This month’s cover demonstrates that we have been providing a Buyers Guide as a resource for our readers for over 20 years. Over that time, it has evolved into an unparalleled tool for readers to locate the products/processes/companies they need to do business with. The Buyers Guide you are holding is a true labor of love because our staff goes above and beyond to provide you with the best information to help you find what you need. This excellent once-a-year tool is enhanced by the searchability provided in our online Buyers Guide, which can be found on our website (www.industrialheating.com).

To search the Buyers Guide or one of our other online directories, click the “Searchable Directories” link on the left side of the screen. You will be directed to a page with four options. One of these is the Buyers Guide, and the other three are Aftermarket Services, Commercial Heat Treat Capabilities and Materials Characterization & Test Equipment. A click on the Buyers Guide provides you with options to browse by various sections and by products.

At Industrial Heating, it is always our goal to provide you, the reader, with valuable content. Our technical content, in the form of articles and columns, is chosen to assist you by providing information you can use to make decisions. Other columns, and often this editorial, provide information that might affect how you do business because we know you don’t always have the time to keep up with what’s happening in the world and how that might affect your company or career.

Speaking of columns, we begin a new, periodic feature this month called “Combustion Concepts.” These columns, written by retired university professor Art Morris, will feature a discussion on some aspect of combustion. Each column will also provide a free, downloadable Excel workbook that can be utilized for your specific process calculations. We think this new column will be educational and provide a practical resource for your process analysis. Check it out on page 22.

Our website is also a resource for articles and columns archived back to the beginning of this century. In addition, are you aware that we are updating our “The Experts Speak” blog weekly with new expert input? Topics include heat treatment, brazing, metallography, environmental and safety, and general metallurgical information. If you have questions for our experts, you can respond to the blogs directly.

If you need to locate articles by a certain topic, use the search feature at the top of our website home page. For instance, a search for “vacuum feature” yielded 4,780 results available on our website. A more specific search for “vacuum nitriding” resulted in 372 possibilities on our site. To see what you might have missed, check the bottom of the home page to find out 10 of the most-emailed and most-popular articles in addition to the 10 most-searched terms.

Our website includes our daily news item to keep you informed, and you can sign up to receive our IH Daily newsletter. If you are an industry-news junkie, a news podcast is also available. Twice monthly, current industry-related news will be available in this format. Also available twice monthly is the IH magEzine newsletter, which provides a selection of the latest, most-compelling industry news.

If you prefer to read our magazine digitally as it appears in print, our Digital Edition is just for you. Each month’s issue is posted on our home page for you to flip through much as you would a magazine. It’s a good resource to have if someone “borrows” your copy of Industrial Heating before you have finished reading.

Is there a specific industry event you seek? Our online calendar is a great place to look. A tab at the top of the home page takes you to a choice of three options. Picking the “Meetings and Shows” link revealed 21 possibilities remaining in 2012. A link is provided for each in order for you to get more detailed information. On the home page, the Featured Shows section provides logos with links to upcoming shows.

One way to get conference-quality training from the comfort of your office is webinar training courses in our IH Training series. Two training opportunities remain in 2012. They are “Quenching for Induction Heating” in September and “All About Carburizing” in November.

Don’t forget to use the links provided on the home page to connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, which provide even more thermal-processing resources. Have a great summer! IH