Everything You’ll Need To “Create What’s Next” At Automation Fair 2025
- June 3, 2025
- Best Practices
- Automation
How can the biggest automation event of the year get even bigger? This November 17-20, Automation Fair is coming to Chicago for a four-day event to showcase the new and trending automation solutions that will Create What’s Next. How will this year’s Automation Fair be different from past years? What new experiences will you find? Here are six things you should know to maximize your experience at Automation Fair 2025.
1. EXPERIENCE TWO EVENTS IN ONE FOR MORE VARIETY AND LESS TRAVEL
In the past, attending the four-day ROKLive (formerly known as Tech Ed) event and the two-day Automation Fair required traveling to two different cities at different times of the year. Now, everything is centralized at the same time, so attendees can experience the best of both worlds. Whether you are an executive looking for thought leadership, a technical specialist looking for professional development hour (PDH) credits or someone who is brand new to automation, Automation Fair has inspiration, training, experiences and connection opportunities to help you create what’s next.
2. GET MORE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOUR CREDITS
Now that Automation Fair expanded to four full days of programming, attendees have more access to training sessions and hands-on labs. The Automation Fair schedule will follow an ABAB format, so if you can’t make it to a training on Monday, you can attend when it’s offered again on Wednesday (same for Tuesday and Thursday).
There are two levels of training you can access depending on whether you purchase a General Access Pass or the Advanced Training Pass. The General Access Pass provides access to Keynote Sessions, Industry Forums, New Product Introductions and Introductory Hands-on labs—similar to Automation Fair in past years. This pass also includes access to offsite tours and summits.
The advanced training pass will be a similar experience to ROKLive (or Tech Ed). You will get in-depth technical training and hands-on labs led by product and technology experts, which earn you PDH credits. Plus, you still get access to all the opportunities included in the General Access Pass.
3. NAVIGATE THE EXPO FLOOR EASILY WITH GUIDED TOURS
The Automation Fair Expo Floor will be open for three days during the event. With 500,000 square feet of floor space filled 120+ exhibits, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get to everything you want to see in that time. That’s why Automation Fair added expo tours to the experience.
Whether you’re a rookie to the Expo floor or simply want a more organized, curated look into what is new, joining a guided tour will give you a more efficient Expo experience that’s easier to navigate.
4. SEE REAL WORLD AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS WITH OFFSITE TOURS
If the Expo isn’t enough, you can see the automation solutions Rockwell customers are using in real-world applications by joining an offsite tour. On Monday and Tuesday, you can tour Rockwell customer sites to get a first-hand look at the solutions that are making a difference, ask questions and discover new solutions for your operation.
5. JOIN A SUMMIT TO DIVE DEEP INTO A SPECIFIC TOPIC & CONNECT WITH PEERS
If you want a peak Automation Fair experience, you need to make it to a summit. What is a summit? Spend a half day with keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, breakout sessions and opportunities to network with other leaders or people in your field. Summits are a great opportunity to discuss issues with other peers who understand your challenges then add them to your network.
Do you have a particular area you would like to focus on? You can join like-minded individuals and dive deeper into the topics you are most interested in. Some examples from last year include:
- Environmental, social and governance sustainability
- OEM leadership
- Plex MES
- Process Solutions User Group (PSUG)
6. LISTEN IN TO DISCOVERY THEATERS AT THE EXPO
Do you want to hear about case studies, discover new products and dissect some of the most important issues in our industry without leaving the Expo floor? Stop by one of the Discovery Theaters to listen to speakers who have experienced the same challenges you face. It’s not just product information either. You’ll be able to listen or join in tough conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion and discover better ways to attract and retain talent. Learning about the latest products, technology and strategies is important for discovering your potential but so is learning how to make our industry a more inclusive space where everyone can be their best.
HOW TO REGISTER
Will we see you there? Stay tuned for more details on speakers, topics, training, travel packages and more. Make sure you save the date for the event, and we hope to see you there!
By Janell Schmidt, Partner Marketing Manager, Rockwell Automation