ProMat and Automate 2027: the spring plan for material handling and automation

ProMat 2027 runs April 19 to 21 in Chicago, and Automate 2027 runs May 10 to 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The gap from ProMat’s last day to Automate’s first is 19 days. For a material handling, robotics or controls company, the two shows reach overlapping buyers, and the integrators and distributors who carry your product into those buyers’ plants can be found at both.

Plan them as one campaign. Build one target account list, one demo story and one meeting calendar, and treat ProMat as the place to line up the integrator and distributor conversations that turn into end-user meetings at Automate. Two separate show plans, written by two people, split the budget and the follow-up.

ProMat 2027: dates, size and what is new

ProMat is MHI’s manufacturing and supply chain show. It runs in odd years and MODEX in even years, so MODEX is off in 2027; the next MODEX is April 3 to 5, 2028, in Atlanta, per modexshow.com. Our piece on the big shows taking 2027 off covers the rest of the gap year. For 2027, ProMat lists “more than 1,200 exhibits, 200 educational sessions and three keynotes,” and registration is free.

For the last ProMat, in March 2025 at McCormick Place, the trade publication Modern Materials Handling reported 52,223 registrations and 1,160 exhibitors; those figures are MMH’s secondary reporting, not MHI’s. The 2027 show returns to Chicago’s McCormick Place, per ProMat’s 2027 exhibitor brochure, which also sets hall hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days.

The 2027 program opens Monday, April 19, with a keynote panel on the 2027 MHI Annual Industry Report, and MHI Industry Night is Tuesday, April 20. The show site also lists a StartUp Pavilion, bookable meeting rooms and networking events. The meeting rooms matter for this plan, because they are where a distributor sales manager will actually sit down for 30 minutes.

Automate 2027: dates, size and what is new

Automate is run by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). The 2027 show is May 10 to 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with “1,200+ exhibitors, 300+ expert speakers” and free show registration. The site lists a Humanoid Robot Forum, an Education Pavilion, training and certifications, three stages and the Engelberger Awards. As of Oct. 26, 2026, its 2027 call for speakers was open.

Automate 2026, held June 22 to 25 at McCormick Place, drew more than 50,000 registrants and 1,230 exhibitors on 425,000 square feet, according to A3’s July 7, 2026 post-show release.

	ProMat 2027	Automate 2027
Dates	April 19 to 21	May 10 to 13
City and venue	McCormick Place, Chicago	Las Vegas Convention Center
Organizer	MHI	A3
Size listed for 2027	1,200+ exhibits, 200 sessions, three keynotes	1,200+ exhibitors, 300+ speakers
Last edition	2025: 52,223 registrations, 1,160 exhibitors (Modern Materials Handling, secondary report)	2026: 50,000+ registrants, 1,230 exhibitors (A3 release)
Registration	Free	Free
The year after	MODEX returns, April 3 to 5, 2028, Atlanta	Annual

Two spring shows, 19 days apart. Source: promatshow.com and the ProMat 2027 exhibitor brochure, modexshow.com and automateshow.com, read Oct. 26, 2026; Modern Materials Handling, March 25, 2025; A3 release, July 7, 2026.

Why run ProMat and Automate 2027 as one campaign

The buyers overlap more than the show names suggest. A distribution center automation project needs conveyors and storage from the ProMat floor and robots, vision and controls from the Automate floor. Plant engineers and operations leaders shopping for either often bring an integrator, and many mid-size suppliers sell through integrators or distributors anyway; our piece on marketing through system integrators covers what makes one recommend your product.

That gives the two shows different jobs.

ProMat is for the channel and the shortlist. Use it to meet integrators and distributors who already serve the accounts on your list, and to get onto end users’ shortlists while they walk the material handling side of a project.

Automate is for the end-user meeting. Use it for the demo and technical conversation with the plant team, ideally with the integrator in the room, booked at ProMat.

If you only exhibit at one, exhibit where your product category sits and walk the other with a meeting list. A booth is not required to hold 15 good meetings.

The combined plan, November 2026 to May 2027

The plan starts the week of Nov. 2, 2026, 24 weeks before ProMat opens, and runs through follow-up on May 28. The decisions and the list come before the holidays, so January can go to the story and the meetings.

Nov. 2 to Dec. 18, 2026: decide and build the list

• Decide booth, meeting room or walk-only for each show. Check the exhibit pages (ProMat, Automate) for remaining space; neither page listed exhibitor deadlines on Oct. 26, 2026. If you are weighing a booth, our booth cost breakdown has Automate’s 2027 rates.
• Build one target list of 50 to 100 accounts: open opportunities, installed-base customers due for expansion, and named prospects.
• For each account, name the integrator or distributor most likely to be involved.

Jan. 4 to Feb. 5, 2027: write the story once

• One demo story that works on both floors: the problem, the before-and-after numbers from a real installation, and what the buyer needs to decide.
• One leave-behind and one landing page, used for both shows, with a form that books a meeting instead of a “learn more” button.
• Brief sales and reps on the two-show sequence.

Feb. 8 to April 9: book ProMat meetings

• Invite integrators and distributors first; ask each for the two or three end users they would bring to Automate.
• Invite end users second, offering both shows so they pick the one they will attend.
• Book meeting rooms at ProMat if you are not exhibiting.

April 19 to 21: ProMat

• Every meeting ends with a specific next step dated for Automate week or the week after.
• Capture each conversation in the CRM the same day, tagged to the campaign.

April 22 to May 7: the 19-day bridge

• Send the first follow-ups within two business days, on the method in our trade show ROI worksheet.
• Confirm Automate meetings with the integrator copied.
• Adjust the demo for anything ProMat visitors kept asking about.

May 10 to 13: Automate

• Run the booked end-user meetings and demos first; treat walk-up traffic as a bonus.

May 14 to 28: close the loop

• Follow up within a week, then report one number for the whole campaign: qualified opportunities created from the target list, with pipeline value. That figure decides the 2028 budget, when MODEX returns.

1. Nov. 2 to Dec. 18, 2026

   Decide booth, meeting room or walk-only; build one target list of 50 to 100 accounts

2. Jan. 4 to Feb. 5, 2027

   Write one demo story, one leave-behind and one landing page

3. Feb. 8 to April 9

   Book ProMat meetings: integrators and distributors first, then end users

4. April 19 to 21

   ProMat, Chicago

5. April 19 to 22

   Conflict: Smart Manufacturing Week, Detroit (expo April 21 to 22)

6. April 21 to 23

   Conflict: ISA27, Indianapolis

7. April 22 to May 7

   The 19-day bridge: follow up within two business days; confirm Automate meetings with the integrator copied

8. May 10 to 13

   Automate, Las Vegas

9. May 11 to 13

   Conflict: EASTEC, West Springfield, Mass.

10. May 12 to 13

    Conflict: Design-2-Part, Schaumburg, Ill.

11. May 14 to 28

    Close the loop: report qualified opportunities from the target list, with pipeline value

The conflicts are the shows most likely to pull the same people away. Source: Organizer sites, read Oct. 26, 2026; our plan.

Scheduling conflicts to know about

Spring 2027 is crowded, and several shows compete for the same people; our 2027 manufacturing trade show calendar has the full spring list. From organizer sites, read on Oct. 26, 2026:

• Smart Manufacturing Week runs April 19 to 22 in Detroit (expo April 21 to 22), on top of ProMat.
• ISA27, the Industrial Supply Association convention, runs April 21 to 23 in Indianapolis, overlapping ProMat’s last day. It is built around distributor and manufacturer meetings, including Distributor Speed Connect and Manufacturer + IMR Connections. Companies that sell through industrial distributors may need to split the team.
• Automate week overlaps EASTEC (May 11 to 13, West Springfield, Mass.) and the Design-2-Part stop in Schaumburg, Ill. (May 12 to 13), per mtseries.com and d2p.com.

In your industry

Material handling and industrial machinery

ProMat is your main event in 2027. Put the booth there, and treat Automate as a meeting-only trip unless your product is the robot or the controls.

Automation and industrial tech

Automate is your booth. Walk ProMat with an integrator-heavy meeting list, since that is where the material handling half of each project gets specified.

Industrial distribution

Decide early between ProMat’s last day and ISA27. If your manufacturers exhibit at ProMat, ISA27 may be the better use of the week for line reviews and new suppliers.

What to do Monday

1. Put both shows and the 19-day bridge on one calendar, with one owner.
2. Pull your open opportunities and top installed-base accounts into a single target list and add the integrator or distributor for each.
3. Choose booth, meeting room or walk-only for each show by Dec. 18, 2026.
4. Draft the one-page demo story with real numbers from one installation, and get the customer’s approval to use them.