What AeroOne and IMTS 2026 Revealed About the State of Manufacturing

Trade show season delivers a flood of announcements, but manufacturers need to know which signals actually point to where the industry is heading. Two back-to-back events this fall offered an unusually clear read on aerospace demand and technology priorities. In this special episode, host Michael Thiessen recaps AeroOne 2026, hosted by the Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan (AIAM), and IMTS 2026. Michael shares what aerospace leaders from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Aerodynamic Advisory said about record backlogs, cybersecurity, critical minerals and workforce development, and why mold and die shops are finding success in aerospace and defense work. He then walks through what IMTS visitors were asking about most, including AI, CAD/CAM, MES, automation, simulation, digital twins and reverse engineering, plus highlights from the Tebis booth and machine hall partners. Whether you're a shop owner, CAM programmer, manufacturing engineer or plant manager weighing a move into aerospace or evaluating automation and software investments, this episode offers a firsthand look at where the industry is heading. It also follows up on the IMTS preview conversation with John Kowalczyk, President of Tebis America. In this episode: 00:00 – Introduction: A solo recap after two busy months 02:46 – AeroOne 2026: Aerospace leaders take the pulse of the industry 05:45 – How mold and die shops are diversifying into aerospace and defense 06:48 – Keynote takeaways: Cybersecurity, critical minerals, workforce and supplier resilience 11:29 – What aerospace manufacturers need: Simulation, tight tolerances and surface finish 15:02 – IMTS 2026 by the numbers 16:37 – What visitors asked about: AI, CAD/CAM, MES and automation 19:33 – Inside the Tebis booth: Porsche scale model, Next 40, Tebis OS and SmartOps 22:17 – Automation readiness tool and live aerospace machining with machine tool partners Click here (https://allaxis.buzzsprout.com/183770...) to hear the IMTS preview conversation with John Kowalczyk.  Tell us what you think - send us a text message! (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1837702/fa...) Thanks for listening! • Contact us at info@tebisusa.com (mailto:info@tebisusa.com) • Follow us on social media: • LinkedIn: Tebis (https://www.linkedin.com/company/tebi...) • Instagram: tebisamerica (  / tebisamerica  ) • YouTube: tebisamerica (   / @tebisamerica  )