How do you define success? Most companies tend to focus on their bottom line—but do your profit-and-loss numbers tell the whole story? What about less tangible elements such as productivity, waste, environmental issues, value-added initiatives, market positioning, pricing strategies and operational objectives? How can you improve these and other areas of your business to maximize your competitive edge in today’s global economy?
Ceramic Industry can help. Each issue is packed with the latest industry news; feature articles on new materials, equipment and processes; case studies of companies that have successfully improved their operations; and practical advice from leading industry experts on topics such as energy efficiency and kiln control, international business, refractory trends and technologies, and business management. Throughout the year, special issues such as our Materials Handbook (January), Ceramic Components Directory (May), Data Book & Buyers’ Guide (July) and Equipment Digest (November) provide a valuable resource for locating suppliers and understanding the basics. And our focused market supplements and sections—including Pottery Production Practices, Brick & Clay Record and Ceramic Energy—offer news and articles targeted to specific industry sectors. All of this information and more is posted on our website, giving you an easily searchable index through our LINX search engine to current and past topics of interest.
However, like you, we recognize that we must continually adapt to the changing needs of today’s markets. To that end, we have a number of new initiatives planned for 2006 to provide you with even more of the information you need to be truly successful. For example, in January we’ll introduce a new focused market section called Ceramic Defense, which will cover the latest advances in ceramic materials and technologies used for body, vehicle and aerospace armor, as well as other military and security applications.
With the assistance of our new Ceramic Energy Editorial Advisory Board (click here), we will also continue to expand this targeted supplement to keep you abreast of the newest market opportunities and technologies in the exciting field of energy, including fuel cells, solar/wind power, batteries, supercapacitors, nuclear energy and gas turbines.
We welcome your feedback. If there’s a topic you would like to see covered in a future issue of Ceramic Industry, please e-mail me at suttons@bnpmedia.com. As always, our goal is to help you succeed by providing valuable information on all aspects of ceramic and glass business and manufacturing—both in print and online.
Susan Sutton
