Coming Together

Randy Stott,
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

We all have a friend, relative or acquaintance who always seems to have the right connection, no matter what you need. Car broke down? “I know a guy.” Need to get a traffic ticket fixed? “I know a guy.” Need a plumber, some investment advice or tips on buying a new phone? “I know a guy.”

Well, when it comes to mechanical power transmission components, we ARE that guy.

his issue we present our annual printed Buyer’s Guide, your handy resource for finding the manufacturers and suppliers of the mechanical power transmission and motion control components you need.

A Buyer’s Guide seems like such an antiquated thing, right? I mean, after all, you can just go to Google and type in what you’re looking for and be directed to plenty of willing and able suppliers. Easy-peasy.

Well, not so fast.

It’s hard to know who you can trust out there, and the need for reliable, accurate, up-to-date information about suppliers and their capabilities is as important as ever. Just over the past week, I’ve had three different people come to me personally looking for recommendations about gear manufacturers who can handle this or that project.

They came to me because I’ve been in the industry for 27 years. I know people. I talk to manufacturers. Rather than sift through pages and pages of search engine results, they go to their guy. They know I can get them very quickly to the handful of suppliers who might best be able to help them.

Of course, invariably, before I do anything else, I point them toward our Buyer’s Guide. And although the one you have in your hands is incredibly useful as a starting point, there’s a lot more detail in the online guide. At www.powertransmission.com, you get full contact information, descriptions of the companies’ capabilities and breakdowns of the broad product and service categories into specific part and component types.

People come to me — and to the Buyer’s Guide of Power Transmission Engineering — because we’re trusted resources. That trusted friend you go to for advice has personal experience, and his referral is way better than choosing randomly. We’re like that, too. Unlike the millions of responses you typically get from a Google search, our Buyer’s Guide narrows it down to the results that matter. Also, our directory is vetted by our editors — people like me with decades of experience in the industry. We save you time by making sure the listings are accurate.

And it’s about to get even better.

Beginning in 2022, you’re going to see some really great improvements to the online Buyer’s Guide, including the addition of even more details on each company. Those listed in the Buyer’s Guide are going to have the opportunity to add videos, product literature and more. There will be tight integration between the directory and the rest of the content on our site. You’ll be able to quickly and easily learn more about each company by reading the articles they’ve written or been featured in, watching the videos they’ve posted or been a part of, and learning about the products, services and company news related to their company.

We’ve been working hard on these improvements for almost a year, and they’re just about ready to go. Stay tuned to this page for more details over the next couple of issues.

In the meantime, please take full advantage of both this printed guide and the online guide at powertransmission.com.

P.S. If your company manufactures gears, gear drives, bearings, motors, couplings or any other power transmission or motion control component, NOW is the time to get listed (for FREE!) in the online directory. Just go to www.powertransmission.com/getlisted.php to make sure you’re first in line to take advantage of our improvements as they roll out in the beginning of 2022.