American manufacturers face enormous challenges in today's changing economy. Off-shore competition, high shipping costs, downsizing, difficulty in buying steel, devaluation of the dollar, and radical changes in technology all combine to create obstacles to doing business in the U. S.

Carr Lane, a manufacturer of clamps, pins, knobs and tooling components for 53 years, has dedicated itself to creating an environment that helps customers get through the web of obstacles in their path.

Carr Lane has put more than 100,000 parts online in an interactive catalog at CarrLane.com. Visitors can check price and availability, order online, locate a nearby distributor, and track their purchase after the sale.

"We know things are tough these days for engineers, and Carr Lane is trying to stay a step ahead, to make things easier for the buyer," said Carr Lane CEO Earl E. Walker. "We provide thousands of products, so engineers don't have to spend hours and hours shopping around. We also try to streamline the buying process, and we try to answer their questions before engineers even think of them."

Value-added services at CarrLane.com include—

• Free CAD/CAM Drawings In this technological age, Carr Lane's CAD library is the largest in its industry, containing more than 23,000 drawings in 2D, 3D and 3D solids, available free online.

• Interactive Catalog Carr Lane's online catalog contains more than 100,000 items. Users can view photographs, dimensional drawings, product descriptions, application information, and order online.

• Online Tools Other features of the site include a purchase order search, a competitor comparison chart, a distributor locator, a price list, new product information, product updates, and a free Trig Book.

• Variety of Products Satisfied customers include design engineers, manufacturing engineers, industrial equipment buyers, and MRO and plant engineers. Because of its integrated CAD drawings and extensive product line, Carr Lane assists companies wanting to encourage concurrent engineering and an integrated supply chain, by providing a single source supplier.

CarrLane.com is truly a manufacturing superstore!