After months of planning and anticipation, the NIMS Student Summit went off without a hitch at the 2010 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago, Illinois.  Thanks to a generous arrangement with AMT, The Association for Manufacturing Technology, groups of educators and students from as far as North Carolina and California were able to attend one of the world’s largest trade shows for the industry.  From September 13th through 18th over 9,000 summit attendees took advantage of the opportunity to tour the most impressive assemblage of cutting edge manufacturing technology.

To kick off the Student Summit at IMTS 2010, an official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held on Monday, September 13.  Emceed by NIMS Deputy Director Jim Wall, the ceremony included a warm welcome from Douglas K. Woods, President of AMT, followed by brief speeches from Dan Swinney, Executive Director of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Counsel, and Barbara A. Lumpkin, Deputy CEO for External Affairs and Partnerships for Chicago Public Schools, each of whom shared motivational, encouraging words with the Austin Polytechnical Academy students that were present for the ceremony.  The ceremony concluded when Jeralmie Garmon of Austin Polytechnical Academy used an oversized pair of scissors to cut the red ribbon and officially inaugurate the 2010 Summit.

Several members of the NIMS Board of Directors were present for the Ribbon Cutting as well, including Paul Huber of COMEX, Harry Moser of GF Agie Charmilles, George Crossland of Crossland Machinery Company, Bob Skodzinsky of Haas Automation HTEC Network, and Brian Davis of Sandvik Coromant Company.

In addition to free admission to the spectacular IMTS show floors spanning all four wings of Chicago’s McCormick Place, Summit attendees were supplied with access to several exclusive areas including the Career Development Center.  Upon arriving to the show, groups first attended a brief, yet motivational and memorable orientation program presented by the yellow-outfitted folks at Sandvik Coromant.  From there attending groups were given full access to the Career Development Center, where they eagerly took advantage of the time and space to talk with industry professionals and gain insight on skills, careers, and technology. 

Exhibiting companies inside the Career Development Center included:

• CNC Jobs - Trillium Staffing
• FANUC Robotics America, Inc.
• Haas Automation-HTEC Network
• Immersive Engineering, Inc.
• Industrial Press, Inc.
• Keller North America, Inc.
• Mastercam/CNC Software, Inc.
• National Center for Manufacturing Education
• National Tooling & Machining Association
• Office of Apprenticeship
• Sandvik Coromant Co.
• Seco Tools, Inc.
• Siemens
• Society for Manufacturing Engineers
• Society for Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation
• Rock Valley College
• Techworks
• Tri-Tech Precision Products, Inc.
• Vincennes University

Summit attendees were also encouraged to bring their resumes to submit in our Resume Drop, a unique program in which NIMS sends student resumes to participating companies in industry so they may review the skills and experience the incoming workforce will have to offer.  Participating companies included:

• Accu-Precision Tool & Gauge
• Agie Charmilles
• AJ Rose
• BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling, Inc.
• CNC Jobs / Trillium Staffing
• Criterion Tool & Die
• GE Aviation
• Hydromat, Inc.
• Immersive Engineering, Inc.
• INDEX Corporation
• KOMET of America, Inc.
• Maintenance Service Corp.
• Mastercam / CNC Software, Inc.
• Planit
• REM Sales Tsugami
• Seco Tools
• Southern Manufacturing Technologies, Inc.
• Symbol Job Training, Inc.

New to this year’s event was the Student Summit Lounge, a multi-purpose room for groups to convene throughout their day at IMTS, stop in to eat lunches brought from  home, or just to rest their feet after a long day of exploring and learning. 

Outside of the Career Development Center, students and educators were encouraged to visit our Student Friendly Exhibitors (SFEs).  Scattered across all four wings of the show, SFEs consisted of 48 different organizations who openly welcome students to their booths to learn more about their company and the skills needed to have a career in that particular industry.  Student Friendly Exhibitors included:

• Aerotech, Inc.
• Agie Charmilles
• BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling, Inc.
• Bosch Rexroth Corporation
• Burr King Mfg. Co. Inc.
• Certified Comparator Products
• Cutting Tool Engineering Magazine
• Delcam
• DMG / Mori Seiki
• ERIEZ
• FANUC Robotics America, Inc.
• Fire Trace
• Fischer Precise USA
• Flow International Corporation
• GROB System Inc.
• Haas Automation-HTEC Network
• Hardinge
• Hydromat, Inc.
• IGUS, Inc.
• INDEX Corporation
• Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc.
• In-House Solutions
• Kennametal
• KOMET of America, Inc.
• MAG
• Mahr Federal Inc.
• Maintenance Service Corp.
• Marubeni Citizen - Cincom Inc.
• Mastercam/CNC Software, Inc.
• Mitsui Seiki
• National Tooling & Machining Association
• OKUMA America
• OMAX Corporation
• Planit
• RAM Optical Instrumentation
• REM Sales Tsugami
• Sandvik Coromant Co.
• Seco Tools, Inc.
• Siemens PLM Software
• Sodick, Inc.
• Southwick & Meister, Inc.
• Stratasys Dimension 3D Printers
• TCI Precision Metals
• The L.S. Starrett Co.
• United Grinding Technologies, Inc.
• WTO Inc.
• Zebra Skimmers Corp.
• ZPS America, LLC

Many thanks to AMT and all the exhibitors throughout IMTS and the Career Development Center who made this year’s Student Summit our best to date.  We simply could not have accomplished this without your contribution and we hope to see you again at IMTS 2012, where we already plan to offer a bigger, better Summit that will continue to inspire young metalworking students to a prosperous career in manufacturing.