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History
The first issue of Foundry appeared in Detroit
in 1892, published by a Canadian immigrant,
John Augustus Penton, an iron molder who arrived
in Detroit in the 1880s and soon became president
of the Brotherhood of Machinery Molders and
editor of Machinery Molders Journal.
In 1901, Penton moved to Cleveland to head
the Iron and Steel Press Company, where he
published Foundry and Iron Trade Review. Within
a decade, Penton Publishing was operating
as one of the country's largest business publishers.
In 1925, Penton won the printing contracts
for Time and the Saturday Review of Literature.
Time co-founders Henry Luce and Briton Hadden
were on hand when the first copies rolled
off the press. As Time's circulation grew,
however, it became clear that Penton Publishing
would have to invest in more equipment to
continue printing the popular weekly magazine.
Penton directors faced a momentous decision:
Renew the Time contract and change course,
becoming a commercial printing house, or pursue
the company’s original mission as a
business magazine publisher. The directors
did not renew the contract.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Penton Publishing:
• Added titles such as Machine Design
and New Equipment Digest that became the bibles
of the industries they served;
• Revamped Iron Trade Review and renamed
it Steel; 40 years later, it would become
IndustryWeek.
These publications distributed vital information
in the early 1940s to metalworkers engaged
in wartime production.
During the post-World War II years, Penton
Publishing developed into a giant in the business
publishing industry, with a relatively small
number of large-circulation magazines on its
roster. The growth of these publications outstripped
Penton's printing capabilities, leading the
company to construct a new printing plant
that opened in Berea, Ohio, in 1968.
Penton was purchased in 1976 by Pittway Corporation,
a conglomerate with interests in fire and
burglar alarm systems, packaging and real
estate. Pittway also owned Cleveland-based
Industrial Publishing Company (IPC), which
had a large number of small magazines focused
on highly specialized, narrow market segments.
IPC was founded in 1930 by Irving Hexter,
who reputedly hocked his wife’s engagement
ring to get the money to start the company.
The user-friendly name of its first publication
was Here's How It's Welded, which evolved
into Welding Design & Fabrication.
Penton and IPC were merged to form Penton/IPC
Publishing. The combined company flourished
in the two succeeding decades, acquiring additional
titles and taking initial steps to diversify
its business-to-business (B2B) marketing services
and product lines. Reflecting its evolution
to a provider of fully integrated media products,
Penton changed its name to Penton Media, Inc.
in April 1998.
In fact, the year 1998 marked a watershed
in the company's history. On August 7, Penton
Media completed a tax-free spinoff from Pittway
and became an independent public company.
In 1999, the company divested non-core printing
and direct mail operations, allowing it to
concentrate on developing its media portfolio.
It embarked on a series of strategic acquisitions
that have given the company leading positions
in new markets. Among those transactions was
the purchase of New Hope Natural Media in
May 1999, which gave Penton a leading presence
in the fast-growing natural products industry.
The business continues to operate under its
widely-respected New Hope Natural Media brand
and is based in Boulder, Colorado.
Penton also acquired Duke Communications
International in September 2000, giving it
a major presence in the information technology
market. That business, with leading media
brands serving the Windows and IBM operating
platform market segments, operates as the
Penton IT Media Group, and is based in Loveland,
Colorado.
In addition to giving Penton a significant
presence in new, important sectors, these
transactions also helped to further diversify
Penton's product mix to include a variety
of market-leading in-person and online media.
Penton continues to focus on expanding its
media portfolio, with the strategic goal of
being the leading information provider in
all the markets it serves. In addition to
strategic acquisitions, organic product development
is an integral part of the company's growth
strategy. The company fosters an entrepreneurial
culture and relies on its creative, market-focused
staff to identify new-product launch opportunities
as it strengthens its portfolio and pursues
growth for the future.
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