The ''Thomas Register of American Manufacturers'', now ThomasNet, is an online platform for supplier discovery and product sourcing in the US and Canada. It was once known as the "big green books" and "Thomas Registry", and was a multi-volume

directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

product information covering

distributors A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...

and service companies within thousands of industrial categories that is now published on ThomasNet.

History

The books were first published in 1898 by Harvey Mark Thomas as ''Hardware and Kindred Trades. ''In their heyday, ''Thomas Register of American Manufacturers '' was a 34-volume, 3 section buying guide offering sourcing information on industrial products and services, along with comprehensive specifications and detailed product information from thousands of manufacturers. The Thomas Regional Directory Company began as a division of Thomas Publishing in 1976. Thomas Regional Regional Industrial Buying Guides provided information in print and on CD-ROM, on local OEMs, distributors, MRO services and other custom manufacturing services in 19 regional editions covering much of the United States. Thomas Register and Thomas Regional were available online from the mid 1990s. The company stopped publishing its print products in 2006. Thomas moved its database

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

as ThomasNet, published and maintained by Thomas Industrial Network, one of Thomas’ five business units. ThomasNet has expanded to provide not only product and company information, but also online catalogs,

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

(

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

) drawings,

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

press releases A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

and

blogs A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

. In December 2021, Thomas was acquired by

Xometry Xometry is an on-demand industrial parts marketplace based in North Bethesda, Maryland. Its CEO and co-founder is Randy Altschuler. Its customers include BMW, NASA, Bosch, Dell, and General Electric. History Xometry was founded in 2013 by ...

Thomas Publishing Company, LLC

Thomas Publishing Company, LLC of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

has been

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

since its inception. It used independent representatives to sell advertising space around its listings in print products like the Thomas Register and the Thomas Industrial Regional Directories, and these representatives continue to sell Internet related products to manufacturers, distributors, and other companies.

ThomasNet

ThomasNet is an information and technology company based in New York City. In April 2006 the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

named ''ThomasNet.com'' as one of it
25 Best of Reference
sources for the

reference librarian The reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds ...

, and is currently listed in thei
Best of the Web
list for Industry Information. Since November 2010, ThomasNet has been a founding partner of GlobalTrade.net, a marketplace for international trade service providers.

ThomasNet News

ThomasNet News is a product of Thomas Publishing Company, LLC. ThomasNet News was introduced with “the mission of delivering timely, new industrial product information covering the whole range of products …” It manually reviews press releases submitted through the website and publishes with a small description in one of 51 different categories. In 2000, ThomasNet News released Industry Market Trends (IMT), its first Journal. In the ''IMT'', editors published editorials, interviews, and long form journalism on issues ranging from career skills, developments in the industry, and discussions with leading experts. Soon after, IMT Green & Clean was launched in response to the growing interest in green technology and its impact on the world. In 2011, the IMT Machining Journal was launched followed by the IMT Fluid & Gas Flow Journal, the IMT Career Journal, and the IMT Procurement Journal.

Research

Starting in 2010, ThomasNet began reaching out to its database of manufacturers to get a better understanding of where the community was, where their shortcomings were, and where they saw the landscape going in the future. This yearly survey is called the Industry Market Barometer.

References

External links

* {{Official website Promotion and marketing communications Marketing books Directories