SME

SME is a nonprofit manufacturing association founded in 1932 that runs 13 trade shows and conferences between April 2027 and June 2028 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, from the FABTECH metal forming and fabrication show in Chicago to the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show in Toronto. It says 78% of attendees at its events are directly involved in equipment purchase decisions.

Why its shows matter to buyers and exhibitors

If you buy machine tools, automation, welding or 3D printing equipment, an SME show lets you compare suppliers running kit on the floor rather than in a brochure. SME pitches its events at people across manufacturing, with feature areas for new technology, education sessions and networking. For exhibitors, the regional format means you can pick the market closest to your customers: the Manufacturing Technology Series alone covers New England, the Carolinas, Texas and California.

Shows on the current calendar

These are the dates SME lists on its events page as of November 2026.

Show	Dates	City
AeroDef Manufacturing	12 April to 15 April 2027	Detroit, MI
RAPID + TCT	13 April to 15 April 2027	Detroit, MI
Western Manufacturing Technology Show (WMTS)	28 April to 30 April 2027	Edmonton, AB
FABTECH Mexico	4 May to 6 May 2027	Monterrey, Nuevo León
Manufacturing Technology Series EAST	11 May to 13 May 2027	West Springfield, MA
North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC 55)	21 June to 25 June 2027	Corvallis, OR
FABTECH	13 September to 16 September 2027	Chicago, IL
Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS)	27 September to 30 September 2027	Toronto, ON
Manufacturing Technology Series SOUTHEAST	19 October to 21 October 2027	Greenville, SC
Manufacturing Technology Series SOUTHWEST	2 November to 4 November 2027	Dallas, TX
Manufacturing Technology Series WEST	16 November to 18 November 2027	Long Beach, CA
Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show (MMTS)	16 May to 18 May 2028	Montréal, QC
FABTECH Canada	13 June to 15 June 2028	Toronto, ON

Regional shows and partners

The Manufacturing Technology Series brings four long-running regional events, formerly HOUSTEX, EASTEC, SOUTHTEC and WESTEC, under one name, run by SME with AMT, the Association for Manufacturing Technology. Across its four 2025 events the series reports more than 25,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibiting companies on over 550,000 square feet of show floor. In Canada, SME runs CMTS in Toronto every two years, plus shows in Montréal and Edmonton and FABTECH Canada.

Background and offices

SME began in 1932 as the American Society of Tool Engineers, became the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1969 and has used the SME name since 2013. Its history page records its first tool show in 1938 and the launch of FABTECH International in 1981. Alongside events it runs membership, certification, SME Media, the Tooling U-SME training business and the SME Education Foundation. Headquarters are at 1000 Town Center, Suite 1910, Southfield, Michigan, with SME Canada in Markham, Ontario, Tooling U-SME in Cleveland and a further office in Shelton, Connecticut.

Comparable organisers and shows

For manufacturing and supply chain equipment, ProMat at McCormick Place and MODEX in Atlanta are both run by MHI rather than SME. In Europe, HANNOVER MESSE covers industrial technology at the Hannover grounds, and TIMTOS in Taipei focuses on machine tools. Commercial organisers such as Informa Markets and Clarion Events run shows across many sectors, while SME stays with manufacturing. Browse the technology and industry sector, shows in the United States and in Canada, and read our note on how show cycles and moving dates affect planning, since several SME shows run every two years.

Source: sme.org