In short
Thomasnet is a strong directory for North American industrial suppliers. Its owner describes it as a platform connecting industrial buyers with North American suppliers (Xometry, January 2026). If you need manufacturers in Europe, it is the wrong starting point, and there is no single European directory that does the same job across all 27 EU countries.
Europe is not short of factories. Eurostat counts millions of manufacturing enterprises in the EU, together employing tens of millions of people (Eurostat). The hard part is finding the few that fit your part, volume and compliance needs, then checking them. This guide covers why buyers are moving spend from China to Europe, which European sources to use instead of Thomasnet, what practitioners say, and a six-step playbook for 2027. For the strategy question of whether to move at all, see Nearshoring vs Offshoring.
Why buyers are looking for European manufacturers
China is still the EU's largest supplier
Any plan to move spend starts from a high base. China was the largest supplier of goods into the EU in 2025, with a 22.3% share of extra-EU imports, ahead of the United States at 14.1% (Eurostat, International trade in goods). The same data shows that most EU countries already trade more inside the single market than outside it, so the European supply base is large and well connected.
Firms are diversifying, step by step
The EIB Investment Survey 2025 found that 19% of EU importing firms are diversifying or increasing the number of countries they import from, while only 7% have reduced their imports (EIB). A follow-up EIB report with the European Commission, published in September 2026, says geopolitical risk is now the main source of supply chain disruption and that firms rely less on stockpiling and more on diversifying suppliers, with the single market as a source of stability (EIB, Redesigning supply chains).
In the US the shift has been faster. Laura Alfaro and Davin Chor show China's share of US imports falling from roughly 21% in 2017 to around 13% by the end of 2024 and approximately 9% by late 2025, "a level last seen when China joined the WTO in 2001" (CEPR VoxEU). One detail matters for Europe: the reshuffling happened mostly among existing large partners, and only one economy, the Netherlands, entered the US top 20.
Reshoring is more than a location change
Research on German automotive firms found that reshoring "is not a location decision alone, but encompasses a range of sourcing options such as local production in-house, using a local supplier, or addressing sustainability problems with the offshore operation" (McIvor, Bals, Dereymaeker & Foerstl, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2025). For buyers this means the European option is often a specific supplier for a specific part, not a wholesale move.
Is there a European alternative to Thomasnet?
Not one single site. Thomasnet's strength is depth in one region. In January 2026 Thomas launched Smart Search, which lets buyers "type in detailed searches—in their own words" instead of picking categories (Xometry). That is useful if your suppliers are in the US, Canada or Mexico. For Europe, buyers usually combine several source types. A fuller side-by-side is on our Speya vs Thomasnet page.
Source types for finding European manufacturers
Category | What it answers | Examples | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
North American industrial directories | Who makes this in the US, Canada or Mexico | Thomasnet | Built around North American suppliers, so European coverage is not the focus |
Pan-European B2B directories | Which European firms list this product or process | Europages and similar (see Speya vs Europages) | Listings are self-reported; check depth by country and niche |
Official business registers | Does this company exist, and who is it legally | National company registers; the EU "Find a company" service on the e-Justice Portal covering the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway | Confirms identity and filings, not capability |
Public partnering networks | Which SMEs are actively looking for buyers or partners | Profiles describe what firms offer, so coverage depends on who posts | |
Trade fairs and industry associations | Who leads in a sector, and who can you meet | Hannover Messe (5–8 April 2027), sector associations, national trade agencies such as Business Sweden or Germany Trade & Invest | Good for relationships, slow for a broad search |
AI supplier discovery | Who else can make this, and what is the evidence | Speya: describe the need in plain language; AI agents search millions of supplier profiles across 250+ data sources and return AI-vetted shortlists with sources beside every name | Whether every claim comes with a source you can check |
Most teams use more than one. A common pattern: AI discovery or directories to build the long list, registers to confirm identity, then fairs and site visits for the final few. Speya's European supplier discovery page shows how this works for European searches. Its security page states that customer data is stored and processed in the EU and that the platform is GDPR compliant by design.
What practitioners say
People doing this work describe a gradual shift, not a clean exit.
Trade-fair organisers see diversification first. "European buyers are therefore increasingly turning to diversified sourcing to spread risk," Julien Schmoll of Messe Frankfurt France, which runs Texworld Paris, told style in progress in April 2026. He added: "Despite a downward trend, China remains the EU's most important supplier."
Moving takes time. "Shifting sourcing to a new country isn't something that can easily happen overnight," Brooklinen COO Rachel Levy said at Manifest 2026. Patagonia's chief supply chain officer Todd Soller said tariffs have "raised the water level fairly equally across the world in a lot of ways", so its supply base has not changed much (Supply Chain Dive).
German industry feels the pressure from the other side. In a DIHK survey of about 1,300 companies, two thirds said they feel increased pressure from Chinese competitors, 83% in industry. "Competition with China has reached a new level," said Volker Treier, the DIHK's head of foreign trade (DIHK, September 2026).
The common thread: buyers add European suppliers part by part, and they need evidence for each one.
How to find European manufacturers instead of Chinese suppliers: a 2027 playbook
Pick the parts worth moving. Start with items where lead time, tariff exposure or single-source risk hurts most. Contract-heavy parts with specialised inputs take longer to move, as Alfaro and Chor found in US data.
Write the requirement in plain language. Process, material, tolerances, volumes, certifications and preferred countries. A clear brief works in any tool and makes results comparable.
Build a long list from several sources. Combine AI discovery, a pan-European directory and the EEN database. Do not rely on one directory's coverage.
Confirm identity in official registers. Check each candidate in the national register or the e-Justice "Find a company" service before you spend time on calls.
Check evidence, not claims. Ask for certificates, customer references and production capacity. Prefer tools that show a source beside every claim so you can check it yourself.
Meet the shortlist. Use trade fairs such as Hannover Messe in April 2027 and site visits for the final two or three suppliers. Keep the incumbent supplier until the new one is qualified.
For more on the trade-offs between near and far suppliers, see our glossary entry on nearshoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a European alternative to Thomasnet?
There is no single European equivalent. Thomas describes Thomasnet as connecting buyers with North American suppliers. For Europe, combine a pan-European B2B directory, official business registers, the Enterprise Europe Network partnering database, trade fairs, and AI supplier discovery tools such as Speya, which search millions of supplier profiles across 250+ data sources and return AI-vetted shortlists with sources beside every name.
How do I find European manufacturers instead of Chinese suppliers?
Start with the parts where risk or lead time matters most, write a clear requirement, build a long list from several sources, confirm each company in official registers, check certificates and references, and meet the final shortlist. Keep the current supplier until the new one is qualified.
Are companies actually moving sourcing out of China?
Gradually. In the EIB Investment Survey 2025, 19% of EU importing firms were diversifying the countries they import from. China was still the EU's largest import partner in 2025, with a 22.3% share. In the US the shift has been faster: China's share of US imports fell to approximately 9% by late 2025.
How many manufacturers are there in Europe?
Eurostat counted millions of manufacturing enterprises in the EU in 2023, employing tens of millions of people. A single directory will only ever list part of that base, which is why combining sources matters.
Sources
Every source above is linked inline. Key references: Xometry/Thomas release on Thomas Smart Search (15 January 2026); Eurostat, International trade in goods and Businesses in the manufacturing sector; EIB Investment Survey 2025 and EIB, Redesigning supply chains (September 2026); Alfaro & Chor, CEPR VoxEU; McIvor, Bals, Dereymaeker & Foerstl, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal (2025); DIHK special survey on China (September 2026); European e-Justice Portal; Enterprise Europe Network; Hannover Messe; Supply Chain Dive (February 2026); style in progress (April 2026).