Composites Technology June 2003 Editorial

Starting with this issue of Composites Technology, we will feature a new regular column called Composites & Compliance, written by compliance expert Susan Bassett. You may recall Susan from her articles in our sister publication High-Performance Composites. She was the project director for Composites In Infrastructure: A Guide for Civil Engineers and is the editor of our upcoming Emission Control Strategies: A Guide for Composites Manufacturers as well. Susan, a civil engineer, has been a compliance consultant for many years, specializing in regulatory issues for the composites industry. She will strive to keep you up to date on developments and deadlines and how they may affect your company. We welcome Susan back as a regular contributor to our magazines.

Time to renew... let me count the ways

I get many inquiries about the messages readers receive on the outer wrap of the magazine reminding them to renew their subscriptions. Realizing this is an esoteric process that magazines perform to provide audit-worthy subscription numbers, I would like to spend a moment explaining it.

Simply, it works like this: During the July/August time period, our entire readership is asked to renew. Each of you will receive a message on the outer wrap of your August CT issue that says, "How many times do I have to fill out this form?" Reading further down on the wrap, you'll see the answer, ".... only once for a full 12 months, if you do it now." This is true. What may be confusing is this: Per our audit requirements, if you subscribed for the first time or renewed a subscription at any time between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the current year, you'll still get the August renewal notice. So some of you may be asked to renew in less than a full year. But if you renew promptly, you will get no more renewal messages until the August issue of next year. To make it as easy as possible, we provide three ways to renew; you can mail or fax the outer wrap form to the addresses shown or - easiest of all - you can go to our Web site and do it. You may notice that our Web site has a new address, www.compositesworld.com. We have upgraded the site, as well. It's faster and much more user-friendly. Check it out when you renew your subscription ... and thanks!

Check out this issue's fun and informative features, as well. Dream about racing in the streets in your new BMW 745i with its new glass/phenolic continuously variable air intake manifold (Engineering Insights), or build yourself a new composite lumber deck. Or maybe you'd like to help your kid design and build a soapbox derby car? You can get some tips on that project too, in Inside Manufacturing. Have a great summer.