"MADE IN NAGOYA" is a three-year project launched in 2002 with the aim of to identifying small and medium-size manufacturing companies of the Nagoya Region, that are proud of their unique and top-notch technologies, and introducing them to the rest of Japan and overseas.

We received 75, 77, and 87 applications in 2002, 2003, and 2004 respectively from small and medium sized manufacturing companies based in the Nagoya region. Among them 12, 14, and 15 companies were selected for the honor as the ones which have the qualities of being an image leader of the "MADE IN NAGOYA" Project as well as meeting the following requirements.

(1) Unique, difficult-to-mimic technologies/business models that are the company's core competence
(2) High market share in specific fields, products and technologies
(3) Superior workmanship and expertise

* The Nagoya Region (Greater Nagoya) refers to the economic zone encompassing Aichi, Gifu and Mie Prefectures, with Nagoya City as the center; this grouping is not based on the regional administrative divisions. In Japan, the Nagoya Region is often referred to as the Tokai Region or the Chubu Region. In the project title the term "NAGOYA" is consistently used, since in many foreign countries core city names are commonly used to describe cities and their surrounding regions.