First and foremost: with the latest issue of Specialty Gas
Report, we are formally merged with gasworld,
the international industrial gases magazine. Headquartered in the city of Truro in Cornwall, England, UK, gasworld has been publishing news of the industry from an
international perspective since 2005, and has garnered an international
following unmatched by any other magazine in the industry.
Also in its stable of publications are gasworld Russia
and China Newsletter.
This merger has positive
ramifications to you, our readers, and advertisers.
We at Specialty Gas Report (SGR) are truly energized by this
merger – and none more than Hank Grieco, our Publisher, and Mike Vasilakes, our
Editorial Director who launched the magazine over 10 years ago.
The expertise that brought SGR to the attention of gasworld was exemplified during the
recent South African Gas Conference when Hank described the potential growth and
new markets the specialty gas business is bringing to all corners of the Earth.
Several of the companies present immediately requested his advice on a variety
of technical and commercial ventures.
Mike is especially ecstatic about the potential that gasworld brings to us… like access to a
whole new editorial staff that has been dealing with companies throughout the
world for its editorial content. Mike, who for years has been trying to reach
across the oceans for articles to bring a broadened perspective to our readers,
now can reach the labs and corporations outside the US to find authors on any number of
topics relevant to our industry.
We’ll now be able to increase our coverage of – and
contribution from – companies that are doing great things in the growing
specialty gases business around the world.
Likewise, while gasworld
has concentrated on the more commercial aspect of the industrial gases business
outside the US,
our new association gives them entré to the American corporations we’ve been
working closely with for over 10 years. In a sense, we’ll be their eyes and ears
on all that’s new in all areas of gases in the US.
A far greater reach
for our advertisers
And Pat Carlucci, our Advertising Director, is just as
excited as Mike and Hank are, for our advertisers, who will be reaching markets
outside the US
through distribution of the magazine to gasworld’s
subscribers – starting with the latest Q3 issue.
Our advertisers will now have an expanded universe of
potential buyers, particularly in areas of new growth like the Middle East,
India, and China, where growth is faster than in the more mature markets like
the US and Europe. We haven’t been able to reach these markets before. The
merger now allows us to do so… practically overnight!
And gasworld also
has a more dynamic website than we do at SGR. That’s not to say our website is
less than top notch – not at all. As a matter of fact, we’re very proud of it.
And our readers seem to like it, judging from the hundreds of thousands of hits
we get each month. But gasworld
brings a whole new dynamic to our site… the ability to update the website
almost daily… with breaking news and advancements in technology that we believe
our readers will truly find very useful.
But there’s more. Both gasworld
and SGR, separately, have been conducting very successful technical and
commercial seminars. Together, we plan to expand these activities, with more frequent
specialty gas seminars that will reach the new worldwide growth markets, while
bringing gasworld’s highly
successful industrial gas seminars to the US.
Among the most enthusiastic recipients of this merger news
are the gas distributors who are expanding into gas production and are
beginning to seriously view developments worldwide. These seminars, with their
broader focus, will bring the added expertise essential to their ability to be
part of such a dynamic market.
We also have a new
‘Look’
By now, I’m sure you have noticed a change in the format of
the magazine. Yes, after many years with basically the same design and layout,
we took the plunge and totally redesigned SGR – literally – from cover to
cover.
This is one of the tangible positives in our new
relationship with gasworld. During
our early merger discussions with gasworld
Publisher, John Raquet, we were encouraged to think about updating our ‘look’– to
change the format, the graphics, and the page layout. We agreed
enthusiastically to make the change, and John and his staff immediately went to
work. You may well be holding the result in your hand.
We are confident you’ll agree that the changes are for the
better. But how will we know for sure, unless you tell us? We’d certainly like
to hear from our readers and advertisers on how you like the changes.
It’s a win-win
evolution
Speaking for gasworld
about the merger, if I might, there’s a two-fold gain. First, gasworld is expanding
into the specialty gases arena, where they hadn’t been before in depth.
Secondly, that book will greatly expand its reach into US expertise
for its editorial and advertising potential.
As I said at the outset, we’re very excited. We get to
expand our readership outside the US, reach into international
corporations to improve our editorial content, and provide our advertisers with
expanded market potential.
I guess that’s what a good merger is all about – a Win-Win
evolution for all parties, especially our readers and advertisers!
