Honoring our industry’s roots, and moving ahead with new technology.
This issue of Drainage Contractor is about ringing in the new, honoring the old, and mixing the two where it makes sense.
In September, I caught up with Peter Darbishire, former DC editor and industry icon. Peter has been traveling the world and learning about all sorts of drainage contractors, including one from New Zealand who is profiled in this issue. If you think you’ve got challenging terrain, he’s draining slopes with up to 10 percent grades! See page 8.
Later in the month at the Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., I met with some drainage professionals, discussed new machinery and heard the odd wild tale. I also went for a technical tour with RWF BRON sales manager Mark Odorico, learning about the company’s innovations and how it strives to tailor its machines for new uses. See page 6 for more information.
I also settled in to discuss the history of the double-link plow with another industry icon, Tony Paladino. Most of you will know Tony, but did you know that he, Bill Eddy and Dale Stevens have launched a new version of the old double-link plow and that his original plans involved using the radio control from his model airplane collection? See page 14 for more details and an old ad from the 1970s.
In the article, Paladino is humbled and comments on how the double-link plow has been copied over the years: “We are really glad to have given to the world this fantastic machine for all to use to improve productivity on farms. If so many companies copied us, that can only be a statement to confirm that we were correct on the design. It’s a great honor.” It was truly an educational show and I am looking forward to the shows in January and February where I can get out to meet more of our readers and contractors, and learn more about the industry.
That brings us to the new innovations within Drainage Contractor magazine. Did you notice our new logo and colors? I am very proud of the new design, which you will see start to pop up all over the place. This issue also marks the first with a brand new layout design and, to top it all off, next year we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary. Please stay tuned for more details on that.
More exciting still is the launch of our new website. I told you it was coming and at press time we were almost there. It lives at www.drainagecontractor.com and we are aiming to go live the third week of November, just around the time you receive this issue in your mailboxes. The new website will help you to keep up to date on what is going on in the industry, to follow our social media streams and to review and search out back issue stories.
Please check back with our Facebook page /DrainageContractor and our Twitter feed @DrainageContMag for more details and let me know what you think of all of our changes and the issue itself, and what is going on with you in your part of the industry. Until then, I look forward to continuing the conversation online…
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