PRW and PNE magazines to cease production

Crain Communications Group has announced it is ceasing production of its magazines Plastics and Rubber World (PRW) and Plastics News Europe (PNE). 

The decision comes in favour of concentrating efforts solely on the recycling and sustainability markets, with a new title launching specifically in this area. 

Subscribers to PRW and PNE in Europe will receive the new magazine, ‘Sustainable Plastics’, from March 2020, in lieu of the previous titles. There will be digital reach for readers in the USA and an accompanying website. 

‘Sustainable Plastics’ will be jointly edited by existing Crain staff, Don Loepp and Karen Laird. Laird was Editor of Plastics News Europe (PNE) and Loepp edits the American publication, Plastics News. Matthew Barber will head up the commercial team.

Of the new publication, Laird said the title is reflects the developments in the industry that have come as a response to the transition towards a circular plastics economy. 

“What we’re seeing is a paradigm shift that is leading to new collaborations and innovation along the entire value chain and bringing fundamental changes to the industry,” she explained. “Aligning our new title with these developments reflects our role in the ongoing transformation.”

The new magazine will be a partner publication to Crain’s ‘Plastics Recycling Show Europe’ (PRSE) held annually in Amsterdam. BP&R understands that the Group’s UK trade event, PDM, will not run in 2021. 

It has been confirmed that Crain’s annual Plastics Industry Awards (PIAs) in London will continue, however, in keeping with the new brand will now place more emphasis on the circular economy. 

At the end of 2016 Crain Communications Ltd ceased production of its original Plastics & Rubber Weekly (PRW) title, announcing a merger with Plastics News Europe that saw the latter become the publisher’s main plastics brand across Europe from 2017. 

At the beginning of 2019 it relaunched PRW as ‘Plastics and Rubber World’ for the UK market, however, as stated, this will no longer publish as part of the move.