Starting in 2022, Pittsburgh will be the new host of this global manufacturing summit

Pittsburgh will be a new global destination for the manufacturing industry.

At the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit (GMIS) in Dubai last week, it was announced that Pittsburgh would be the new host of the annual GMIS-America summit, starting next year.

As shared by Simin Curtis, the CEO and founder of the Pittsburgh-headquartered American Middle East Institute, the conference will bring together policymakers and manufacturing industry experts alike, with a focus on the use of advanced technology like artificial intelligence, robotics and more in the near future.

There are plans for Pittsburgh to host the GMIS-America into the foreseeable future, further cementing the city as a hub for conversations and technology around advanced manufacturing innovation.

#GMISAmerica, coming to #Pittsburgh in 2022. pic.twitter.com/1iVzt4o3qf

— Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (@GMISummit) November 23, 2021

Gov. Tom Wolf joined the event virtually, sharing the significance of this news for both the Pittsburgh region and Pennsylvania in general.

“The mission of the GMIS and Pittsburgh’s unique ecosystem align seamlessly, so it’s an honor to announce that the city will not only host next year’s summit but also establish a long-term, collaborative partnership with GMIS,” he said. “Pittsburgh is a city with an incredible history that continues to reinvent itself, and my administration is committed to fueling its growth and transformation — bringing new opportunities to both western Pennsylvania and the commonwealth as a whole.”

Though the announcement doesn’t necessarily mean more tech companies will flock to Pittsburgh, it will draw attention to the city’s talent and expertise in those industries beyond the strength of its autonomous vehicle industry. The announcement also comes on the tails of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network’s declaration of the city as the robotics capital of the world this summer, and is likely the fruit of some of those efforts. And even before that declaration, the Richard King Mellon Foundation announced a historic grant to Carnegie Mellon University to help fund a robotics innovation center and advanced materials and manufacturing institute at growing tech hub Hazelwood Green, which is already home to the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute.

Beyond some of those high points for the local industry in the last year, Pittsburgh Technology Council President and CEO Audrey Russo (who was also a panelist for the AMEI at this year’s GMIS) pointed out that Pittsburgh continues to grow as a central point for all things tech.

“If you want to build anything — anything — southwestern Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh is the place to be,” she said in a prepared statement. “It’s access and connectivity. You won’t find it anywhere else.”

Sophie Burkholder is a 2021-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.