mniguide and IndustryNet Join Forces to Create Leading Industrial Search Engine

EVANSTON, Ill., July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufacturers' News, Inc. (MNI)
announced today that it has acquired IndustryNet.com and will be merging it
with its existing industrial search engine, mniguide.com, to create one of the
nation's most comprehensive guides for locating manufacturers and suppliers.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070213/MNILOGO)
"IndustryNet became available to us, and we couldn't pass it up," said Tom
Dubin, President of MNI. "We feel it most accurately describes the site's
mission, which is to use the Internet to help find suppliers of industrial
products and services."
MNI, established 1912, compiles information about U.S. manufacturing
establishments and other industrial businesses, and its search engine includes
nearly 600,000 companies. MNI reports that mniguide.com has been receiving
well over 20,000 unique searches every day.
Users have the ability to send e-mails or click through to the Web sites
of the 25,000 companies that have preferred listings on the site. The site
also allows users to send a request for quote to multiple companies, and more
than 97,000 leads and inquiries were received within the past year.
IndustryNet is one of a growing number of vertical search engines that are
gaining popularity. With an estimated one million new web pages coming online
each day, industrial buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to sift
through traditional search engine results to locate qualified vendors and
suppliers. Vertical search engines, like IndustryNet, offer many unique
advantages that help buyers save time and money.
Unlike major search engines, which index all websites on the Internet,
IndustryNet lists only industrial companies. Each company is pre-qualified and
verified manually by MNI's in-house editorial research staff to ensure
relevancy and accuracy. Companies are organized within one or more of
IndustryNet's 10,000 product/service categories so that buyers can locate only
those vendors who have the capabilities to fit their unique needs. The result
is that users of IndustryNet experience more relevant, higher quality search
results, in less time than using a traditional search engine. The request for
quote feature allows buyers to easily seek competitive bids from multiple
suppliers.
"Buyers like the site because it's simple to use, with no registration,
fees or passwords, and it returns highly relevant results," says Dubin.
"Sellers appreciate the fact that it's one of the few places they can receive
a steady stream of qualified leads and inquiries for an annual investment of
less than $200."
MNI offers preferred listings on the site in conjunction with print
advertising in its annual state manufacturers directories. Dubin indicates
that the site's former URL, http://www.mniguide.com, will redirect to the
IndustryNet domain for the foreseeable future.
Manufacturers' News, Inc., publisher of manufacturers' directories since
1912, compiles and produces manufacturing guides, statistics and databases for
all 50 states. For more information, visit http://www.IndustryNet.com, or
contact Manufacturers' News, Inc., 1633 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201,
847-864-7000, FAX 847-332-1100.
SOURCE Manufacturers' News, Inc.

Jennifer Ratcliff of Manufacturers' News, Inc., +1-847-864-9440, ext. 241,
jratcliff@manufacturersnews.com