Manufacturing has long been considered the backbone of the nation's economy.

In this month's issue of Enterprise we show that while manufacturing on the national scale is in a decline, those of us living in the Longview and East Texas economy are actually seeing a strengthening of that base.

The reasons for that strength are many. We are fortunate to be in Texas, a state whose overall economy remains vital. We are benefiting from the robust energy sector with oil and natural gas exploration and production roaring full speed ahead.

We are also fortunate that years ago, business and civic leaders in communities such as Longview, Kilgore, Marshall, Henderson and Gilmer established economic development entities to help attract new industry and help existing firms grow. We are fortunate state leaders and local officials put into place the mechanism to allow economic incentives to be competitive with other states in making that growth happen.

Firms such as Robroy Industries in Gilmer, Capacity of Texas, ETR Services and Alcatel-Lucent mentioned or highlighted in this issue reflect the variety of manufacturing firms not only surviving in these trying economic times — but thriving.

They are not the largest manufacturing firms in the area — that list would include Eastman Chemical Co.-Texas Operations, LeTourneau Technologies, U.S. Steel-Lone Star Operations and Trinity Rail — but they do reflect the global reach area companies have, and the diverse type of goods produced in East Texas.

In Rachel Stallard's article about Leroy Linseisen and his ETR Services, we also see the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well locally. The American dream of starting a business enterprise, working hard, finding unfilled or under-served niches, and persevering can — and do — still pay off.

In our Vital Signs series of charts and graphs we hope to provide news that business owners and operators can use. While national media bombard us with stories about the country's economy being in the tank, Vital Signs shows the local bright spots.

Sales tax receipts so far this year are up nearly 4 percent in Longview — a respectable increase in any business climate.

For area retailers, the good news is area students heading back to class. Vital Signs provides dates for the start of school for a number of districts and institutions of higher learning and provides information on the annual statewide sales tax holiday.

Vital signs shows East Texans are experiencing a growing thirst for mixed alcoholic beverages, based on taxes collected for those drinks. And we show the immediate Longview area added 3,100 jobs to the local economy between May 2007 and May 2008. Again, not a bad performance in any economy.

Vital Signs figures from the Texas Comptroller's Office show Longview MSA gross retail sales jumped a whopping 33.9 percent between 2006 and 2007.

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Editor's Note: Thanks for the kind words from many of our readers about the June inaugural issue of Enterprise. We hope to continue to improve and provide you with information you can put to use in your own Enterprise.

On BizBuzz we're providing snippets of information affecting the Longview and East Texas business environment — sometimes updated several times a day. You can go directly to the blog by logging on at www.news-journal/bizbuzz.