IndustryWeek

About IndustryWeek

IndustryWeek is a Cleveland, Ohio-based media brand covering manufacturing leadership, technology, and operations for the American industrial sector. Tracing its history to 1882, it is one of the oldest continuously published manufacturing publications in the United States, having evolved from the Iron Trade Review through Steel to its modern identity as IndustryWeek in 1970. The brand champions the people and companies making the U.S. manufacturing sector a global leader, serving as the essential information source for decision-makers driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Its coverage focuses on leadership, technology, talent, operations and continuous improvement, and supply chain, delivered through its website, 11 newsletters, podcasts, livestreams, and signature programs including the IW U.S. 500 ranking and the Best Plants Awards. Part of Endeavor Business Media, it publishes at industryweek.com.

Roots in the Iron Trade Review

IndustryWeek's lineage begins in 1882 with publications serving the iron and steel trades, the foundation industries of American manufacturing. John A. Penton, an iron molder by trade who had been publishing trade magazines since 1887, founded the Penton Publishing Co. in Cleveland in 1904, building on his Iron Trade Review and earlier ventures including Foundry, created in Detroit in 1892. Penton's company grew into one of America's largest business magazine publishers, at one point printing Time magazine under contract and helping the U.S. Census establish the Standard Industrial Classification system between 1938 and 1945. This deep industrial heritage gave the publication that became IndustryWeek an unmatched connection to the manufacturing community it served.

Becoming IndustryWeek

The publication that became IndustryWeek spent decades as Steel, a Penton metalworking weekly covering the iron and steel industry. In 1970, the magazine was recast as IndustryWeek, a transformation motivated by the rapidly developing computer revolution that was rewriting manufacturing and information technology. The new mission focused on helping leaders adopt the newest means of winning in the marketplace using the standards of competitiveness advanced by computers, IT, and the internet. Senior technology editor John Teresko, who joined Steel in December 1958, chronicled this transition across a 50-year career, reporting on manufacturing technology and trends that had major and lasting influence on the entire industry. The rename marked the publication's evolution from a metals trade paper to a general manufacturing leadership journal.

Editorial mission

IndustryWeek's editorial mission centers on how companies develop and deploy talent and technology to achieve transformational leadership practices, revolutionary business models, state-of-the-art production systems, and next-generation products. Its main coverage areas are leadership, technology, talent, operations and continuous improvement, and supply chain. The staff brings decades of experience writing about manufacturing, technology, policy, workforce issues, and supply chain management. Beyond staff-produced material, the brand runs breaking news from wire services and features a large group of regular columnists, while accepting contributed material from outside authors that fits its manufacturing leadership focus. The "Leadership in Manufacturing" tagline, adopted in 2000, captures the brand's positioning for senior executives.

The IW U.S. 500

The IW U.S. 500, the brand's annual list of the 500 largest publicly traded manufacturing companies in the United States, is one of its signature data products. The ranking underwent its biggest revamp in more than a decade with analysts carefully examining hundreds of corporate filings to eliminate companies that design products but outsource manufacturing to suppliers, ensuring the list reflects genuine manufacturers. The list provides a definitive snapshot of American industrial scale and performance, tracking revenue, growth, and the shifting composition of the nation's manufacturing base. For executives, investors, and policymakers, the U.S. 500 is a reference point for understanding the structure of American industry.

Best Plants Awards

IndustryWeek's Best Plants Awards recognize manufacturing excellence across North America, honoring plants that demonstrate outstanding operational performance. The awards program evaluates facilities on criteria including management philosophy, workforce development, and continuous improvement practices. Winners are profiled in the brand's coverage and featured in editorial webinars, spreading best practices across the industry. The program reflects IndustryWeek's conviction that manufacturing excellence is built on the shop floor through leadership, culture, and disciplined operations. For the plants honored, the award is among the most prestigious recognitions in American manufacturing.

End of print

In March 2023, IndustryWeek published its last print edition, ending a print run that had begun in 1882. The brand's editors framed the decision as a liberation of resources for digital growth rather than a retreat: in the year after print ended, the staff launched Production Pulse live video conversations, expanded editorial webinars, revamped the U.S. 500, created a Talent Advisory Board of manufacturing leaders, and published a Young Leaders special report. The digital-first strategy reflects the broader transformation of B2B media, where the audience's need for immediacy has shifted value from monthly print to continuous digital engagement. The 140-year print legacy remains the foundation of the brand's authority.

Events and community

IndustryWeek convenes the manufacturing community through events, webinars, and award programs that extend its editorial mission into face-to-face engagement. Its editorial webinars feature lean manufacturing experts, economists, lawyers, and Best Plants winners in interactive sessions. The brand's podcasts and livestreams bring manufacturing conversations to audiences in audio and video formats. These community products reflect the modern B2B media model: journalism builds the audience, and events deepen engagement while diversifying revenue. The Talent Advisory Board, assembling manufacturing leaders involved in hiring and corporate leadership, creates a feedback loop between the brand and the executives it serves.

Ownership

IndustryWeek is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B, the Nashville-based B2B media company. The brand's journey to Endeavor passed through Penton's own corporate evolution: owned by Pittway from 1976 to 1998, merged with Prism Business Media under Wasserstein & Co. in 2006, integrated into Informa Business Intelligence in 2017, and ultimately arriving at Endeavor. Through these ownership changes, the brand maintained its Cleveland roots and its focus on manufacturing leadership. Within Endeavor's portfolio, IndustryWeek serves as the flagship manufacturing title, complementing the company's other industrial and technology publications.

Covering the talent crisis

IndustryWeek's coverage of manufacturing's talent challenges addresses one of the industry's defining issues: the shortage of skilled workers. The brand's Talent Advisory Board convenes manufacturing leaders involved in hiring, talent management, and corporate leadership to discuss how they built their careers and how companies can develop workforces. Its Young Leaders series profiles young people who reached positions of authority early, sharing how they achieved such responsible roles so young. Coverage spans workforce development, apprenticeships, the skills gap, and the cultural challenge of making manufacturing careers attractive to new generations. This focus reflects the publication's conviction that talent, alongside technology, is the decisive factor in manufacturing competitiveness, and that the industry's future depends on inspiring the next generation of makers and leaders.

Policy coverage

IndustryWeek covers the public policies shaping American manufacturing, from trade and tariffs to tax incentives to workforce development programs. Its reporting connects Washington decisions to factory-floor consequences, giving manufacturing leaders insight into the policy environment. Coverage of industrial policy debates, from semiconductor incentives to infrastructure investment, addresses the government's growing role in manufacturing competitiveness. The publication's policy journalism serves executives who must navigate regulatory requirements while advocating for their industry's interests. For a sector where policy can determine competitive outcomes, this coverage provides essential intelligence.

IndustryWeek publishes at industryweek.com, where its news, commentary, videos, podcasts, and newsletters serve manufacturing decision-makers across North America. From its 1882 origins in the iron trade through the Steel era, the 1970 reinvention, and the 2023 digital transformation, the brand has chronicled American manufacturing's evolution across three centuries. As the industry navigates the Fourth Industrial Revolution, from artificial intelligence to workforce transformation, IndustryWeek continues its mission of helping leaders win in the marketplace through talent, technology, and transformational leadership.