Print

Email

Booth Visits Remind Us Why We’re Here

As I sit down at my IBM Selectric to type this column, I’m comforted by the fact that many of you understand what I mean. My kids don’t know what a typewriter is – heck, half the coworkers in my office have never seen one either. The people who cover the automotive industry via blogging and Tweets? Please.

By Doug Kaufman

There’s something to be said for stability and as we come to the last issue of 2011, I’d like to thank all of our long-time readers and advertisers for their continued support of Engine Builder magazine. Since we can’t physically come to each of your shops to do it, I’m instead sending out a virtual fist bump, head nod and handshake to each of you.

We’ve been to three trade shows in the past two months (as have many of you) and it’s been a great experience to speak with many of you. And when I say “many,” I mean “Wow, were we busy!” SEMA counted more than 60,000 buyers in attendance despite competition from every gaming table in Las Vegas. Beautiful weather in Orlando attracted 38,000 people for the PRI Show. And the youthful International Motorsports Industry Show in the heart of America brought over 20,000 people to Indianapolis in just its third year of existence.

To be honest, despite the excitement and vitality of the SEMA Show, the PRI Show and IMIS, it can be easy to run out of steam during a trade show. That’s why it’s so refreshing when readers stop by our booth to say hi. It’s humbling, actually, when readers tell us they’ve been getting this magazine for decades and have every back issue archived in their shop.

We deeply respect your opinion, so hearing from you first hand is a treat. Nearly everyone we spoke with at these shows said, though things could always get better, business seems to be strong.  “Cautiously optimistic” is how I would describe the general mood.

And while there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little caution, the optimism is refreshing. I’ve been to events in the past where the only thing longer than the exhibit hours were the faces of the few people in attendance. Keep up the good work on your end – and we’ll keep trying to help.

We’ve made it our mission over the years to help our readers keep up with the latest developments in the engine building  industry. We’ve done that with the help of a talented group of contributors that includes shop owners and managers, association leaders and supplier representatives. Our mission has been to provide balanced, accurate information on technical and shop management topics. Admittedly, we’ve missed on occasion, but we like to think our hits have been much more frequent.

This group of experts – Engine Builder’s “Inner Circle” if you will (some have called them the “Knights of the Torque Table” – help determine what this publication should cover editorially. Would you like to join?

Has your shop done some exciting things to recover from the past, profit from the present and prepare for the future? If you’ve made the tough decisions necessary to stay in business, we want to know about it. Let us know how you’ve prepared your facility and your employees, and we’ll let you help others find success.
Think you’re the next Tolstoy with a torque wrench? Steinbeck with a surface profilometer? Clancy of the crank balancers? Even if you’ve ever just had the desire to write for a business publication, let us know. We’d be interested in speaking  with you about contributing something to our magazine. The hours are long, the pressure is high and potential profits are low, but if you’ve got something to say to your engine building peers, we’d like to help you express it.

In actual fact, no one here uses typewriters anymore. Some of us even call on our fancy smart phones to put words on paper. But technology aside, the importance of communication remains. After all, keeping in touch is the best way for all of us to know what’s on the horizon.

Rev It Up Raffle Wrap-Up
Just when you’re trying hard to sell engines, along comes some do-gooder trying to give them away! If you’ve been following the Rev It Up Raffle saga in these pages over the past few months, you know that it’s all been for a great cause.

Two great causes, actually. Sunnen Products and Jasper Engines and Transmissions teamed up to produce a Jasper Performance Products Class II Chevrolet 350. Raffle tickets were sold to benefit the Tony Stewart Foundation and the Special Olympics of Indiana.The winning raffle ticket was sold to Leo Zynda, from the Ring & Pinion Shop in Clinton Township, MI.

Obviously, the winner’s podium holds Zynda and the charities but there’s a third space as well – as with racing, the engine builders back in the shop made it all possible. Special kudos and congratulations go to Paul Higgins, High Performance Division Head and Motorsports Team Head Coach and his students (at left) and faculty members at the University of Northwestern Ohio for the final assembly and dyno testing of the engine.

Their efforts seem to indicate the future is in very good hands.