Editor's Focus

El Nino seems to bring each morning a hot blast of fetid financial news from Asia. Wall Street in predictable fashion shudders and shakes with each announcement of another Asian stock market drop or bank failure. But those in the trenches of the scrap and recycling industries don’t have the luxury of waiting for financial analysts to huddle and attempt to explain what it all means. Rather, they must be proactive, not reactive. And, if knowledge is power, then this month’s issue of Recycling Today will help to empower its readers. Consider the following:

· We profile Iowa-based City Carton Co., whose guiding tenet is “in a service business, if you don’t supply service, you don’t stay in business.” The company places a high value on its relations with its customers and the communities in which it has its plants. This winning formula has resulted in a 31-year track record of success.

Recycling Today takes a hard look at the uncertainty in the paper stock markets. Senior Editor Dan Sandoval points out that the roller coaster ride is far from over. Predicting where paper stock markets were headed used to be fairly straightforward. Not any more. Finan-cially unstable Asian markets, domestic mills attempting to push through price increases for finished products, and questions about the continued performance of the American economy are raising cautionary flags in the paper stock markets.

· If the pursuit of knowledge and networking are on your agenda, then don’t miss Managing Editor Brian Taylor’s preview of next month’s Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ annual convention in San Francisco. Recycling Today’s staff will be there and we encourage you to drop by our booth on the convention floor.

· No matter what your product, if you can’t move it you’re dead in the water, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, dead on the rails. Senior Editor Dan Sandoval takes a look at the state of the nation’s railroads. 

· This month’s issue also offers information on the latest developments in shredding plant technology. Scott Newell, chairman and CEO of Newell Industries, San Antonio, reviews the state-of-the-art shredding equipment now available on the market. The article emphasizes, however, that equipment alone cannot maximize efficiency and lower costs.

· Recycling Today debuts its first equipment guide for 1998. The Baler Guide, which was an enormous success last year, contains the latest information on this equipment. This seven-part, in-magazine supplement should not be missed by anyone who owns or leases a baler, or plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

This month, Recycling Today welcomes Maria Miller to its team.  Maria, a graduate of Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, assumes the position of Marketing Coordinator. Prior to joining Recycling Today, Maria was the sales and marketing assistant for the Standard Candy Company, Nashville, Tenn. Susan Lopriore, Recycling Today’s current Marketing Coordinator, is joining the magazine’s sister publication Lawn & Landscape as its Marketing Coordinator.  We wish both Maria and Susan much success in their new positions.