Nationally Recognized Lean Certification Program for Operational Excellence

HAYWARD, CA - October 9, 2006 - The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) will hold a Special Interest Session on Lean Certification at the upcoming Annual Conference of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) being held on October 16th - 20th in Dallas, Texas. The 2006 AME conference is the largest manufacturing excellence conference in North America.

Manex and SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) will provide an overview of the Lean Certification Program and discuss real world examples, including Manex's recent deployment at United Services. The Lean Certification program was developed by the leaders in manufacturing excellence - the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), and Manex.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to share how we're helping organizations such as United Services build Lean strength with this rigorous Lean Certification program," said Brent Meyers, President & Chief Executive Officer. "Companies can now rapidly and consistently develop depth of experience and Lean knowledge by applying this nationally recognized certification program. At Manex, we're collaborating with numerous companies to help them become more competitive."

Manex is well known for their work helping enterprises transform their organizations through Lean Manufacturing.

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.