Tyreman is no longer just a print magazine – it is a news channel operating through several different media.
The Tyreman Celebrates 50th Anniversary
By David Wilson (Publisher)
When I was first offered the opportunity to acquire the magazine in 2002, The Tyreman had already been established in the market for 33 years. Indeed, I had first become aware of the magazine 15 years earlier in 1987 when I first entered the tyre industry as Editor of the British tyre trade journal Tyres & Accessories. At that time, we used to receive copies of The Tyreman delivered to our UK offices, the only tyre trade magazine from Asia. Little did I realise that I would one day be the magazine’s publisher.
By 2002 my UK based magazine Retreading Business had already been established for five years, and I was interested in identifying publishing opportunities on a global basis. I realised at that time that there was on opportunity for the development of a bona fide tyre industry publication for the South East Asian market.
Rather than take the plunge into a market I didn’t know, I decide to ask The Tyreman’s owner Chen Jet How, for advice. I already knew Mr Chen as the CEO of the Kit Loong Group due to Newera and Kayel Rubber’s prominence in the South East Asian retread market. I also had an existing business relationship with Editor Mary Tang, who had carried out some Chinese translations for Retreading Business.
Mr Chen’s response to my request was to invite me to acquire the magazine. This was achieved over a two-year period culminating in 2004.
In 2002 The Tyreman was effectively an in-house magazine of the Kit Loong Group, and one of the most challenging tasks was to transform the magazine into an independent business journal for the Malaysian tyre trade. This was not the easiest thing to do, not least because the market perceived the magazine as belonging to Kit Loong, but also because the concept of business-to-business magazines was not well understood in many business sectors in Malaysia at the time.
However, we made sure we were scrupulously fair and even-handed in our editorial policy and after a couple of years, the market began to understand that The Tyreman had transformed itself into a truly independent magazine.
In 2006 we strengthened our team with the addition of Kenny Lim, our Business Development Manager, who took on the role of optimising advertising sales. One of the great strengths of The Tyreman over the years has been the loyalty of our two key personnel, Mary and Kenny, without whom the magazine would not be where it is today. Their hard work allowed us to launch a second title, Truck & Bus News, in 2010 aimed at the truck fleet market. It hardly seems possible that next year TBN will be celebrating its 10th anniversary.
As we enter The Tyreman’s 51st year, we are entering a period where more and more is expected of the publisher. Tyreman is no longer just a print magazine – it is a news channel operating through several different media including a digital magazine, a website and news blog, e-newsletters and a social media channel, and we now must face these changes in order to allow the magazine to communicate effectively to the Malaysian tyre market in the 21st century.
As we do so, I would like to express my thanks to everyone who, over the years, has contributed to the success of The Tyreman. Here’s to another fifty years.
《轮胎世界》 – 辉煌50年
出版人：大卫●威尔森
当我在2002年第一次获得收购《轮胎世界》的机会时，该杂志已经出版了33年。的确，早在15年前，也就是1987年，我第一次加入轮胎行业时就已经知道这本杂志的存在。当时的我是英国轮胎行业杂志–《轮胎及配件》的编辑。那时候，我们英国的办公室会定时收到从马来西亚寄来的《轮胎世界》，亚洲的唯一一本轮胎行业杂志。我完全没有想到有一天我会成为这本杂志的出版人。
2002年，我创立的“Retreading Business”英国杂志已经发行了5年，而我开始寻找在全球出版杂志的商机。我发现了在东亚市场出版真正轮胎行业刊物的商机。
与其一头栽进一个我完全不熟悉的市场，我决定与《轮胎世界》业主郑捷浩谈一谈，问问他的意见。我认识吉隆集团首席执行员郑先生是因为现代机器和吉隆胶品在东南亚市场的知名度。我也与《轮胎世界》主编陈文娟有着业务关系，当时她为Retreading Business 做了些中文翻译。
郑先生因此建议我收购《轮胎世界》。整个收购过程花了两年时间，并在2004年完成。
2002年的《轮胎世界》是吉隆集团的内部杂志，而当时其中一个最大的挑战就是将该杂志变成独立的马来西亚轮胎行业商业杂志。 这并不是件简单的事，不仅仅是市场上已经先入为主地认为它属于吉隆，更因为当时大马的许多商业领域对从企业到企业（business to business ）杂志概念不很了解。
然而，我们并不因此而气馁，而是努力确保在编辑工作和政策上秉持公正态度。多年之后，市场终于了解《轮胎世界》已经转变成真正独立的杂志。
2006年，我们新添了一个生力军， 也就是业务发展经理林健来优化我们的广告销售。这些年来，《轮胎世界》的最大优势是我们两位关键且忠心耿耿的职员—陈文娟和林健，如果没有他们，就不会有今天的《轮胎世界》了！他们的努力让我们得以在2010年创立了以卡车车队市场为目标的《卡客车新闻》，而明年《卡客车新闻》就要庆祝创刊10周年了。
在《轮胎世界》即将迈向51周年之际，我们也踏入了一个对出版人有着越来越高要求的时期。《轮胎世界》不仅仅只是印刷刊物—它也是一个透过各种不同媒介，包括电子杂志、一个网站及新闻部落格、电子通讯及社交媒体渠道来运作的新闻渠道。如今我们必须面对这些挑战，以便它能有效地与21世纪的马来西亚轮胎市场沟通。
当我们这样做，我要向这些年来为《轮胎世界》的成功做出了贡献的每一位致上万二分的谢意。让我们一同为另一个50年干杯！
