Media Industry

Plastics meltdown at Advanstar - Advanstar Communications Inc - Brief Article

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 15, 1993

When Advanstar Communications president and CEO Ed Aster shut down the company's Denver offices last May, he unintentionally spawned competition to Advanstar's Plastics Machinery & Equipment, Plastics Design Forum, Plastics Compounds and Advanced Composites, all based there. Only one of 40 editorial and ad sales employees elected to relocate to the Eugene, Oregon, office, where the titles are now published. Since then, two separate groups of ex-Advanstar employees have started new magazines, both based in Denver. Injection Molding (a 30,000-circulation bimonthly) is backed by former Advanstar executives Peter Zacher (former group vice president), Pete Sullivan (former group publisher), and Suzy Witzler (former group editor). The first issue was scheduled to mail September 10 with 50 ad pages in a 100-page issue. Judy Hazen, a former group publisher of the plastics titles, is now the publisher/chief editor of High Performance Composites, a 20,000 controlled-circulation bimonthly. The first issue was scheduled to mail on September 28 with about 30 ad pages. Jane Ganter, new editor of Advanstar's PM&E in Eugene, has spent nine years working as an editor in Aster-run properties. On the plastics defections, she concedes: "In the short run, it makes life very difficult. We're spending a lot more time getting acquainted with the industry." And the new competition? "I would not dismiss them. We know they have a track record and we take them seri-