Press release

Industry Group Finds Major U.S. Divide: Only 14 States Poised to Compete in Manufacturing

100,000 U.S. Manufacturers Evaluated for Quality and Competitiveness

CHICAGO, IL -- November 1, 2006 -- Fourteen U.S. states are best positioned to compete in manufacturing, according to findings issued today by eMvoy, an industry research group. The findings identify pervasive statewide trends in the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing.

The results were issued today as part of the group's conclusions after a one year evaluation of 100,000 U.S. manufacturers. The findings included rankings of all fifty states. The following states were found to be significantly above-average for industrial competitiveness: Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, New York, California, North Carolina, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts. [Complete rankings report attached.]

Chicago-based eMvoy rated companies by assessing company stability, market penetration, technology and web presence. The research group performs large-scale evaluations of U.S. manufacturers as part of the services it provides to industrial purchasing agents. [Additional ranking factors are included in the attached Methodology document.]

"There is so much confusion about the state of American manufacturing. The public perception is that, overall, U.S. manufacturing is weak. After looking at 100,000 manufacturers, we found that the state of U.S. manufacturing is not bad -- as long as you are in the right state." says Craig Landy, CEO of eMvoy.

"We can all point to great success stories in manufacturing but they are only told about specific industry sectors, cities or companies." Landy continues. "Our data pointed to a complex, yet very optimistic picture of U.S. manufacturing. Fourteen states scored exceptionally high for competitiveness. Other states were predictably flat or below the average. We didn't expect to see such huge gaps between the best and worst states."