Taiwan sent 56 machine tool and parts companies to the big Chicago manufacturing show, chasing orders from aerospace and factory automation buyers — a good sign for Taiwan's industrial exporters.

• 56 Taiwanese firms are showing at IMTS 2026 in Chicago, with 21 grouped in a flagship Taiwan pavilion.
• Aerospace is the hot theme this year, from supersonic jet parts to big turbine machining and 3D-printed metal parts.
• Drones are the other draw, with machines, robots and automation shown as one package from parts to test flights.
• AI and automation run through the whole show — humanoid robots, machine vision, digital twins — driven by North American factories short on workers.
• Taiwan's pitch is its full supply chain and reliable delivery, trying to move buyers from "Made in Taiwan" to working with Taiwan as a manufacturing partner.

Outlook: Expect Taiwanese suppliers to push harder into aerospace and automation work in North America as the labor shortage there keeps pushing factories to buy machines.