Ingersoll Rand named as a winner of Managing Automation Magazine's 2008 Progressive Manufacturing 50 Awards

The Industrial Technologies Sector of Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR), a leading diversified industrial company that offers a wide range of high-quality, innovative assembly products and services, was selected as a winner of the fourth annual Progressive Manufacturing 50 Awards selected by Managing Automation, a Thomas Publishing Company, LLC media brand. The award acknowledges the significant process improvements at Ingersoll Rand resulting from the integration of BigMachines Lean Front-End® (LFE) solution to streamline complex sales quote and order processes. The Progressive Manufacturing 50 Awards Program recognizes 50 projects that have achieved distinction in at least one of eight core disciplines defined by Managing Automation as critical to business success in the years ahead. Judges evaluated and scored nominated projects based on the following criteria: project scope, business impact, customer impact, technology use and scale. Progressive Manufacturing 50 winners were the companies receiving the highest total scores in their respective categories. "This new crop of Progressive Manufacturing winners reflects the amazing creativity and determination alive today in the manufacturing community," said David R. Brousell, Editor-in-Chief of Managing Automation. "These companies are taking bold steps to rethink their business models and processes, their relationships with customers and partners, and to create new advantages for themselves in business speed and value. In doing so, they are positioning their organizations for greater success now and in the years ahead." Ingersoll Rand’s Assembly Configuration Engine (ACE) was developed using BigMachines Lean Front-End solution to improve IR’s front-end sales processes which were too complex, slow and labor-intensive. They chose BigMachines to help generate quotes faster and more accurately. "BigMachines Lean Front-End has been a terrific compliment to our existing CRM and ERP tools, enabling us to deploy a robust solution to our network of global distributors. Being web-based, the BigMachines solution is quick to implement, easy to use and maintain, and powerful enough to deliver large benefits at a very reasonable cost,” according to Nathan Schmid, Global Solutions Program Manager Ingersoll Rand Industrial Technologies Sector. "This award reflects Ingersoll Rand’s commitment to outstanding customer service and BigMachines’ focus on delivering solutions that contribute to the bottom line,” said Godard Abel, CEO, BigMachines. "We continue to work closely with customers like Ingersoll Rand on developing and delivering innovative solutions that shorten the sales cycle and meet customer demands.” The Progressive Manufacturing 50 award winners will be honored and presented with their awards at the Progressive Manufacturing Black Tie Gala to be held on the last day of the 2008 Progressive Manufacturing Summit, June 10-12, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. In addition to presenting the awards to the Progressive Manufacturing 50 winners, Managing Automation will also announce High Achievers in each of the 8 disciplines as well as the 2008 Progressive Manufacturer of the Year. About Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand is a global diversified industrial firm providing products, services and solutions to transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and enhance industrial productivity and efficiency. Driven by a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation, Ingersoll Rand enables companies and their customers to create progress. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com. About BigMachines, Inc. and BigMachines AG BigMachines is the leading provider of on-demand configurator, quoting, and proposal software, helping companies empower their sales teams and channels. BigMachines Lean Front-End® (LFE) solution streamlines selling processes from customer inquiry to order, and captures an organization's tribal knowledge to provide online product selection, configuration, quoting and ordering capabilities. BigMachines provides extensive reporting capabilities to analyze sales activities and easily integrates to existing ERP, CAD, and CRM systems, including those from Salesforce.com, Siebel CRM On-Demand, Oracle, and SAP. BigMachines’ rapidly growing customer base includes global leaders such as Kodak GCG, Siemens, Ingersoll Rand, and NTT Communications, as well as innovative growth companies such as ShoreTel and Aruba Networks. For more information, visit www.bigmachines.com. About Managing Automation Managing Automation, published by Thomas Publishing Company, LLC, provides a complete set of decision-support informational tools for progressive manufacturers – companies who are using information and automation technologies to transform their businesses and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Its monthly magazine, website, information technology comparison and match database, and executive conferences reach the entire integrated technology buying team – executives, line-of-business managers and IT management – at every stage of the technology buying process. Additional information can be found at www.managingautomation.com.