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F.W. Dodge Launches SpecShare; Market Share Measurement Product For Building Product Manufacturers

Manufacturers Can Now Identify Where and Whom is Specifying Their Materials

New York, June 7, 2001 - F.W. Dodge, the nation's leading resource for construction project information, and a part of The McGraw-Hill Companies' (NYSE: MHP) Construction Information Group, announced the release of Dodge SpecShare, a sophisticated program that allows manufacturers to search pages of construction specifications in order to measure their specification penetration rate.

As the leading provider of nation-wide market intelligence, F.W. Dodge created a breakthrough search mechanism to extract powerful information from its vast construction databases. Specifically, Dodge is now able to identify and aggregate critical data on the individual specification and usage of building products, summarizing where, how and by whom virtually any type of building products are being used. Dodge SpecShare draws on the largest plans and specification database in the world. During 2000, over 50,000 projects were digitized, creating a comprehensive source of in-depth information.

"Dodge SpecShare was developed in response to numerous requests from Building Product Manufacturers (BPMs) for this valuable information. Specifically, the large building product manufacturer can now quickly and easily determine how much of the active building market is specifying their product, who isn't specifying their product and the names of those they need to influence in order to maintain or change the spec process," said Robert Amico, senior vice president and general manager of F.W. Dodge. "There is no other source for this information. When combined with the full array of offerings from The McGraw-Hill Companies' Construction Information Group, the BPM marketplace has a turnkey ability to plan, analyze and market their products with pinpoint accuracy" continued Mr. Amico.

Dodge SpecShare identifies when a product or brand is called out in an architect's specs, categorized by project type and geographic area. Reports also name those architectural firms that design a high volume of work, but do not stipulate that the manufacturer's products be used. Coupled with Dodge's detailed project reports including building characteristics, manufacturers have the data necessary to create highly targeted marketing plans.

Hans Helgeson, senior manager of new product development at F.W. Dodge Analytics, explained, "For manufacturers to stay competitive, it is critical that they have the capacity to track their products success rates and target their best prospects." Mr. Helgeson added, "SpecShare allows them to quickly and easily determine how much of the active building market is specifying their product, and make the necessary marketing or product adjustments."

Other useful applications of Dodge SpecShare by manufacturers include gauging market penetration of new products, assessments of sales efforts, as well as monitoring where and how competitor products are being applied.

Dodge SpecShare is delivered on CD-ROM following the close of a quarter, and one-time snapshots are also available. Custom research can be performed using SpecShare as a starting point.

The company collects data through extensive research in addition to its own network of correspondents who collect and update project information on over 500,000 active projects in the U.S. and Canada. As part of this collection process, Dodge maintains a vast library of building plans and specifications on most major projects, which are available through the Dodge Plan Rooms, the internet sites dodge.construction.com and www.construction.com, and on CD ROM.

F.W. Dodge, as part of The McGraw-Hill Companies' construction.com, the industry portal for architects, engineers, and contractors, enabling them to work faster, better and cheaper. Serving as the point of convergence for content from The McGraw-Hill Companies' Construction Information Group (CIG), which also includes Sweets, Design-Build, Engineering News-Record, and Architectural Record. Construction.com, organized along six centers, including resources, projects, building products, equipment, career and news, is the point of convergence for McGraw-Hill brands, as well as an end-to-end empowerment tool for the industry.

About F.W. Dodge
F.W. Dodge is the project marketplace for the construction community. It is part of The McGraw-Hill Companies' Construction Information Group, comprised of such leading brands as Sweet's, Engineering News-Record, Architectural Record and Design-Build and the commercial construction industry's leading internet destination, construction.com. F.W. Dodge is the premier source for project information, plans and specifications, and industry analyses and forecasts. F.W. Dodge has offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The corporation has more than 300 offices in 32 countries. Sales in 2000 were $4.3 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

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Mary Skafidas
The McGraw-Hill Companies
212.512.2826
mary_skafidas@mcgraw-hill.com

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RF Binder Partners
212.593.6389
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