Don’t Blink

Randy Stott, Managing Editor

Sometimes I feel like I blink and another year is gone. By the time most of you read this, it will be at or near the end of 2015. If you’re like us, you’ll be reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the next.

I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to our success in 2015. That includes our many advertisers, without whose support our efforts wouldn’t be possible, as well as our authors, whose desire and willingness to share their knowledge and experience make this magazine an educational resource instead of just a trade magazine. Here at PTE, we’ve had a really productive, transformative year, with significant changes, improvements and growth.

Our website and digital offerings are one example. In 2015, we completely redesigned www.powertransmission.com, making it accessible to readers no matter if they’re sitting at their desks, using tablets on the factory floor or surfing on their phones. We’ve spent a lot of time and effort integrating the various areas of our site so that when you visit and find something you’re interested in, you’ll be sure to see related content that helps you keep exploring. We added “The Bearings Blog,” written by Norm Parker, who is a bearing technical specialist with the driveline division of General Motors. His contributions, both online and in print, have greatly expanded the technical discussion and educational material we provide.

Also, in 2015, our publication became a member of BPA Worldwide, which means that our magazine’s circulation is audited annually. This forces us to keep detailed records on our subscribers, including when each person last subscribed and how each person is involved with power transmission and motion control components. In turn, this helps us finetune our editorial content to ensure that we’re delivering the information that you need most. It also means that we need to continually renew your subscriptions. We know you’re busy, but if you haven’t filled out a subscription form in the past year, we’d sincerely appreciate if you’d go to www.powertransmission. com/subscribe.htm to fill one out today.

Of course, 2015 was a Gear Expo year, and because gears are such an important part of what we do here, our booth at the show gave us an opportunity to share knowledge with a wider audience. For the first time ever, we offered Ask the Expert Live, and the sessions – all focused on gears – were a huge hit. You can visit our sister site to see the recorded sessions on gear design and other gear-related topics. Just visit www.geartechnology.com/videos/ to see them.

We’ve also added significant staff in 2015. Over the course of the past six months you’ve read articles from Alex Cannella, who joined us as News Editor in June and who is making solid contributions not just to our news departments, but also as an editor and feature article writer (see his article on Industry 4.0 beginning on page 24). We’re also pleased to announce that Senior Editor Matt Jaster has rejoined our staff after being away for a little more than a year. If you have any ideas about articles that should appear in Power Transmission Engineering, I invite you to contact Matt directly (mjaster@powertransmission.com), because he’s eager to get reacquainted with many of you and develop articles for 2016.

Speaking of which, we’ve got a lot planned for next year. You’ll definitely see some changes in the magazine, with new features, departments, special columns and focus issues. We’re keeping a lid on the specifics for now, but rest assured that we’re going to continue our path of growth, change and improvement in 2016.

So don’t blink, because I guarantee that next year is going to fly by, too.