Thomasnet vs. Xometry - the fight for the industrial buyer

Xometry purchased Thomasnet for 300 million dollars in Dec. 2021 and it is a serious attempt to change the dynamics of this relationship.

The ongoing relationship of industrial buyers seeking sellers is undergoing some potentially radical changes and these effects have some serious long run implications for American manufacturing. It is critical to understand first this buying process.

-Thomasnet connects buyers with sellers.

-Xometry controls & executes the transaction.

Established in 1898 in printed form as Thomas’ Register named after founder of the company, the name soon changed to Thomas Register, and formerly, the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, and sometimes also called “Thomas Registry,” and was a directory of industrial products. In 1998 it was 100% paid circulation that was quickly diminished by the online market. The Thomas Register was widely available and publicly known as “the big green books” by buyers which many considered the “bible of industry” since it was the only national publication that had a comprehensive list of companies in alpha order.

As the print demand started crashing in the early 2000s, and Linda Rigano, their marketing directory declared in 2003, “All our buyers are online”, the print circulation plummeted and was given away at no charge. Even at no charge, buyers wanted to be online and the last print run was 2006. The same circumstance was happening to their sister regional publications knows as the “Thomas Regional Directory”. Around 2005, the Thomas Regional Directory and Thomas Register combined their sales forces and databases and created Thomasnet.

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