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Over the past ten years the magazine has grown, and improved with an evolving approach, ensuring it always supplies the latest and most significant news and developments to the trade.
In his first Editor’s Letter Brian Hall wrote: “Our aim is to communicate new and interesting developments to the trade in an interesting and colourful way.” And indeed from the very start from ‘This ToolBusiness’ via ‘ToolBusiness’ to ‘ToolBusiness+Hire’ the magazine has grown to be full colour and lively in its use of photographs and stories.
The first issue of the magazine appeared in April of 1993 and its cover promised that it was “The brand new specialist magazine for the tool trade.” At that time it was published six times a year and the very first cover featured Wera.
By issue two, the commitment to constant improvement was clear, with even more new products featured. The major innovation in this issue was the introduction of the reader reply card, allowing the magazine to fully live up to its promise to be a two way channel between manufacturers/suppliers and retailers.
Tool Story
Over the years Toolbusiness has followed the growing trends in what has certainly proved to be a vibrant and expanding sector, during its first year it featured Bosch’s new cordless drills, since when the benefits of cordless tools have become universally known. Also featured early on was “ A revolutionary new measuring instrument” - the worlds first light weight hand held laser meter, from Fisco. This was described as: “A totally new concept in the UK but the product is already well tried and tested in Europe where it has quickly become established among architects and surveyors.” The product, known as the Pulsar IV was priced at £895.00, the article said, going on, “Fisco is confident that the Pulsar IV will make any previous concerns about the accuracy of hand held measuring instruments a thing of the past.” - Certainly one prediction that more than lived up to its promise!
Other items have proved to be slightly less accurate, in issue 5 Toolbusiness said: “Britain’s largest DIY multiple has just accepted a delivery which hails a revolution in the UK’s attitude to power washers.” While the revolution may not have been quite on the epic scale the article suggested when it claimed that Britain would soon match Europe where the pressure washer was seen as an ‘indispensable cleaning tool’ and where nearly every house had one. This may have been a little ambitious but it is certainly true that power washers have come a long way from being something the average consumer was barely aware of in the early nineties.
Toolbusiness’ major strength has always been in keeping its readership up to date with the ongoing improvement in familiar products from well established manufacturers. In issue 4 the magazine carried a report on Stihl’s plans for chainsaws in the year 2000. “Chainsaw functions will increasingly be controlled by electronic components. These could then be monitored via a small display similar to the dashboard computers in ‘upper class’ cars.” Stihls research and development department promised, another development that would represent a ‘step on the road to that 21st century chainsaw’ was the introduction of direct fuel injection ‘of a kind already used in motor cars’.
At the beginning of 1995 ToolBusiness carried a report on Black and Decker’s major repositioning of its brand, with a new generation of power tools. This strategy was designed to increase the company’s already impressive position in the DIY market and included the introduction of the jade-green livery that is now such an accepted part of Black and Decker’s brand identity. Indeed it was this relaunch that effectively changed the image of Black and Decker to that which we know today. The New Generation of power tools represented ‘three years of research and development, during which time the company has spent half a million pounds on end user research alone’. This was followed by even more ambitious changes including Dewalt success story!
Making History
Its not just developments in products that Toolbusiness has reported on over its first decade, whenever tools have played a part in the news, the magazine has been sure to highlight their roles. In issue 26 from November 1996 we reported on the role Garryson was playing in the British attempt to break the land speed record in Thrust SSC. Jason Davies, one of Thrust’s team of technicians told us: “Garryson’s products have proven to be invaluable in creating the steelwork and panel work and helping us to maintain finishing standards that have been second to none.”
Another story relating to speed appeared in issue 30, but this time it was the lack of a product that was creating interest when we reported how Jean Todt, Team Boss of the Ferrari formula one team, explained Michael Schumacher’s early exit from the Hungarian Grand Prix: “..we’ve discovered what caused the electro-valve connected to Schumacher’s accelerator to break in Hungary - we didn’t use a drop of Loctite to hold it in place.” We can only assume from Ferrari’s subsequent performance that it wasn’t left out again.
Later on in 1997 Toolbusiness reported that Spear and Jackson had supplied four inch pointing trowels to an archaeological dig, which was excavating the tomb of a Mayan King in Belize. In November 1998 it was Honda who were making the news as the company supplied several generators to the island of Antigua, which had recently been hit by a hurricane, as part of a relief effort.
A Toolbusiness news story that combined the common themes of speed, machinery and history occurred in August 1999 when TR fastening came to the aid of a project to restore Sir Malcolm Cambell’s Bluebird K3 boat. The 1937 boat was being restored to her former glory and TR helped locate suitable fastenings.
Chips With Everything
The growth of ToolBusiness has coincided with the advent of the internet revolution and the rise of computer technology to the position it now occupies at the centre of even the smallest company.
At the beginning of 1996 we reported that Trend had become the first major woodworking tool company on the internet. We explained how the company’s presence on the ‘Internet World Wide Web’ would allow ‘anyone with a PC, a modem and internet to access a series of pages on the company’s products and services’. Of course it was not long before many more companies had found their internet footing, and of course the terminology has settled down as well. A year later we reported on B&Q’s launch of the building trades first on line interactive trading website, and by 1998 Hirex announced its first website to promote the show.
And its not just internet technology that has become a universal business tool since ToolBusiness first appeared. In August 1996 we reported that although electronic point of sale, stock control and accounting systems had been around for some time, many retailers still resisted installing them, the article went on to explain how new cheaper systems could help retailers save money and increase profit margins.
Beyond the obvious appearance of computers at checkout desks and as a means of ordering products on line the computer chip has of course played its part in the design of tools, and installed within tools to improve their operation, it is this constant growth and development in technology that fuels the need for a magazine like Toolbusiness to keep retailers informed.
Events
Throughout the last ten years the magazine has been able to report on a number of major anniversaries, including the 75th anniversary of Stihl and the invention of the chainsaw, which was featured in issue 82. In 1995 it was the anniversary of the first portable electric drill, built by Fein. In issue 38 it was Sealey who were celebrating 25 years of being in business and in issue 40 we reported that Bosch had been producing power tools for 60 years.
Its not just anniversaries we report on and over the years we have reported on take-overs, closures and more sadly carried obituaries for some of the major players in the trade.
Of course trade shows have always been an important part of our coverage, from issue one which reported on the Cologne International Hardware Show. Since then we have never missed a show, with Hirex, Glee, Tools Show, Premier Hire, the DIY and Home Improvement Show and Interbuild all playing an important part in Toolbusiness’ mission to provide the news on the very latest product developments.
Toolman
Ever ready for new ideas Toolbusiness introduced a feature in 1999, and indeed a personality, that would become an essential part of the magazine as we know it. Peter Brett brought his tool experience to the magazine with his first tool review in issue 48.
Peter, as his profile in that first issue told us, is a graduate of the University of Witwatersand, who came to England in 1976. He made (and indeed still makes) reproduction furniture and teaches Art, Design and Technology at a special school in Sussex.
In that first review Peter tested eleven Mitre Saws. Since then he has tested everything from Chisels to workbenches. In fact he has tested around 209 tools since then.
From issue 75 independent tool reviews took the place of the tool tests, after the number of tools coming into the magazine’s Haywards Heath offices became too high to accommodate.
Still Changing
So Toolbusiness has carried on striving to be the best by constant improvement. The latest change has been the incorporation of Hire Trader. Hire Trader was an acquistion dealing specifically with tools and equipment available to independent hire companies, however it had become clear that the area of crossover between this and Toolbusiness was so great that a far more cost effective solution to providing companies with news was to combine the two magazines, their coverage and readerships.
One fortunate side effect of union of the two magazine was that Belinda May, who had first worked on Toolbusiness from issue one as Circulation Manager and had gone on to be Advertising Manager on HireTrader, became Editorial Manager on the newly retitled Toolbusiness+Hire.
This means that ToolBusiness+Hire has three people working on it who were in at the launch of the original This Toolbusiness one hundred issues ago. As well as Belinda, Brian Hall remains as Editor and Christine Williams has moved on from Accounts Manager to Advertising Manager.
Its not just the family of staff behind the magazines production that have ensured its continued production of quality tool news, the support of our advertisers has made it possible to carry on bringing our readers the best magazine possible. All at the magazine are grateful to such companies who have played such an important part over the years.
That was the first ten years and the first one hundred issues, bring on the next one hundred.
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Airstream Communications