How Must Best-in-Class Companies Compete Once Everyone Is "Lean and Global?"

Manufacturing Thought Leaders Met in Boston for a Two-Day Networking Summit to Identify Strategies and Take a Sneak Peak Into the Future


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - December 10, 2007) - Aberdeen Group's first annual "Manufacturing in the 21st Century Summit" was held in Boston on December 4 and 5th. Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), has partnered with Control Engineering, IET and Manufacturing Business Technology to present an educational and networking event for Plant Managers, GMs, and Manufacturing executives seeking strategies to drive a more productive manufacturing operation.

Aberdeen brought together worldwide manufacturers with industry thought leaders to share the strategies that improve manufacturing performance and profitability. Summit presenters revealed practical experiences and provided actionable recommendations and advice for their peers. Leading industry speakers included manufacturing visionaries:

--  Richard Kunst, Vice President of Continuous Improvement, La-Z-Boy
--  Michael Treacy, Best Selling Author "The Discipline of Market
    Leaders"
--  Marcel Beraud, SVP and COO, Gate Gourmet
--  Mariela Castano, Continuous Improvement Manager, Nestle Canada
--  Dr. Terence Barnhart, Director of Strategic Management, Pfizer
--  Bill Avelino, Sr. Director of Global MES, Timken
--  Hein Winkelaar, Operations & TPM Manager, PURAC Biochem, Netherlands
--  Bill Rogers, CIO, Goss International
--  Juan Carlos Sol, Program Manager, Corporate Manufacturing
    Initiatives, SigmaQ
--  Marty Slagle, Corporate Quality and Process Control, Hormel
--  Wayne Loomer, Quality Control Manager, Cytyc Corporation -- A Hologic
    Company
    

"'The Manufacturing in the 21st Century Summit' was a great opportunity for Aberdeen to bring global executives together for valuable discussions and actionable recommendations surrounding manufacturing strategies," states Bharat Nair. "Attending companies face issues due to a changing global manufacturing environment and our on-site discussions with senior executives will help shape the role manufacturing organizations play in the 21st Century."

During the proceedings, Aberdeen presented five companies with Manufacturing Achievement Awards for excellence demonstrated in 5 specific areas. The award winners were selected solely on our research of the past 12 months. The 2007 Achievement Award Winners were:

Fairchild Semiconductor received the Executive Stewardship Award in recognition of the performance heights they've achieved as a result of direct involvement and leadership from executive management in manufacturing operations. Award Recipient: Mark Rioux, Vice President of Quality.

BAE Systems received the Business Evolution Award for managing information flow across internal functional practices in order to achieve measurable business growth. Award recipient: George Dickinson, Vice President.

Keyspan Energy / Nationalgrid received the Innovation in Technology Award for maximizing technology solutions to solve pressing supply chain issues and positively impact company performance. Award recipient: John Ragone, Plant Process Optimization Manager.

Goss International received the Performance Excellence Award for harnessing the performance impact of service chain activities and mastering methodologies for financial, operational, and customer-centric performance excellence. Award recipient: Bill Rogers, Chief Information Officer.

Genzyme received the Process Excellence Award for demonstrating process ingenuity, agility, flexibility and scalability in addressing changing business requirements. Award recipient: Chris Jepsen, Director of Quality.

Congratulations to the award winners for their excellence in the global supply management arena.

Summit sponsors included:

Acsis      Hertzler Systems   IBS          Invensys         Plexus Systems
Rockwell   Shoplogix          SlipStream   Sparta Systems   Tandberg

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

© 2007 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Bharat Nair Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617)854-5322 Bharat.Nair@aberdeen.com