Everything that people shop for has been manufactured by some company – but where do manufacturers shop? Preferably, nearby. But when they can’t find it locally, knowing “the lay of the land” can be a real help.

It’s the classic, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” story. We buy direct from manufacturers, but where do manufacturers buy the raw materials they need to make the products we buy? Well, certain raw materials may be hard to come by, which means that manufacturers may not always have much of a choice where they purchase them. However, more often than not, what they need to make the things we buy can be found right in their backyard, so it makes perfect sense that most industrial buying takes place at the local, or regional level.

But, on the occasion where the manufacturer needs to look beyond his immediate trading area, sometimes it helps to know the “lay of the land.” He may be surprised to learn some interesting sociological tidbits in the process. After all, we at Thomas Regional did. When researching the data we make available for sourcing, we came across a few “fun facts” and decided to share them with you. It may help you in your sourcing efforts, and at the very least, provide a humorous take on what you can find at ThomasRegional.com.

For example, did you know that one type of glass you’ll find listed is bulletproof glass, and that the state with the most manufacturers of such glass is New Jersey? By contrast, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, which make up our Southeast region, is the top region for agitators (listed under Machinery), which seems to suggest that the South will rise again. For really strange things like catheads, look under Marine. You’ll find these supplied only by two companies – in Texas.

If office politics leaves you needing to be enameled, anodized, galvanized, acid-proofed or Teflon-clad, look under Coating & Coating Services. For a manipulator, check Automation. Left to clean up the sludge? There’s a Dryer for that. Want to play it safe? Check Safety Equipment & Supplies to break your fall, arrest your lighting, survive an earthquake or, if worse comes to worst, analyze your fire debris.

But seriously, whether you’re looking for a manufacturer of that hard-to-find item, or need a distributor for that replacement part, ThomasRegional.com delivers 520,000 industrial suppliers in 6,000 detailed categories right to your desktop. Office dynamics aside, we all have work to do.

If you’re having trouble locating a company, product or service, let us know. We’ll help you find it. Just e-mail finder@ThomasRegional.com. We hope to help make your job easier, and we hope you’ll help us do our job better.

To begin a search for a company, product/service or brand name, click here.