President Barack Obama will be in southern Indiana on Friday to help celebrate Manufacturing Day, a nationwide event that will include about 1,500 events across the United States, according to organizers. This will be the third edition of an event designed to showcase manufacturing and attract both capital and workers to the industry.

According to a White House spokesman, President Obama will be at Northwestern University in Chicago on Thursday to talk about the recovering economy and focus on the role of America's middle class in that recovery. The following day, he will visit Millennium Steel in Princeton, the largest black-owned business in the country, and meet local authorities.

"Anytime a dignitary of this stature comes to your community, it puts a spotlight on you," said Gibson County Economic Development Corporation president Todd Mosby to the Evansville Courier & Press. "We obviously then have an opportunity to spotlight our assets, which are many. That's what I hope he takes from our community."

As this blog reported previously, Manufacturing Day was set to be a big day for Indiana even before the announcement of the President's visit. The website lists 43 events planned across the state, organized by private companies of all sizes, public institutions including county development offices and chambers of commerce, and high schools and colleges. All but a few of the events are open to the public, and they will be ongoing throughout the day.

Indiana's manufacturers have many software resources available from local companies to aid in the smooth running of their operations. Manufacturing ERP software comes with features to plan and track every step of the production process, from inventory to distribution.