CINCINNATI, OH (September 6, 2002) - Casco Manufacturing Solutions has been certified as a bona fide Women's Business Enterprise by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), an organization chartered to enhance and promote procurement opportunities for women-owned businesses.

With the WBE certification, Casco also is enrolled in the Ohio Women's Business Development Council, Inc., a regional organization of the WBENC.

Casco, a privately-held, contract manufacturer of commercially sewn and sealed products for OEM healthcare and consumer products companies, is led by Melissa Mangold. Its headquarters and plant are in Camp Washington. According to a recent Cincinnati Business Courier newspaper ranking, Casco is the fourth largest woman-owned business in the Greater Cincinnati region.

The WBENC, based in Washington, D.C., fosters diversity in business through programs and policies designed to expand opportunities and eliminate barriers in the marketplace for women business owners.

Through its regional organizations, WBENC certifies businesses as women-owned, managed and controlled, then provides information about those companies to purchasing managers of corporate partners through an Internet database.

WBE certifications are accepted by more than 500 major U.S. corporations, opening access to purchasing agents of Fortune 1000 companies across the country.

In business for more than 40 years, Casco is an ISO 9001 registered contract manufacturer specializing in custom services for U.S. healthcare companies and various consumer product companies. Services include engineering and design assistance, prototyping, complex sonic and radio frequency welding, project management and job costing.