Thank you to our Sponsors:
NextGen Manufacturing AI Summit
NOV 12TH | DOUBLETREE DOWNERS GROVE, IL | 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Save Your Spot 
Real Applications. Real Manufacturers. Real Impact.
Join fellow manufacturing leaders at the 2026 NextGen Manufacturing AI Summit to discover real AI applications delivering measurable results in Illinois today.
You will hear honest, first-hand accounts from manufacturers as they share how they successfully applied technology to solve challenges in your operations.
Whether you are taking the first step or enhancing your operations, you will leave with the connections and guidance needed to lead your team toward a more productive future.
*This event is intended for manufacturers. Non-manufacturers may participate by becoming sponsors.
What to Expect:
Manufacturers on Stage
Hear directly from your peers about the successes and challenges they faced while putting technology to work in operations, quality, and safety.
Exhibitor Showcase
Connect with specialized partners to identify the right AI tools that will work for your facility and get answers to your most pressing questions.
Connect and Lead
Network with a community of innovators to identify your next steps and build a personalized roadmap for success.
Opening Keynote Tim Dickson | Regal Rexnord
Kick off the NextGen Manufacturing AI Summit with Tim Dickson, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Regal Rexnord. A proven leader in digital transformation and AI-driven innovation, Tim leads the company’s global digital and IT strategy, advancing technology, data, and AI to drive growth and elevate customer experiences. With leadership experience at Generac Power Systems, Motorola Solutions, and Dell Technologies, Tim has guided large-scale modernization and emerging technology initiatives throughout his career. His opening keynote will bring valuable perspective on harnessing AI, developing digital talent, and building the capabilities manufacturers need to compete and lead in the future.
Closing Keynote Erin Ramirez | Real Change Studio
Erin Ramirez is the Founder & CEO of Real Change Studio, where she helps leaders and organizations build the adaptability to navigate change, make faster decisions, and keep moving when the path forward is unclear. An organizational scientist, executive coach, keynote speaker, and certified AQ practitioner, Erin has worked extensively with leaders in manufacturing, engineering, technology, nonprofits and other complex operational environments. Her work focuses on the human side of change: helping leaders challenge assumptions, expand options, bring people with them, and turn big ideas into practical next steps that can actually work on the ground.
Agenda
Start by checking in at the lobby, enjoying breakfast in the Atrium Grove, and visiting the Expo Room for interactive demonstrations described below.
Humanoid Robotics in Action
Live interactive demonstration of "Skye," an AI-powered humanoid robot built by Metropolis Robotics.
Extended Reality (AR/VR) Shop-Floor Simulation
Interactive AR headset testing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Parasol Lab (ERUPT Project).
Live Quality Inspection Vision AI
Hands-on visual defect inspection and AI model training demonstration by BCD iLabs.
Head to the Grand Ballroom to hear opening remarks from Michael Cabonargi (President & CEO, IMEC), Paul Tedford (CEO, WM Synergy), Eric Lin (Acting Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services, NIST MEP).
How People, Data, Copilots and AI Agents are Transforming the Industrial Enterprise
Presenter: Tim Dickson (Chief Digital and Information Officer, Regal Rexnord)
Room: Grand Ballroom
Facilitator: Maddie Prasun (Data & AI Specialist, IMEC)
Panelists: Robert Sieger (Carus LLC), Jeremy Dawson (Dawson Fabrication), and Luis Mar-Silva (World’s Finest Chocolate)
Room: Grand Ballroom
Hear directly from Illinois manufacturers putting AI to work across their businesses and seeing tangible results. This panel will explore real-world applications ranging from shop-floor productivity and automation to data governance, safety, training, and business operations. Panelists will share their AI journeys, the challenges they’ve encountered, and the practical lessons they’ve learned as they move from experimentation toward broader adoption.
Take some time to explore the Expo Room and experience the power of AI technology firsthand during interactive demonstrations.
Humanoid Robotics in Action
Live interactive demonstration of "Skye," an AI-powered humanoid robot built by Metropolis Robotics.
Extended Reality (AR/VR) Shop-Floor Simulation
Interactive AR headset testing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Parasol Lab (ERUPT Project).
Live Quality Inspection Vision AI
Hands-on visual defect inspection and AI model training demonstration by BCD iLabs.
During lunch in the Atrium Grove, network with peers using the "challenge card" activity at each table and get the opportunity to explore the Expo Room.
Room: Grand Ballroom
Presenters: Chris Misztur (Founder, MR. IIoT) & Rob Wienhoff (Chicago Coding Systems)
Manufacturers don’t need to start with AI. They need to start by making their machine data visible. This session explores how connecting equipment, including older machines, can give owners and operators the information they need to ask AI practical, everyday questions about performance, troubleshooting, and production. AI can then do the research and legwork while the people on the shop floor remain in control of decisions, capturing what they learn along the way to make the technology increasingly useful over time.
Room: Forum B
Presenter: Michael Bigda (Vice President of Business Development, QX Impact)
Most of the AI conversation in manufacturing focuses on the production floor, yet the decisions that drive margin, like what to reorder, how to staff next week, and why last month missed plan, still run on disconnected systems and spreadsheets. This session shows how small and mid-size manufacturers can unify and clean their CRM, ERP, MES, payroll, and spreadsheet data, then put generative and agentic AI to work through real-world inventory, labor forecasting, and financial analysis agents. Attendees will see how AI expands their team’s capacity rather than replacing it and leave with practical first steps they can take back to the office.
Room: Pine
Presenters: Jason Abrahams (Founder, Next Play Marketing) & Mark James (Performance Advisors Group)
AI can accelerate growth, but when your people and AI tools tell different versions of your company’s story, you risk losing credibility, customer trust, and revenue. This session shows manufacturers how to create a shared source of truth for positioning, capabilities, buyer language, claims, and proof points, then put it to work across sales enablement, RFQ responses, marketing content, and AI search visibility. You’ll leave with a practical approach for combining AI, governance, ownership, and change management so your organization communicates consistently, adopts AI effectively, and turns it into a sustainable growth engine.
Room: Willow
Presenters: Ken Scales (Founder & CEO, Scalesology) & Robert Muller (Director of Programs, Mahoney Environmental)
Most manufacturers do not have an AI problem. They have a data problem that AI made visible. Systems added one at a time do not talk to each other, critical processes still live in spreadsheets, and nobody owns the definitions, so the first real AI question stops the project cold. This is a working session, not a presentation. Ken Scales of Scalesology and Robert Muller of Mahoney Environmental will open with what they ran into, then turn it over to the room. Bring the project that is stuck. You will leave with a short list of what to fix first and in what order.
Room: Grand Ballroom
Presenters: Rizwan Khan (Founder, Fuzzitech) & Paul Connolly (Diesel Forward)
Most manufacturers have experimented with AI, but few have made it part of how the business runs. Fuzzitech and its customer Diesel Forward will share a practical framework for moving from pilot to scale: how to choose a first use case based on data readiness, cost, timeline, and ROI, and how to sustain it with data governance and change management. Diesel Forward will walk through its journey from a demand dashboard to AI-driven forecasting, including the obstacles it overcame along the way.
Room: Forum B
Presenters: Paul Tedford (CEO, WM Synergy) & Kyle Barda (IT & Facility Manager, Modern Process Equipment Corporation)
Before you dive into AI, make sure your systems can support it. Learn how to check your foundation, pick the problems worth solving first, and decide what to buy versus build. Leave with a practical next step for your operation.
Room: Pine
Presenters Jill Golden (Founder, Simple Machines Marketing)
Engineers, buyers, and procurement teams increasingly start supplier research by asking an AI assistant, not by typing keywords into Google. This session explains how these tools actually find and choose sources, including how a single buyer question ‘fans out’ into dozens of sub-queries, and why many manufacturer websites are effectively invisible to them. You’ll leave with a practical checklist your marketing team can start on Monday, no new budget required.
Room: Willow
Presenter: Trevor Bollers (President and Owner, Letter B Global Technologies)
Manufacturers lose valuable time when quoting, production, inventory, shipping, and billing operate as disconnected processes. Where can AI help and what needs to be connected first?
Trevor Bollers of Letter B Global Technologies will open with practical project examples showing how custom ERP functionality, system integration, automation, and AI can work together to improve the flow of information and work across a business. He will share lessons about choosing useful applications, preserving business rules, supporting employee adoption, and keeping people involved in important decisions.
The session will then shift to a facilitated discussion of the challenges manufacturers in the room are facing. Attendees will explore where work gets delayed, which information is missing, and how to identify a manageable first initiative with a clear business outcome.
Room: Grand Ballroom
Presenter: Erin Ramirez (CEO, Real Change Studio)
You hear a lot about what AI can do. The harder question is what you’ll actually do with those possibilities when you get back to work. Erin Ramirez helps leaders turn AI possibilities into practical action by identifying what is worth exploring, challenging the assumptions that can narrow their options, and choosing the next best step they can actually move forward. Attendees will leave with a simple approach they can use across the organization, from the owner’s office to the plant floor, to evaluate ideas and bring others along.
End the day exploring the Expo Room and experiencing the power of AI technology firsthand during interactive demonstrations.
Humanoid Robotics in Action
Live interactive demonstration of "Skye," an AI-powered humanoid robot built by Metropolis Robotics.
Extended Reality (AR/VR) Shop-Floor Simulation
Interactive AR headset testing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Parasol Lab (ERUPT Project).
Live Quality Inspection Vision AI
Hands-on visual defect inspection and AI model training demonstration by BCD iLabs.
AI Innovations Lab
CTS Complete / New Charter Technologies is offering self-scheduled 10-minute 1-on-1 consultations directly out of their atrium exhibit table.
Why Sponsor NextGen?
Position your brand at the forefront of AI-driven innovation in manufacturing.
• Targeted Visibility
Audience of manufacturing leaders, tech decision-makers, and innovation champions
• Hands-On Exposure
Live demos and exhibitor showcases give attendees tactile,
real-time experiences with your technology and services
• Brand Recognition
Enjoy pre and post-event promotion, on-site signage, and
inclusion in event marketing materials.
Sponsorship Levels
Reach out to IMEC at outreach@imec.org with questions or interest. Sponsor deadline is November 4, 2026.
- • “Summit presented by...” recognition where appropriate
- • Platinum logo treatment across key event materials
- • Prime exhibit location or first choice of booth placement
- • 3–5-minute welcome message during the morning general session
- • Full-page ad in printed booklet and digital slide presentation
- • Prerecorded video played at the event
- • Prominent signage and sponsor slides
- • Webpage and email recognition, plus a social media ‘Thank You’ post
- • Access to attendance list with full contact info
- • 4 complimentary registrations
- • Prime exhibit placement immediately after the Platinum Sponsor or second choice of booth placement
- • Diamond logo treatment across key event materials
- • Half-page ad in printed booklet and digital ad
- • Recognition in opening slides
- • Social media ‘Thank You’ post
- • Access to attendance list with company names included
- • 3 complimentary registrations
- • Optional role introducing a speaker or breakout session
- • Exhibitor table
- • Gold logo treatment across key event materials
- • Quarter-page ad in printed booklet and digital ad
- • Recognition on general session slides
- • Website recognition and social media ‘Thank You’ post
- • Access to attendance list with company names included
- • 2 complimentary registrations
- • Exhibitor table
- • Company logo or name on the event webpage and expo signage
- • Company listing in the booklet
- • 2 complimentary registrations
- • Supporting logo treatment across key event materials and website
- • Recognition on general session slides
- • One exclusive sponsor
- • “Lunch sponsored by...” signage
- • Verbal recognition immediately before lunch
- • Logo on buffet and table signage
- • Elevated logo treatment in event materials and website
- • Optional branded table tents or napkins supplied by the sponsor
- • 4 complimentary registrations
- • One exclusive sponsor
- • Atrium breakfast signage and recognition
- • Logo on breakfast-related materials
- • Website and booklet recognition
- • 2 complimentary registrations