Fabtech 2025 - A Show Recap

The Manufacturers Capital team recently attended FABTECH 2025, North America’s largest trade show dedicated to metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing. The event occurs annually and brings together tens of thousands of industry professionals and suppliers to showcase the latest equipment, technology, and innovations in manufacturing.

Our team attends because we finance a lot of the equipment being shown and demonstrated at the event. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet with existing customers, talk to potential customers, learn from equipment dealers and manufacturers, and see the equipment first-hand.

The 2025 show was reported to have the largest footprint in the show’s history, covering more than 850,000 square feet, showcasing over 17,000 suppliers, and attracting nearly 45,000 visitors. One of those visitors was Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who took the opportunity to note that his administration has made critical investments in Illinois, supporting manufacturing.

General Vibe and Sentiment at FABTECH

While walking the show floor, I asked exhibitors and attendees what they thought of the show, the general attitude of the attendees, and the buying activity in the booths. Overall, the comments were quite positive.

• Exhibitors commented that the floor was busy, significantly more so than in 2024 when the show took place in Orlando, during an IMTS year. (IMTS is the International Manufacturing Technology Show, which takes place every other year in Chicago.)
• “Lots of energy” was the way multiple people described the overall vibe of the activity and attitudes of the attendees.
• Many exhibitors felt like buying intent was strong, and I saw several SOLD signs on machines around the hall. One salesman noted that they had made a couple of sales, but that he had provided numerous quotes for equipment. He further commented that, “Only time will tell if those turn into actual sales.”

Equipment and Technology on Display

As expected, AI was a hot topic in many booths. Automation and robotics could be seen throughout the show. There was also a lot of Smart Manufacturing. Smart Manufacturing is a term that has been around for nearly two decades and involves integrating technologies with the Internet of Things (IoT). You could find ample examples of manufacturers demonstrating machine connectivity, and this year, including AI as part of the conversation.

While there were a lot of machines actively working with raw material and cutting, welding, bending, and finishing raw material, there were many booths that also had machines that were not operating and merely being demonstrated with the use of video. While this is most likely a cost-saving technique, it seemed to be more prevalent at this show.

Comparison to Previous Shows

FABTECH is typically larger in attendance, number of exhibitors, and square footage in the non-IMTS years. Whether that’s because there isn’t a closely competing show within a couple of months, or because Chicago is a larger venue than the other cities, the odd-number-year shows perform better.

*2025 final numbers had not been announced when this post was written.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 show was the biggest on record. This is despite ongoing concerns over tariffs, rising raw material costs, and skilled labor shortages.

Hopefully, the success of this year’s show is an indicator of good things to come in the metal manufacturing sector for the next couple of years.

If you attended the show and found a piece of equipment or technology you need to move your manufacturing business forward, let us know. We’ll help you finance it so you can get it operating on your shop floor.

 Watch a very brief recap video showing some of the equipment in operation