Manufacturing Technology Show was able to overcome the limitations of COVID-1919 and hold the event offline and online simultaneously, providing more participants with opportunities to participate. It was very impressive that the advantages of the hybrid exhibition encouraged active participation of participants and promoted network activation. In addition, we were able to see future industrial trends through the passionate passion and new ideas of manufacturing companies preparing for the post-COVID-19 era. We hope that our companies will also have the opportunity to understand the trends of the Canadian manufacturing industry and network with business and government officials through their participation in the CMTS exhibition in the future.
Source: 2021 CMTS online exhibition website, KOTRA Toronto Trade Center