Expanding any business can be a daunting, nerve-wracking process. Along with the potential advantages comes a barrage of questions. As the owner of a construction firm, for instance, you have to ask yourself: Do I or my employees have the knowledge and expertise to perform this kind of work? Do I have the right team in place? How will the new division mesh with existing ones? Will the expanded services benefit current clients?
A growing publishing company faces many of the same questions. But I’m happy to report that with our acquisition last month of Better Roads and Aggregates Manager magazines, we can answer them all positively and with confidence. These award-winning publications are a perfect fit for the Randall-Reilly Construction Media Group, which includes Equipment World, EquipmentWorld.com, Total Landscape Care magazine and the Top Bid and TopBid.com used equipment reference guides.
With a 76-year history, Better Roads is the leading magazine for the government/contractor project team, providing information regarding all types of highway-related projects and serving as a forum for federal, state and local government employees involved in road building and maintenance and the contractors who perform this government work. Aggregates Manager supplies producers of crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, concrete, asphalt and lime with an array of legislative, economic, safety and equipment news.
Not only are we proud to have the Better Roads and Aggregates Manager titles in our group, we’re equally excited to join forces with the leadership team of James Informational Media, the publications’ previous owner. Publisher Mike Porcaro, Editorial Director Kirk Landers and Managing Partners James Moriarty and James Morrissey possess integrity, experience and passion for our industry that is much appreciated and admired. They have sacrificed and worked to build their magazines to the successful level they now enjoy and we look forward to being shoulder to shoulder with them as we continue to bring our industry the leading publications in the market.
Readers of this magazine will benefit from the collaboration of three trusted groups of editors. The Better Roads and Aggregates Manager editorial staffs bring extensive industry knowledge and a combined 90 years of experience to our Construction Media Group. These editors and Equipment World’s exceptional editorial team will share ideas, resources and information – an arrangement that will enhance all three publications. The alliance assembles some of the top editorial talent in the construction industry: Equipment World Editorial Director Marcia Gruver, who has led the magazine since its launch in 1989, and Landers, who previously served as chief editor of Construction Equipment magazine.
We’re strengthening our role in the transportation construction market at a momentous time in the history of the nation’s highway system. The need to build and maintain the United States’ roads and bridges in order to preserve their basic functions and our economy (see July 2007 First Word for more on this) is greater than ever. And the federal government is at a funding crossroads; the Highway Trust Fund will face a $4.3 billion shortfall by 2009, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. As the comprehensive voice in heavy/highway construction industry publishing, we’re looking forward to working with our new partners to keep you informed about this and other issues affecting your business.
