We’re Awesome — Compact Equipment Has Earned Three Awards So Far This Year for Editorial and Design

While it’s always a compliment when we hear from readers, manufacturers and sources how much they enjoy both Compact Equipment’s print magazine and website, it’s always a big honor to have our peers recognize our talents and efforts. This year, our publication has earned three different awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) and Trade Association Business Publications International (TABPI). Both associations specifically celebrated our June 2018 issue as one of the best special sections in B2Bs.

Last year we dedicated our big June issue to operating and analyzing the hottest new construction equipment coming out for the summer work season. We dispatched Compact Equipment editors across the country, visiting the likes of Volvo Construction Equipment in Shippensburg, Pa., to experience a wheeled excavator, Kubota headquarters in Grapevine, Texas, to off-road some UTVs, and West Bend, Wis., to compare the biggest and smallest skid steers made by Gehl. Kudos to Pam Kleineke and Chris Crowell who won multiple times for their features in that issue. It was also beautifully designed in a sweet, secret dossier-type format courtesy of Deb McManus (also a multiple award winner). Here’s the TABPI Tabbie award judge on that section:

“These stories on hot new construction equipment prove that Compact Equipment gets its audience. The team didn’t just present analysis and trends, it gathered specs, sought out advice — and operated machines from across the U.S. Each article exudes enthusiasm in part because of the extra mile traveled to experience the culture of the companies featured … All elements come together to make for a truly informative read. The stated mission was to ‘bring the operational experience to our readers.’ Mission accomplished — and then some.”

The CE team also took home a Tabbie award for my Editor at Large column. One of the best parts of my job is I get to travel all over the world to operate and inspect off-highway construction equipment, visit trade shows and tour and audit production facilities, and then I get to convey those personal experiences via my column with photography that captures the experience of driving iron and being a full-time machinery journalist.

Congrats to the whole CE team and the manufacturers that participated in those stories — Kubota, JLG, Volvo, Gehl and Hatz. We could not continue to produce award-winning work without both our great staff and our excellent partners in the industry.

Keith Gribbins, Publisher
kgribbins@benjaminmedia.com