The document provides a summary of data collected from 183 manufacturing companies in North Dakota through on-site surveys. Some key findings include: - The majority of companies have been in business for less than 25 years and have annual sales under $50 million. - Most products are in the growing or maturing stages and companies have introduced new products in the past 5 years. - The workforce is rated as high quality but availability is an issue, especially for skilled trades. - Information management systems and marketing were identified as areas most in need of improvement to support company growth plans.

1. 183
0-9 37
10-49 85
50-99 30
27
# of Employees
6
11
7
22
77
19
2912
Avg Bldg
Size (sf)
56,514
<10 years 53
11-25 years 73
>25 years 38
Age of Buildings
MEP Company Visitations
Room to
Expand
139
Site Information
Excellent 61
Condition of
Building(s)
Good 81
Average 16
Fair 5
Poor 2
<5 yrs. 79
6-10 yrs. 21
11-25 yrs. 29
>25 yrs. 28
Years in Business
Avg Jobs
Added/Lost (3 yrs)
>100
Total # of Companies Interviewed*
18
The Department of Economic Development and Finance is working on the development of a private-sector,
client-driven Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center in North Dakota. This Center will be part
of the national MEP network affiliated with the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
To support this initiative we've begun a market analysis of manufacturers in the state and asked them to
provide input to assist in deciding the direction of the MEP.
Who Was Surveyed?
Approximately 1,085 companies were reviewed based on factors such as sales and number of employees in an attempt
to prioritize businesses. Nearly 325 of these companies were selected for on-site visits from EDF and SBDC staff
beginning in late January, 2000. Local developers also had the option to participate. To date, 183 of the 239 companies
contacted for interviews have been completed. The information provided in this document is a general overview of the
data collected thus far. More detailed reports by region, city or topic are also available.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a
partnership between federal and state organizations
working together to address the needs of small- and
medium-sized manufacturers.
What is the MEP?
At the heart of the system is a network of regional
manufacturing extension centers established throughout
the country. These centers provide direct services to
manufacturers, helping them to address their most critical
needs in areas such as production techniques, technology
applications and business practices.
0 10 20 30 40
$ 1,000.0 - 1,499.9 M
$ 100.0 - 249.9 million
$ 2,000.0 M or more
$ 50.0 - 99.9 million
$ 0.2 - 0.4 million
$ 0.5 - 0.9 million
$ 25.0 - 49.9 million
Under $ 0.2 million
$ 5.0 - 9.9 million
$ 10.0 - 24.9 million
$ 2.5 - 4.9 million
$ 1.0 - 2.4 million
# of Companies
Gross Sales
Page 1**Counts will not always equal total interviewed. Each respondent did not answer every question.

2. Product/Service
Market
Industry
What Did We Learn?
Yes
No
Yes
No
<3%
<3%
3-6%
>6% 0%
Emerging
Growing
Maturing
Declining
Anticipated in next 2
years
Amount Spent on
Research and Dev.
as % of Sales
Life Cycle of
Primary Product
or Service
New Technology
Emerging
Yes No
New Products, Services or Capabilities
Introduced in past
5 years
Comments/Conclusions
Companies were reviewed prior to the on-site survey process in an attempt to prioritize primary-sector, growing North Dakota
businesses. It is, therefore, not surprising to see so few companies showing a declining product life cycle. The number of
companies having introduced products in the past is almost exactly the same as those that anticipate introducing new products
in the future. We can assume that new technology is not the reason behind all of these new products because there are fewer
companies with a positive response to that question. Relatively little is spent on research and development, with more than half
of the companies investing less than 3% of their sales on this endeavor.
NR*
NR*
Company Sales
Market Share of Key
Product(s)
Export Sales, as % of
Total Sales
Company's
Primary Market
Expansion Planned
Within Next 3 Years
0 5 0 1 0 0
Local
Regional
National
Int'l
Increasing
Stable
Decreasing
Increasing
Stable
Decreasing
Yes
No
Increasing
No
Decreasing
Exports
Stable
Comments/Conclusions
Again, due to the prioritization process, the number of companies with strictly local markets is low. It's interesting to note that
the number of companies with increased sales is almost equal to the number of companies with growing and emerging product
life cycles as shown in the Product/Service section of this report. While a good portion of our businesses do not export their
products, the majority of those that do show either an increased or stable export market. Only 4% of the companies have
decreased export sales as compared to 24% showing an increase.
Merger, Acquisition
or Divestiture
Activity
Industry
Production
Capacity
Competitors'
Overseas
Production
Expects Adverse Fed,
State or Local
Legislation
Expects Beneficial
Fed, State or Local
Legislation
Increase
Stable
Decreasing
Increasing
Stable
NR*
Decreasing
Balanced
Under
Over
YesNo Yes No
Comments/Conclusions
Global competition and industry dynamics continue to be a large concern for manufacturers. Industry production is balanced
for the most part. Responses from farm machinery and equipment manufacturers indicate that 44% believe production in
their industry is balanced, 39% say it's under capacity and 17% say it's over capacity. To no one's surprise, manufacturers
remain somewhat skeptical as to whether state, local or federal governments would or could enact changes to benefit their
businesses. It is, however, encouraging to see they don't consider government to be a great adversary.
*NR = No ResponsePage 2

3. Management
Workforce
1 2 3 4 5 NA Avg
Availability of 24 35 29 16 10 2.59
workers in your area 21% 31% 25% 14% 9%
Quality of workers 2 16 29 42 25 3.63
in your area 2% 14% 25 % 37% 22%
Stability of 5 14 25 47 23 3.61
workforce 4% 12% 22% 41% 20%
Productivity in your 4 20 41 31 18 4.03
facility 4% 18% 36% 27% 16%
Workforce Evaluation
1 - Low 5 - High
Projected Utility
Needs
Barriers to Growth
in Community
Projected
Employment Needs
Community Might Not
Be Considered for
Expansion
Increasing
Stable
Decreasing
Increase
Stable
Decreasing
Yes
No
Yes
No
NR*
NR*
Comments/Conclusions
With so many expansions planned, it's interesting to note that most utility needs are expected to
remain stable. Although there are barriers to growth in the majority of the communities, business
leaders say there isn't any reason to think they won't be expanding in their community. The most
frequently noted barrier to growth or expansion is related to labor shortages. Other factors include
lack of housing, lack of land, financial problems and transportation difficulties.
NR*
NR*
Recruitment
Problems
Recruitment
Problems Limited
to Community
Unfilled Positions Investment in Employee
Training
Increase
Stable
Decreasing
No Yes
NR*
Industry Stable
Increasing
Decreasing
Community
Comments/Conclusions
The number of job openings remains stable, but companies are having more trouble recruiting people
for positions such as welders, machinists, production workers and engineers as well as technical and
management staff. Most feel recruitment problems are limited to the community rather than the
industry. Many businesses are increasing their investment in education with the majority of their
training budget going into new jobs training rather than remedial training. In fact, 70 companies, 41%
of those that responded to this question, said 100% of their training budget was spent on new jobs
skill training.
*NR = No Response Page 3

4. Manufacturing Market Analysis
Page 4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Info Mgmt Systems
Electronic Commerce
Infrastructure & Impl
Knowledge Mgmt
Advertising & Promotion
Customer Analysis
Mkt & Competitor Analysis
Product Development
Market Planning
Sales & Territory Mgmt
Selling Strat/Channel Mgmt
Distribution
Environment, Health, Safety
Facility Design
Lean Manufacturing
Maintenance/Utility Mgmt
Planning/Scheduling
Procurement and Materials
Product & Process Design
Production Control
Quality Assurance
Administrative Services
Financing
Mgmt Info Analysis/Ctrls
Organization
Planning- strat/bus/op
Employee Mgmt and Relation
Job Design/Analysis
Performance Management
Recruitment/Selection
Training/Development
Counts
Rank 1 Rank 2
Rank 3 Rank 4
Rank 5
PeopleSystemsManufacturingSystemsManagement
Systems
Marketing
Information
Systems
What is most important in terms of improvements needed
to meet your company's growth plans?
Manufacturers were asked to describe their company's growth plans to identify their functional strengths
and improvement areas. This table represents areas identified as most important to address in order to
assist in their growth. This portion of the assessment identifies the services manufacturers require and
indicates the areas upon which the North Dakota MEP should focus its efforts.