Year in Review

I can not believe another year has passed nor can I believe the state of the world’s economy today. A year ago we were looking forward to a prosperous 2008 but as we sit here late in the fourth quarter, many sectors are feeling the tightening economy and the forecast calls for it getting worse before it gets better.

One “expert” I saw on the news the other day said that we will all have to work harder than we ever have to weather this economy. With unemployment at a 25 year high, the financial market slump and mortgage crisis, the deck is stacked with a lot of bad hands. While the year ahead will present challenges for most, those that are willing to work hard for, and work with, their customers, will make it through to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This issue features our fourth annual Year in Review section and what a year it has been. The section provides a directory to the features, accessories, machinery, materials and tooling we have showcased this past year. Headlines and contact information are included. To read the complete text, go to our website and type the headline into our “Articles Search By Keyword”. You can also find more information on many of the companies featured in the online version of our 2008 Buyer’s Guide. When you find what you are looking for, don’t forget to tell them you found it in Plastics Distributor® & Fabricator magazine!

In Safety Solutions this month, Jack Podojil tells you were to get Free Forklift ANSI Standards. Whether you are a trainer in the US or not, these are excellent guidelines for forklift safety and contain a tremendous amount of professionally written technical and safety material.

As we set our sights on 2009, we have some enhancements and new advertising opportunities coming to our website. Of note will be a new website search function to put the information you are looking for at your fingertips faster than before. For our advertisers, we are offering additional ad units to increase their exposure to our 500,000 annual visitors.

In our January/February 2009 issue we will spotlight Acrylic and look at many aspects of the green movement. We would like to hear what your company is doing to become more green. If you have an interesting program or practice from the front of the shop to the back, I’d like to hear about it. E-mail me at dwhelan@plasticsmag.com.

The new e-Reader Service response form on our website offers you more options for requesting information from our advertisers and select editorial items. If you are looking for information on fabricating or materials, machinery, tooling or accessories, you’ll find it at www.plasticsmag.com.

As we work harder to serve our readers and advertisers in the coming months, we also want to thank you for your support this past year. Happy holidays from all of us at Plastics Distributor® & Fabricator.

Enjoy the issue,