I'll be around
June 30, 2008
BY Susanne Retka Schill
As the ethanol industry goes through dramatic changes — $7 corn and $13 natural gas pressuring the industry to explore biomass power, CHP, corn fractionation and a plethora of other cost and production efficiency measures — Ethanol Producer Magazine is also going through a transition.
After seven years with the magazine, I'm leaving my post as editorial director this week and taking on a new position at BBI International. Starting today, I am the company's vice president of communications and no longer overseeing the day-today operations of EPM, Distillers Grains Quarterly and BBI's other publications.
As I explain in this week's podcast, "Ethanol Industry's Past, Present and Future," the industry has grown and changed a great deal since the magazine's inception. When EPM was unveiled at the 2002 National Ethanol Conference in San Diego, the industry was producing about 1.8 billion gallons of ethanol a year — about 55 plants were on line using roughly 600 million bushels of corn annually. That first magazine was 36 pages, and we wondered how we'd fill it every month. "In fact, we had a lot of people telling us we were crazy — that a monthly magazine would never fly — and that there would be nothing to write about," I tell EPM Features Editor Ron Johnson in our podcast interview.
I think it's obvious that our doubters we're wrong. The growth of our magazine has essentially tracked right along with the growth of the ethanol industry. As production capacity grew and the number of plants under construction and expansion rose exponentially each year, so did EPM. The industry hit 2 billion gallons, then 3 billion gallons … then 4 billion … and our magazine grew from 36 pages to 50 pages to 100 pages and so on. This July, EPM reached 300 pages. But we're much more than just a heavy print magazine. The EPM brand now includes an industry directory, plant maps and plant construction lists. We've just recently extended our product line to include a digital edition, an e-newsletter, a podcast and this blog, "Taking Stalk."
As I leave BBI's editorial team in the hands of our lead editors, Jessica Sobolik, Dave Nilles and Rona Johnson, I am confident that the publication is better positioned than ever to serve this ever-changing industry. The magazine's editorial team — now comprised of 17 dedicated writers and editors — is embracing the challenge of evolving with the ethanol industry and, at times, even driving that change.
Yes, I'll be around. I plan to continue writing this weekly blog and interviewing staff writers and industry experts for Ethanol Producer Radio's weekly podcast. You can bet that I'll be writing and speaking a whole lot about … you guessed it, change.
After seven years with the magazine, I'm leaving my post as editorial director this week and taking on a new position at BBI International. Starting today, I am the company's vice president of communications and no longer overseeing the day-today operations of EPM, Distillers Grains Quarterly and BBI's other publications.
As I explain in this week's podcast, "Ethanol Industry's Past, Present and Future," the industry has grown and changed a great deal since the magazine's inception. When EPM was unveiled at the 2002 National Ethanol Conference in San Diego, the industry was producing about 1.8 billion gallons of ethanol a year — about 55 plants were on line using roughly 600 million bushels of corn annually. That first magazine was 36 pages, and we wondered how we'd fill it every month. "In fact, we had a lot of people telling us we were crazy — that a monthly magazine would never fly — and that there would be nothing to write about," I tell EPM Features Editor Ron Johnson in our podcast interview.
I think it's obvious that our doubters we're wrong. The growth of our magazine has essentially tracked right along with the growth of the ethanol industry. As production capacity grew and the number of plants under construction and expansion rose exponentially each year, so did EPM. The industry hit 2 billion gallons, then 3 billion gallons … then 4 billion … and our magazine grew from 36 pages to 50 pages to 100 pages and so on. This July, EPM reached 300 pages. But we're much more than just a heavy print magazine. The EPM brand now includes an industry directory, plant maps and plant construction lists. We've just recently extended our product line to include a digital edition, an e-newsletter, a podcast and this blog, "Taking Stalk."
As I leave BBI's editorial team in the hands of our lead editors, Jessica Sobolik, Dave Nilles and Rona Johnson, I am confident that the publication is better positioned than ever to serve this ever-changing industry. The magazine's editorial team — now comprised of 17 dedicated writers and editors — is embracing the challenge of evolving with the ethanol industry and, at times, even driving that change.
Yes, I'll be around. I plan to continue writing this weekly blog and interviewing staff writers and industry experts for Ethanol Producer Radio's weekly podcast. You can bet that I'll be writing and speaking a whole lot about … you guessed it, change.
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