17.03.2008
MANAGING AUTOMATION CONTINUES INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION WITH EUROPEAN LAUNCH
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Antwerp, Belgium, 17 March 2008 - Managing Automation, the award winning media platform for advanced manufacturing technologies, announces that it will launch a pan-European print, web and event media portfolio in April called Manufacturing Executive that will be wholly owned by Thomas Publishing Company LLC. The print publication will reach over 20,000 senior business executives in the European manufacturing market.

A major step in the 21-year history of Managing Automation, the new pan-European media portfolio will debut at Hannover Fair in a press conference on 22 April at noon, local time. Following the April launch, Manufacturing Executive will publish two additional issues in 2008, scheduled for the months of September and November. The frequency of the print product is expected to increase to bi-monthly beginning in January 2009. The website will also launch on 22 April, and plans are in the works to feature articles, case studies, daily news and posted content in multiple languages online. An executive conference and awards program is expected to be announced for the spring of 2009.

The Manufacturing Executive media portfolio will feature technology content specifically developed for senior-level manufacturing decision-makers in Europe. Geared to generating intelligence about the business of manufacturing, content will cover all functional aspects of the manufacturing enterprise.

The brand's editorial mission is to provide manufacturing industry leadership information and decision-support tools that will help European senior executives transform their businesses through the progressive use of technology. Executive management as well as line of business management who must lead their organizations through business transformation, globalization, integration, consolidation and sustainability will get the insight and strategies they need to leverage automation, enterprise applications and information technology to create competitive advantage.

"Thomas Publishing has 110 years of experience in serving the manufacturing market," said Heather L. Mikisch, publisher of Managing Automation and Manufacturing Executive. "With an audience drawn from our Thomas Industrial Media database of 500,000 European manufacturing professionals, Manufacturing Executive will provide the highest-level European decision-makers from companies with 25 or more employees with insight they can act on - we will help them understand and leverage advanced technologies that can help them drive business. At the same time, advanced technology providers have embraced this new platform that represents a well-respected brand extension to reach key decision makers in Europe. Readers and technology providers have trusted the Managing Automation brand in the U.S. for 21 years, and we are thrilled that companies such as Epicor, Lawson, Wonderware, Cognos, Rockwell and Microsoft signed on as Manufacturing Executive cornerstone advertisers."

Manufacturing Executive will reach key manufacturing technology decision-makers on a daily, weekly and monthly basis through Daily News, blogs, e-Newsletters, weekly "how-to" articles, and monthly web cover stories. Through its website, peers will be able to share knowledge and experiences in a membership-only environment that they can trust. The website will also include Managing Automation's proprietary technology product comparison and evaluation system.

The focus of the launch issue will also be that of a panel discussion that will take place at the press conference organized by Manufacturing Executive and its sister organization, Thomas Industrial Media, on 22 April. The results of a research study on Plant Floor to Enterprise Systems Integration in Europe will be released and discussed by a panel of experts, including: