DAYTON — Manufacturing and machining companies from the Dayton and Cincinnati areas have introduced a new online system designed to help them attract new business from customers across the United States and abroad.

The new Edison Manufacturers Network went into operation at the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association’s annual advanced manufacturing and technology show, which concluded on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Dayton International Airport’s Exposition Center.

It offers a free online database that is searchable by manufacturer, region, industries served, production capabilities and quality certifications. Customers looking for a service can use the network to compare suppliers, by viewing profiles of the companies, and solicit bids for services.

The Ohio Department of Development provided funding to get the system up and running. The Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association and TechSolve, an advanced-manufacturing support organization based in Cincinnati, combined to start up the system, so their members will get the benefit of it first, said Angelia Erbaugh, executive director of the local manufacturing association. Similar companies elsewhere around Ohio also will be given the chance to add their information to the database, to better showcase the state’s machining and manufacturing capabilities to customers elsewhere, said Janice Saddler Rice, a spokeswoman for the association.

Testing of the system during recent months resulted in new business for some of the participating companies, including Custom Manufacturing Solutions of Xenia, Rice said.

Projects requiring tool and die expertise have long been the primary source of work for the Dayton region’s machining and tooling businesses, Erbaugh said. But aerospace, energy, medical equipment — including medical replacement parts that surgeons insert into patients’ bodies — and food and beverage equipment are today’s business growth areas for the region’s machining and tooling companies, she said.

Vigorous market competition from U.S. and foreign competitors has forced the regional companies to be more aggressive in seeking new business, Erbaugh said.