HAYWARD, CA -- February 8, 2006 -- The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) has been selected as one of the key partners to help the California Space Authority (CSA) in a joint effort to drive entrepreneurship, global manufacturing competitiveness and 21st Century workforce development for the "California Innovation Corridor", a 13 county economic region.

As part of the President George W. Bush's Community-Based Job Training Grants initiative, CSA has been selected to be the lead on the US Department of Labor Workforce Innovation in Region Economic Development (Wired) grant. The program will help California capitalize on its wealth of science, research and manufacturing assets, and retain its role on the leading edge of global innovation.

This project puts CSA and its partnership team on the cutting-edge of workforce transformation," stated The Honorable Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director of CSA. "Our proposal focuses on high-growth industry clusters that include space and aerospace, advanced research and development, software and information technology, and the advanced manufacturing supply chain."

"We share CSA's enthusiasm to drive global manufacturing competitiveness and innovation through the California Innovation Corridor program," said Brent Meyers, President & Chief Executive Officer, Manex. "Through this program, NorCal Aerospace manufacturers and suppliers will be able to exploit new strategies that will help them differentiate from the rest of the market."

The three key objectives of the program are:

• Build and Support Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Create new companies and high-skill, high wage jobs by designing a replicable and "sustainable innovation support architecture" to increase innovation and entrepreneurship (7 projects/objectives within this goal area)
• Support Industrial Rejuvenation for Manufacturing Value Chain and Supplier Competitiveness: Improve the international competitiveness of the region's supply chain by developing and executing a "smart supplier strategy" that supports manufacturers, small business and entrepreneurs in adapting to the global manufacturing transformation (4 projects within this goal area)
• Develop Technical Talent: Accelerate development of a highly-skilled 21st Century talent pool by creating pilot projects and activities capable of supporting a continuum of math, science and engineering education (K-U), and lifelong learning relevant to the 21st Century technical worker (14 projects within this goal area)

For more information about WIRED and the California Innovation Corridor, visit www.californiaspaceauthority.org.

Governed by a statewide board of directors, the California Space Authority (www.caiforniaspaceauthority.org) is a nonprofit organization representing the diverse interests of the California space community in all three domains: commercial, civil and national security. As the State's designated Space Authority, CSA works closely with industry, government, academia/education and workforce entities.

About Manex
Founded in 1995, The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) (www.manexconsulting.com) provides a broad array of proven advisory and implementation solutions exclusively to manufacturers, distributors, and their supply chains, enabling them to increase growth, productivity, quality, and profitability. Manex delivers high-impact solutions in four key areas: strategy, people, process and performance. Meaningful, rapid impact and ROI are achieved through a modular-yet-holistic approach encompassing corporate strategy and planning, marketing strategy, training and development, lean manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, Six Sigma, ISO, and performance management systems.