ProMat 2023: What to See and Do in Chicago

February may be Super Bowl time for football fans, but in the manufacturing and supply chain world, our Super Bowl is in March with ProMat 2023 in Chicago, IL. Close to 50,000 people will attend this all important trade show from March 20th to the 23rd to see the latest and greatest innovations from over 1,000 vendors. 

While you’re at ProMat, we know you’ll be busy checking out the booths, presentations, and demos, but you’ll also have to eat and should explore the sites. Don’t miss out on these top Chicago restaurants and attractions around the educational fun that ProMat has to offer.

Start Here at ProMat

First, stop by our booth #S2303. You’ll get to see our bots – Locus Origin, Vector, and Max – live and in action, and learn how we’re redefining warehouse automation. We’ll help you move what matters in your warehouse, whether you have 100 bots in 25,000 square feet or 1,000 bots in 1 million square feet. 

At our booth, enter our Passport to Bots scavenger hunt by picking up a map of participating booths. Visit at least five partner booths and collect a stamp on your convention badge. Attend a live demo and collect a final stamp at the Locus booth. There are five great prizes to win, including an Apple iPad 9, two Samsung Galaxy smartwatches, Beats wireless headphones, and a JBL wireless speaker.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we’ll be hosting The Happiest Hour at our booth from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Unwind from the day and join us and the bots (they won’t be drinking) for a drink or two!

ProMat 2023 Keynotes and Presentations 

ProMat offers information and education about all things supply chain. Make sure you have these presentations in your schedule. 

• Women in the Supply Chain keynote (March 20th at 8:45 a.m.)
• Automating Today’s Warehouse for Tomorrow (March 20th at 1:30 p.m.)
• I Need to Add Automation. So, Now What? (March 20th at 3:30 p.m.)
• 2023 Annual Industry Report (March 22nd at 8:45 a.m.)
• TRG (The Robotics Group) of MHI presents: Integrating in Workflows (March 22nd at 2:15 p.m.)

Where to Eat in Chicago at ProMat

ProMat will have the ProMat Bistro on site for lunch and networking, but you should try to  venture outside the conference center, and there are plenty of options. My colleagues offered up these delectable suggestions, listed in alphabetical order: 

Au Cheval / Small Cheval — The Cheval burger is legendary, maybe my favorite part of Promat ’17.

Bari — Easily the best Italian sub I’ve ever had, plus they bake the bread next door.

Billy Goat Tavern – This is world-renowned as being the real-world inspiration for the classic SNL "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger" sketch with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd

Doughnut Vault – Opens at 7:30AM, and is often sold out in less than an hour. Worth it. 

Giordano’s - Simply amazing pizza. 

Lao Sze Chuan — Excellent and pretty authentic Szechuan food, plus the Chinatown location is walking distance from McCormick.

Pequods Pizza — If you want to truly understand Chicago-style deep dish pizza, this is where you want to go.

Portillo’s — Everyone in Chicago has their favorite hole in the wall place for an Italian beef or a Chicago dog, but they do it as well as anybody and are much more accessible to tourists. Also don’t sleep on the chopped salad or the chocolate cake shake.

The Publican — Just delicious.

Rubi’s Tacos — Chicago has some of the best Mexican food anywhere in the country (yes that includes the border states) — almost any utility-Mexican place is going to be great, but Rubi’s is special.

What to See

A trip to Chicago wouldn’t be complete without a picture of the Bean, but there’s more to Chicago to see. 

Field Museum – Stop by and see SUE the T-Rex up close. 

Museum of Science and Industry — From tornados to Tesla coils, ancient boats to futuristic bots—the interactive and award-winning exhibits at MSI bring science to life for guests of all ages.

Riverwalk – The Chicago River probably won’t still be green, but it’s still a sight to see and explore. 

Shedd Aquarium – Belugas, penguins, sea otters, and more await you. 

See you at ProMat! 

We’ll see you in Chicago next week. See our LocusBots in action! Visit us at booth #S2303 and book your demo here.