If you were lucky enough to attend Forest City Gear president Kika Young’s presentation at the Solution Center, “The Human Side of Precision: Why Culture & Story Are Your Competitive Edge,” you learned how company culture as well as prioritizing the values, beliefs and behaviors of your staff are key to building a successful organization. What we need more than anything in manufacturing today is to embrace originality, diversity, critical thinking and dare I say a little more humor and humility. Markets fluctuate, egos run amok, it’s criminally underrated to support every member of the organization as each one brings their own story, work ethic, knowledge and unique qualifications to work every day. I’ve watched this play out at FCG since 2007 and it’s no surprise that the company has been so successful for 70+ years in gear manufacturing.

Sure, we live in a data-driven world obsessed with numbers and bottom lines, but there’s so much value to be found in a smaller, more focused trade show environment. 25+ exhibitors I spoke with were thrilled with the quality of sales leads from MPT Expo. Unlike larger events where things can get overwhelming (almost chaotic) the quality of the leads continued to be a talking point during MPT Expo. It’s very rare to find a dedicated event for gear and mechanical power transmission technologies where so much business is not only conducted between exhibitors and attendees but also solely between exhibitors. The focus and relevance of MPT will continue to gain momentum moving forward. The next Motion + Power Technology Expo takes place October 26–28, 2027 in Detroit. We hope to see you there!