From Ground Zero to Immersive: Lightstream’s First U.S. Trade Mission at Automate Detroit
Some trips change the game. For us, Automate Show 2025 in Detroit was exactly that. Our very first U.S. trade show — and what a week it turned out to be. It started with a moment of reflection. Before heading to the show floor, we made a stop in New York. We marked a birthday, picked up an extra Apple Vision Pro, and
🚦Day 1 – One Shot, One Opportunity
“Lose Yourself” wasn’t just a soundtrack. It became the mindset.
As we unpacked our gear, assembled our booth, and opened
our first U.S. whitepapers, we were all in. And from the very first visitor, it clicked.
“Cool tech.”
“That’s awesome.”
“This is what we need.”
CabinetManager landed with clarity. From Pittsburgh to Milwaukee, follow-ups were already rolling in by lunch.
What visitors discovered at our booth:
Track 1: CabinetManager – A one-scan, three-click solution to digitize your maintenance flow and ditch the paper.
Track 2: CabinetManager Immersive – Hands-free, heads-up maintenance powered by Apple Vision Pro.
No fluff. No buzzwords. Just real tools for real technicians.
🔥 Day 2 – The Heat Builds
As we expected, day two brought momentum.
Referrals brought new visitors.
Team leads sent their engineers.
People returned for second conversations.
It was clear: the as-built challenge isn’t just European. It’s universal.
Fragmented documentation, legacy workflows, and tribal knowledge stuck in people’s heads.
That’s why our whitepaper — “How to tackle the as-built challenge?” — flew off the table. By the end, we had only one left.
And as conversations deepened, something else became clear.
🧠 CabinetManager isn’t just another software tool.
It’s a partner in transformation — from paper, to digital, to immersive.
🚄 Day 3 – On the Right Track
Final day on the floor.
Booth traffic stayed strong, conversations stayed focused, and for the first time, we heard something new:
“Hey, my colleague told me to come see this.”
That kind of momentum? You can’t fake it.
We closed the show with real traction, real opportunities, and proof-of-concept discussions across industries and states.
Once again, A3 – Association for Advancing Automation and members of the press stopped by, cameras in hand. The buzz wasn’t just in our booth. It was moving across the show floor.
🚀 Beyond Detroit – Grounded and Aiming High
From Detroit, we continued to Orlando — but not before ticking off a lifelong dream.
The Kennedy Space Center.
Standing where the pioneers of space once stood, we were reminded of something that feels just as true for us:
“Ad astra per aspera.”
A rough road leads to the stars.
We’re just getting started.
🙏 Thank You, Team USA
A heartfelt thanks to:
- FIT – Flanders Investment & Trade, especially Karel Sorgeloos, Leentje De Leeuw, and Claude Stomp, for your incredible support on site and during the FIT networking reception.
- Our Lightstream BE crew, back home and on the floor. This wouldn’t have worked without you.
- And most of all, our customers and new contacts across the U.S. Thank you for believing in what we’re building.
📍See You in Chicago
Automate 2026 is already locked in.
📅 June 22 to 25
📍 Chicago
✅ We’ll be there.
Until then, the yellow helmets roll on.
Across borders. Across sectors. Across tracks.
From paper to digital to immersive.
Let’s ride this together.
