The magazine of the industry

Specialized in the market of movable assets and technologies, M&T magazine continues to be an important reference for the industry, 25 years after its creation

Designed by Sobratema, M&T magazine is getting 25 years of publication in 2014. More than a date to celebrate, this accomplishment strengthens the positioning of this vehicle among the more respected specialized publications for the market of construction, mining and agribusiness equipment in the country.

And a lot of this condition is due to the alignment between its mission—designed 25 years ago—and the changes that occurred in the product during these years. Among these changes, stands out that carried out in 2007, when the period of edition was changed from bi-monthly to monthly. It was also important the recent graphic and editorial rebuilding and the start of versions for movable platforms that prepared the publication for the new times.

Such examples are milestones in the path of the magazine, but others were pointed out by the professionals interviewed in this article, that highlight the growing of the project during that period. The positive evaluation is also confirmed by the latest survey about the product, carried out by Sobratema in 2012—when more than three hundred readers (through spontaneous answers) and 32 advertisers informed their opinion—to get a detailed view about how the market sees the magazine.

BOLDNESS

History comes first. According to Afonso Mamede, president of Sobratema and executive of Construtora Norberto Odebrecht, the magazine was developed to strengthen the area where the association operates. “The magazine was created to spread knowledge, providing the construction equipment industry with information about new technologies, evolution of work processes, field experience of professionals and legal issues, among other main themes”, resumes him.

For Mamede—in addition to becoming monthly seven years ago—M&T climbed recently to a higher level when it went to new medias and—pioneering in the area—created its digital version for tablets and smartphones. “Our daily challenge is to maintain the magazine as a market reference, always up-to-date, modern and with a relevant content for the industry”, complements him.

In this sense, the president of Sobratema points out that the magazine also faces other challenges, such as the distribution in a large territory such as Brazil—that resulted in an increase in the number of printed copies, sent to a specialized public—and the evolution of the country itself, that caused the expansion of the media coverage to other markets such as mining, agribusiness, tools and others.

But the courageous position of the magazine is not limited to technical subjects. Even in its first years of life, M&T was never intimidated. This may be proven by the interviews with Jaime Lerner (edition 9) and Paulo Maluf (edition 15), mayors of Curitiba and São Paulo at that time. Who remembers these facts is the Special Project Manager of Sobratema, Nelson Costábile, one of the remaining founders.

This engineer remembers that the creation of M&T was part of the entity’s statutes since its foundation in September, 1988 in the city of São Paulo. Less than one year later, Sobratema complied what it did promise delivering its first edition—still bimonthly—in July/August, 1989. This was the first program carried out by the association.

“When we started, the magazine was developed in an almost artisanal way, but always with a strong purpose of informing the practical knowledge used by experienced professionals of important contractors and of spreading new technologies”, remembers Costábile. “In addition, we brought the knowledge of construction equipment manufacturers, dealers and service renders that kindly shared their valuable technical data.”

For the manager, even considering the enlargement of its horizons, the publication never abandoned this role of main medium of communication between its associates and the country’s community of equipment, maintenance and construction.

EVOLUTION

In fact, the “artisanal” way to produce the magazine, as Costábile said, was the result of the willing of its founders to make it feasible. For example, in the first editions, him and Jader Fraga dos Santos—one of the current vice-presidents of Sobratema and executive of Ytaquiti Construtora—were responsible for the photos published in the magazine.

Some of these photos were also used in the cover of the first editions. “In the beginning, M&T was managed and produced by the members of the entity’s board of directors, who defined the guidelines, wrote and selected the technical articles and carried out the interviews, produced the pictures and even checked the photolithographs”, remembers Costábile.

For Jader, starting from this initial experience, the magazine did not only accomplished its mission of generating technical knowledge but also evolved quickly as a product, including professionals of journalism and marketing into its production team. Everything was carried out by steps. “It is not by chance that the credibility and the quality of the material produced migrated to other formats, such as digital ones”, points out the executive.

For him, the information contained in the magazine continues to be a strong support to technicians and professionals of the area, mainly due to the access to new technologies. “We feel that hearing other professionals that talk about the magazine”, completes him, highlighting the important role of the Editing Council, that helps to spread the experts’ view and that contributes with the interchange of experiences of people that work directly in the universe of equipment used in construction works.

Mamede also emphasizes that the Council is composed by construction professionals. “This composition leads to an approach of subjects actually lived by the area and increases the impartiality and trustworthiness of the articles, stimulating users and manufacturers to contribute with data and information of real importance”, points him.