Navigating the new normal, P&Q’s upcoming May issue and more

Yanik

ConExpo-Con/Agg ended about six weeks ago. So why does it feel like six months have passed since those of us who went to Las Vegas last boarded an airplane?

OK, don’t answer that one. Surely, we all know the answer by now.

The world has changed dramatically since the time Pit & Quarry last attended an industry event. As I write this, the magazine’s staff is in its sixth week quarantining from home. And it’s likely Pit & Quarry will be working from home for at least another several weeks to come.

Fortunately, we are still able to do our jobs, just as many of you are carrying on wherever you’re located. The Pit & Quarry team now regularly video conferences to stay in touch and keep business moving forward, and we’ve ramped up our digital coverage since the onset of the coronavirus because the nature of the story really requires daily updates.

We’ve gotten creative to tell stories, too. In early April, for example, we put out a 10-question survey to our producer readers asking them to share the impact of the coronavirus on their businesses. A number of the survey’s takeaways will be presented within our upcoming May issue, and insights on aggregate production and parts and service are already provided on pitandquarry.com.

Additionally, because the P&Q team cannot currently visit with you in the field, I’ve been delivering weekly video updates to keep up some form of face-to-face interaction. The videos are a way for me to share insights based on my regular remote interactions with producers, suppliers and others.

The P&Q approach

P&Q’s May 2020 cover features the new crushing and screening spread at H.I. Stone & Son. Photo: Tom Kuennen

Through all of this, the P&Q team has strived to do a few things with our coverage. We want to be real with you, first and foremost, but we also want to look at the positive when we can and present solutions rather than new challenges.

The mainstream media, both national and local, is doing a good enough job inducing fear within the general public. The negativity is wearing on a number of people I’ve talked to, and some are already tuning out the media.

A trade publication like ours, on the other hand, has a responsibility to guide you through this pandemic. At the same time, we recognize our place with many of you is as an outlet from much of the “noise” created by this pandemic.

Many businesses within our industry are deemed essential, and that means you have a job to do. So we view it as our job to continue delivering content on equipment and technology that helps all of you become better aggregate producers.

With that, you’ll find a special section within our upcoming May issue that’s dedicated to crushing and hydraulic breaking equipment. Also within the upcoming May issue, we present tech developments from that ConExpo-Con/Agg show that, in all reality, took place not too long ago.

Additionally, we want to make sure everyone who wants vital industry information can get it. To that end, all of Pit & Quarry‘s digital editions are no longer gated for subscribers only. We invite everyone to access our digital library and enjoy the content provided there.

In the meantime, I wish you, your family and your business well as we collectively navigate this new normal together.