Need a Reason to Go to Automation Fair 2019 in Chicago? Here’s Five!

October, 22, 2019

By Mario Martin

Just picture it, Chicago in November…

The frost is in the air, you can see your breath as you step out onto Michigan Avenue and see the glowing holiday decorations. Yet, surrounded by the allure of the fall colors in Chicago, one thing remains top of mind for professionals in the automation industry – Automation Fair.

But with travel budgets to consider, why travel to Chicago, Illinois, U.S. to attend Automation Fair from November 20-21 this year? Here are a few reasons to brave the Midwest weather for the Windy City:

Automation Fair is an industrial and technology expo– although we do get so have some fun, like watching our friends from FIRST show off their STEM skills, as well as meeting our You Make It Challenge finalists. Still, our event is a serious professional development opportunity, with more than 130 forums, hands-on labs and technical sessions. You could easily spend the entire two days hearing industry professionals present cutting-edge use cases and taking copious notes in interactive sessions.

When you get back to the plant or office, you’ll have months’ worth of lunch-and-learns to train up your team. You can also earn Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for yourself. After Automation Fair, you can apply your new expertise and skillset to help your company achieve faster time-to-market, lower your total cost of ownership and improve your enterprise risk management. You know, all those good things that lead to raises and promotions.

It’s not just Rockwell Automation.Automation Fair is many things Rockwell Automation, but more than 100 of our system integrator, OEM, complementary product and strategic alliance partners are attending and exhibiting. They are staffing booths with their newest innovations and presenting projects that brought quantifiable results for their customers. You can learn what they do, how they do it, and see how it all connects with the latest control, power and information technologies in the industrial automation space.

The networking is epic.Last year more than 11,000 people attended Automation Fair in Philadelphia, and countless informal conversations took place between professionals just like you. Yes, you’ll learn a lot in tech sessions and labs, but the connections you can make with industry peers are equally valuable.

You can walk away from Automation Fair with your LinkedIn profile exploding with new connections. And you never know who you might end up sitting next to at lunch, it could be a system integrator ideal for your next project or a member of the press curious to know more about your business.

Speaking of lunch…did you know lunch is free? Overall, Automation Fair is a pretty cheap trip. There are plenty of hotels near McCormick Place, and Chicago is a hub for major airline carriers, so it’s likely you can score an affordable direct flight. So, book early!

Unlike some events that drag on for a week, Automation Fair is a lean, tight two days. You can easily be back in the office or plant by the end of the week.

Getting away from work can be tough…and even when you’re traveling, it often follows. That’s not a problem with Automation Fair. The programming is broad and flexible enough that if you need to take an hour two for business, you can configure your schedule to make it work.

Plan your days before setting your out of office message so you can make good use of your time – the sessions are organized by track or you can review the offerings by industry with our Ideal Day Planners tool.

Run through our Automation Fair web page and check out the resources to help you get to the premier technology exhibit and educational event for industrial automation.

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