I truly enjoy the pleasures offered in life. My biggest concern is probably how quickly time flies by. Can you believe that the Pallet Enterprise is entering its 25th year in 2006? Our December issue this year will complete our 25th year of publishing this magazine.
Looking back fondly, our first issue at the end of 1981 was a 24 page bimonthly magazine. We grew to 40 pages by the end of 1983. Over time, we steadily grew to the size that we have been in recent years. The Enterprise matured from bimonthly to seven issues a year, then ten issues a year, and finally to monthly.
All of this growth was possible solely because we had developed a large contingent of readers who believed in the Enterprise. They learned from what we wrote, contributed ideas for us to pursue, and grew into a large family. Nothing in my business experience can even approach the joy the Brindley family has enjoyed from working with literally hundreds, and even thousands, of friends in the pallet and sawmill industries. We just hope that each and every reader has benefited to some degree from the efforts of our staff at Industrial Reporting.
As the Enterprise grew in size, we have strived to continually improve the quality of editorial and the services we offer. Certainly, we are not sitting back in this milestone year. Rather, we are accepting it as a challenge to provide even bigger and better services to the pallet and forest products industry.
Our printed products, including Pallet Enterprise, TimberLine, Pallet Profile Weekly, and Recycle Record cover the industry like no other source. Over the last few years, we have helped publish two books on the pallet industry, the only two pallet books available on the market.
Industrial Reporting is no longer just our printed publications. Increasingly every year our online products have gained favor. The Pallet Board has become known as the cyber cooler for the industry. Thousands of regular visitors register hundreds of thousands of monthly hits to our Web site. An article archive, classified Trading Post, Lumber Pages directory, and Timber Equipment Directory provide more information sources to help everybody from a curious visitor with a pallet question to a seasoned veteran in our industry. Industry links, educational sites, and our online ZIP RFP/RFQ/RFI service are unique sources of information.
We are considering more new products and services than at any other time in our history. We enjoy the position of having the most knowledgeable staff in the pallet industry and a network of respected information sources that is second to none.
In the past we have often been content to be a print publisher. During our 25th anniversary year, the Pallet Enterprise will launch into a new world of communication products for our readers. Our first audio conference in early November was a success. Details concerning our new products are still being developed. But look for Industrial Reporting to provide information in a wider variety of forms, including many electronic formats.
The first 25 years of the Pallet Enterprise have been a blessing to me, and I look forward to the next 25 for me, my family and our staff. Happy new year to our readers as we enter our 25th anniversary year.
