Take this issue of Gear Technology, for example. It’s full of really great knowledge, including information about the latest technology for manufacturing; important gear-related events that have taken place or are about to; technical knowledge based on R&D, academic research and product development; and much more. In your hands, this issue has a lot of power. It can give you ideas about ways to help your company improve operations, become more profitable or make better gears. Maybe this knowledge could help you become better at your job. 

I joined the staff of Gear Technology 30 years ago, as a lowly editorial assistant. I had just moved back to the Chicago area after a brief stint working for a family business in Louisiana. The nice people at Randall Publications offered me an opportunity to put to good use my journalism degree as well as my enthusiasm for math and science.

Gear Technology TV is the home for original gear-related content created by our editors in conjunction with a lot of really smart people in our industry whom we’ve had the pleasure to interview on camera or include in one of our discussion panels. For years, we’ve been building our library of video content, and we’ve just added a bunch more.

This year’s State-of-the-Gear-Industry survey generated a wide variety of responses. The industry doesn’t seem to be moving in just one direction, but rather, in multiple. In some cases, this is a story of the haves and the have-nots. Depending on what’s going on the world, companies serving one industry will outperform companies serving another. But overall, companies that are well positioned—those that have invested in technology, found ways to hire and maintain a skilled workforce and who have anticipated and prepared for paradigm shifts like the electrification movement—seem to have a much more positive outlook.