Mergers and acquisitions are a business reality in a free market. They even happen in the publishing industry. So I have some big news to report to you.
Denver-based SEMCO Publishing, owner of Rock Products, Cement Americas and Concrete Products magazines, has acquired Aggregates Manager magazine and all its related products from Randall-Reilly, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The magazine will be merged into Rock Products beginning with the January 2020 issue, while Aggregates Manager’s annual “Aggregates Atlas” will continue to be published by SEMCO.
Aggregates Manager Editor-in-Chief Therese Dunphy will bring her 20-plus years of industry experience to the Rock Products team as a monthly contributor and producer of the “Aggregates Atlas.”
“This is a great opportunity for SEMCO Publishing to expand the Rock Products brand and enhance its presence in the marketplace,” said Peter Johnson, president of SEMCO. “Randall-Reilly has long been at the forefront of information and data services and the combined resources of Rock Products and Aggregates Manager will give us the largest circulation and broadest audience reach of any publication in the aggregates industry. Rock Products is the aggregates industry’s leading publication, and this acquisition, coming as the magazine begins its 125th year of service to the industry, bolsters our commitment to aggregates producers and the advertising base that has supported us for many years.”
SEMCO Publishing continues to expand its publishing portfolio in the heavy materials industries and is launching North American Mining Products in time for the 2020 MINExpo Exhibition in Las Vegas.
“We are excited to have found a home for such a long-standing brand and are pleased that the Atlas will continue to be available as a critical resource to the aggregates industry,” said Brent Reilly, CEO of Randall-Reilly.
Here at Rock Products we are excited for all the possibilities this acquisition brings. Look for some important changes as we move forward with integrating Aggregates Manager into Rock Products, all designed to serve our readers and advertisers even better. As we close out 2019 and welcome 2020, I can say without hesitation, it is going to be a very good year.