OPINION: Embracing Change

Editorial from the March/April 2021 issue of Plant magazine.

Next year, Plant magazine will celebrate its 80th anniversary. In a world where a lot of companies come and go, this is an achievement worth celebrating. To that end, a lot of changes are happening at the magazine.

First, this issue of Plant is the last to feature the current look. Beginning with the May/June issue, Plant will take on a more modern appearance. While the content will be presented in a new way, rest assured that the information contained within Plant will not change. However, if there are any subjects that you believe we should cover, please send us a note.

Next, as many of you have noticed, Joe Terret, the editor, and face of Plant for many years, has decided to hang up his pen and retire. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joe for all the hard work he has done on the magazine, and wish him all the best. His are some very big shoes to fill.

Having taken over as editor earlier this year, I have been getting up to speed with anything and everything Plant related. As the editor of Machinery and Equipment (MRO) magazine and having also worked as an automotive journalist – I am prepared for the role.

Also joining the Plant team is Maryam Farag, associate editor. You may have already seen the news and product articles that she has written for Plant’s website. We welcome her to the Plant team.

Another change for 2021 is the addition of special features for each issue. With March/April being the Growing Your Business issue. On page 8, Getting the Lead Out by Andrew Snook focuses on how a lithium-ion battery manufacturer is growing the market for material handling applications.

Richard Kunst’s Are You Really Pivoting? on page 10 looks at how the needs for business improvement still exist and are amplified as a result of current travel restrictions.

With COVID-19 increasing the amount of purchases people make online, Derek Corrick asks Getting Serious About E-Commerce? Avoid These Costly Errors on page 12. He looks at how many businesses have started to sell online, and how this year manufacturers should ‘kick-start’ the process.

Who would have imagined that we would all be using online communication technology to get all aspects of our work done? As a result, Shawn Casemore looks at Communicating Effectively When Everyone is Zoomed Out on page 7.

In this issue we also have our news segment, tech centre, Postscript with Jayson Myers, and a cross-section of manufacturing articles.

One again, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for how to improve Plant, do not hesitate to contact me.

One last note, the July/August issue will feature our HR Report and Salary Survey. Be sure to take the survey by going to (www.research.net/r/RD2NHDN).

Stay health and stay safe.