AGMA President Matthew Croson Explains How New Show Was Put in Motion
Is it accurate to say that this show will present A-to-Z supply chain providers for the fluid power, mechanical power transmission, and electric drives industry?
The goal of the Motion + Power Technology Expo is to give attendees the complete supply chain. For the upstream buyers, the show will feature forging companies, machine tool manufacturers and heat treat companies. For downstream buyers, the show will feature open gear companies, gearboxes, mechanical power transmission components, fluid power systems, electric drives and also hybrid systems involving multiple technologies.
The overlying concept the AGMA board approved is to evolve the show and position AGMA’s tradeshow at the center of all aspects of power transmission, as the industry has evolved.
Was there an ah-hah moment that the NFPA and AGMA decided to partner for this show?
There was. After several meetings with their leadership, and sharing ideas, they recognized that we are a horizontal power transmission show serving a wide variety of markets — and felt like it was a good opportunity to add value to their membership by partnering in a new way.
The technical reality is that our joint end user customers are looking for power transmission solutions, including gears/mechanical solutions, fluid power and electric drive. They recognized that shift, and are supporting the partnership by engaging in a 5,000-square-foot pavilion.
What benefits do you expect to derive from the partnership?
Motion + Power Technology will always focus on growing sales leads for our exhibitors, just like Gear Expo did. In fact, we expect more leads for our long time exhibitors as we draw more customers into the show, where they can have conversations with new customers and showcase their approach to solving power transmission issues.
Can we expect this to be a permanent partnership going forward?
Association partnerships are an important aspect of solving industry challenges. We work with the Bearings association (ABMA) on our Annual Meeting, ASM International for the show for more than 10 years now, and having NFPA being a partner feels comfortable and makes sense for the AGMA Board strategically.
What we have right now are three leading organizations working together to add value to the members and exhibitors we have, by creating a comprehensive showcase of power transmission innovation.
We expect to be focused on this value “permanently” and will work with any association that wants to collaborate with AGMA to grow power transmission solutions.
Have to ask — have any past exhibitors dropped out over this partnership?
Our exhibit sales are outpacing 2017 by 10% and that doesn’t include the additional NFPA pavilion. We have discussed this effort as being a three-show cycle in order to achieve the vision and haven’t had any drops due to the evolution. But companies do drop from shows for other reasons, and we always experience that. From a technical perspective, our show committee and board leadership believe firmly that AGMA needs to be at the center of all aspects of the power transmission world, and forward-looking companies will want to work with us to make the show as strong as possible.
Machine tool companies should be thrilled with the change, because it ensures more gear company attendance; same with forging companies and heat treat suppliers.
Open gear companies and systems companies should be happy because it allows them to have deeper conversations with customers they may not have known or met.
Gear companies, electric drive and fluid power exhibitors will appreciate that everyone coming to this show is focused on one thing: power transmission innovation.
Is there growth potential for future shows?
Yes. With a complex supply chain such as ours, there are always opportunities to grow. But our key differentiator is not size — it’s technical understanding.
Our exhibitors aren’t always looking for volume — this isn’t a show with 150,000 tire kickers looking at anything and everything. The 5,000–6,000 attendees we get are focused on one thing: power transmission. And they want to speak to engineers who can “get it done.” If we get the right exhibitor base, more customers come. And when more customers come, more exhibitors want to be a part of it — and growth happens.
This is the virtuous cycle any show wants to create — and again — AGMA’s Board has been clear: they want AGMA at the center of power transmission innovation, and this show evolution is one strategy to help secure that position.
Do NFPA and AGMA have any other partnerships in the works?
Yes. We are partnering with NFPA on their Industry and Economic Outlook Conference (IEOC). This will give AGMA members an opportunity to hear from more than a dozen of the leading manufacturing economists providing forecasts on their customer’s markets, as well as the latest Gear Market Forecast from IHS Markit. The conference is extremely well-regarded by attendees, and several AGMA members had suggested that we partner with NFPA on this effort. Members of AGMA’s Market Intelligence Committee attended the conference last year, and recommended that we fold our Marketing & Forecasting conference into NFPA’s event — which we will do for the first time this summer.
Change is our only constant — and we think the show evolution, and the new partnerships with NFPA, and others — are keys to making sure we keep up with the changes and ensure AGMA is relevant for the next 100 years. 
Want to know more? Go to motionpowerexpo.com/access-trade-show-webinar to view a webinar hosted by NFPA president and CEO Eric Lanke and AGMA president Matthew Croson. This informative presentation talks about, among other things, the genesis of the AGMA-NFPA partnership and about what you can expect to experience at MPT Expo.
