IMTS 2026 gave Mass Finishing, Inc. a chance to put our Centrifugal Barrel Finishing Equipment directly in front of manufacturers, engineers, and industry professionals from across the country and around the world. This year, what stood out most was not simply the number of people who visited our booth, but how many took the time to stop, ask questions, look closely at the machines, and talk with our team about their own finishing challenges.
More Than a Walk-By
Trade shows can be busy places. And with thousands of exhibitors and attendees competing for attention, it is easy for visitors to walk past a booth without stopping. We noticed something different at IMTS this year: The people who came into our booth seemed genuinely interested in what our machines could do.
Our HZ-85 was running real parts throughout the show, giving attendees the opportunity to see centrifugal barrel finishing in action rather than simply looking at equipment sitting on a display floor. Visitors also had the opportunity to speak directly with members of our test lab team. Bobby Emmer, Senior Applications Engineer, and Nick Kubasch, Finishing Process Technician, were both in the booth running the machines and discussing different finishing options with visitors. Their hands-on experience gave attendees the opportunity to ask practical questions about their own applications. This included what types of media and compounds may work for their parts, what kind of finish they could expect, and how different process variables can affect the final result.
Visitors Put Their Own Parts to the Test
One of the most interesting parts of the show was seeing visitors bring their own parts into the conversation. In some cases, that conversation went a step further. A few attendees actually brought parts with them and decided to put them into the HZ-85 for a quick test run.
Using corn cob media for just a few minutes, we were able to demonstrate how even a short finishing cycle could produce minor but noticeable changes to the parts. While a few minutes in a trade show demonstration is certainly not a complete finishing process, it was a great way to show visitors how their own parts could respond to mass finishing.
It also opened the door to a much more valuable conversation: what could be accomplished with the right media, compound, cycle time, machine, and process developed specifically for their application? Rather than asking customers to guess which recipe will work, our team can test their actual parts at our facility in Howard Lake, Minnesota. The goal is to develop a repeatable finishing process before the equipment arrives at their facility.
A Strong Booth Presence From MFI, Jorgensen, and ALMCO
This year’s booth also brought together three companies with complementary capabilities under one space. Mass Finishing, Inc. showcased our centrifugal barrel finishing equipment, including the HZ-40 and HZ-85.
Jorgensen Conveyor and Filtration Solutions showcased its conveyor and filtration solutions, giving visitors the opportunity to learn more about equipment used to move, handle, and filter materials within manufacturing environments.
ALMCO, another sister company, brought its expertise in industrial finishing equipment and solutions to the booth as well.
Having all three companies together created opportunities for conversations that went beyond a single piece of equipment. Visitors could talk with our teams about different stages of their manufacturing processes and learn how the capabilities of each company could fit into their operations.
Thank You to Everyone Who Stopped By
IMTS is a major undertaking, and we are grateful to everyone who took the time to visit Booth #338009!
Thank you to the manufacturers who brought questions. The engineers who brought parts. The customers who stopped in to say hello. The industry publications who interviewed our team. And everyone who took a few minutes to learn more about Mass Finishing.
Most importantly, if you stopped by our booth with a part or a finishing challenge and didn’t have time to discuss it in depth, the conversation does not have to end with IMTS. Send your parts to our test lab! Our team can evaluate your application, test different finishing approaches, and help determine the right combination of machine, media, compound, and process for your parts. IMTS may be over, but the finishing work continues!