Stage Maker for Rolling Stones and U2 Uses MFG.com to Handle Busy Summer Concert Season

Online Manufacturing Marketplace Quickly Turned Around Custom Parts in Time for 'A Bigger Bang' Tour

ATLANTA, Nov. 1, 2005 - TOMCAT USA, a company that provides concert stages for rock 'n' roll's A-list, used MFG.com to absorb explosive demand during the busy summer concert season. MFG.com is the world's largest marketplace for sourcing and selling manufacturing goods and services.

TOMCAT's eight-person machine shop in Midland, TX., was maxed out this summer producing stages, trusses, lifts and cosmetic components when the order for the Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour came in. To fill it, TOMCAT needed several hundred custom truss connectors - pieces that connect the ladder-like superstructure that forms the skeleton of the super group's portable stage.

"We had the expertise to do the work ourselves, but we didn't have the time," said global materials manager Mike Steadman. "We were simultaneously working on the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney and moving other, smaller orders as well. We posted an RFQ on MFG.com, twelve suppliers bid for the work, and the supplier we selected gave us a very quick two-week turnaround at a very competitive price. We've had many similar successes because MFG.com gives us the unique ability to cultivate an alternate supply network to deal with spikes in demand. We're also saving valuable time by posting RFQs electronically instead of dealing with postage, printing and faxing."

TOMCAT has been using MFG.com for a year and a half and has awarded multiple RFQs over the site. This does not count jobs that went directly to suppliers who TOMCAT discovered on MFG.com and built trusting long-term relationships with. In addition to the Rolling Stones, TOMCAT's lavish set pieces serve customers like Janet Jackson, Pink Floyd, and U2, and Broadway shows like "Aida," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King" and "Mamma Mia!"

"I'd like us to expand our use of online sourcing in the future, which is quite likely in this very unpredictable market," Steadman said.

More than 43,000 buyers across the industrial spectrum (aerospace, transportation, consumer products, electronics and more) use MFG.com to source, collaborate, and receive quotes online for more than 200 manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, metal stamping, forging, plastic molding, metal fabrication and metal casting.

"World tours and professional theater shows are colossal undertakings, and we're pleased that TOMCAT has found trustworthy suppliers with the expertise, credentials and capacity that helped TOMCAT meet their customer demands," said Mitch Free, president and CEO of MFG.com. "We will continue to save companies like TOMCAT substantial amounts of time and money by automatically matching them with reliable, responsive and competitive suppliers who help speed high-quality products to market, beat deadlines, generate additional sales, and satisfy important customers every day."

About TOMCAT
TOMCAT GLOBAL specializes in the fabrication of aluminum structural components for the entertainment and leisure industries, as well as providing related products such as Columbus McKinnon theatrical chain hoists, custom electric assemblies, lighting products and rigging hardware. TOMCAT USA, TOMCAT Las Vegas, TOMCAT UK, Ltd., TOMCAT de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. and Brilliant Stages are subsidiaries of TOMCAT Global Corporation, headquartered in Midland, Texas, USA. For more information, please visit www.tomcatglobal.com

About MFG.com
MFG.com is the largest global online marketplace for the manufacturing industry. MFG.com instantly and intelligently matches sourcing professionals and engineers with suppliers who have the right expertise and capacity to manufacture parts and tooling on demand in accordance with their engineering drawings and CAD files. MFG.com's on-demand service is consolidating the once- fragmented world of manufacturing into an efficient marketplace, enabling products to be sourced and built more easily, quickly, inexpensively, and at higher quality levels. For more information, please visit http://www.MFG.com.