In today's world, 60 years is an eternity for so many things. And magazines fit right in there. "The rule of thumb is that 80% of the new magazines fail in the first two years," Chip Smith of Kable Distribution Services told Business Week Online last year. Now that's a lot of failures considering that several hundred start up each year.

That said, I'm pleased to tell you this month is the 60th anniversary of Modern Materials Handling.We're quite proud of that. And not just for the length of time. We're also very proud that you continue to tell us that Modern is your No. 1 source for information to help you do your job better. Thank you.

So the question became, what do we do to mark this milestone? Really good question, actually.

Eventually, we realized the answer had two parts. Not only has materials handling undergone enormous change in 60 years, but Modern is right now going through an unprecedented change of its own. While we have always been print based, we know that this information source will be at home on the Web, too, as we move through the next 60 years. So we have put together a look at the past in print and a preview of the future online.

Our new associate editor Corinne Kator assembled a decade-by-decade look at the world of materials handling starting with May 1946 when The Palletizer was first published. It wasn't until November of that year that the publication was known as Modern Materials Handling. As you will see, the changes have been staggering as industry went from largely manual operations to mechanization then automation and integrated systems and more.

You'll also want to take a look our "60 seconds with …" interview. And this month, it's with Don Frazier. Don joined the magazine's parent company, Materials Handling Laboratories, the month before the first issue.

That leads us to mmh.com. In addition to being able to access what is in print, we have videos from several industry leaders on the future of materials handling. These short clips take a look at the industry, distributors and dealers, higher education and future leaders, advanced handling and information systems and more.

As we celebrate 60 years, you can see Modern is no longer just a magazine but an information source expanding its footprint on the Web. And we will always value your trust in us as the No.1 supplier of materials handling information.