# Going to IMTS 2026? 7 Tips for Machine Shop Owners | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E158

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-6617786/going-to-imts-2026-7-tips-for-machine-shop-owners-lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-e158
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-6617786/going-to-imts-2026-7-tips-for-machine-shop-owners-lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-e158.md
Podcast: [Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom](https://stenobird.com/podcast/lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-6617786)
Published: 2026-08-10T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/0263672b
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/0263672b/07f85b3a.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-6617786/episodes/going-to-imts-2026-7-tips-for-machine-shop-owners-lean-built-manufacturing-freedom-e158
Duration seconds: 2744

## Resource

If you’re heading to IMTS 2026, don’t spend three days wandering around looking at machines you could have watched on YouTube. In this episode, Andrew and Jay share their best advice for machine shop owners who want to get real value out of IMTS, from crafting a better elevator pitch and making the right connections to finding hidden capacity gains in the tooling, workholding, and processes surrounding the machines you already own. They talk about why you should guard your time at booths, meet the technical people behind the sales teams, use your phone as an external memory, network with other shop owners, and debrief every night before valuable contacts and ideas disappear. Plus: free dinners, IMTS transportation hacks, CMM shopping, and where you can find Andrew and Jay at the show.

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## Transcript

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