Book Reviews, Interviews, Industry News, and IP Out and About

Below are links to interviews with Industrial Press (IP) team members, including our CEO and President Alex Luchars (for more interviews, click here to view our past newsletters), as well as reviews of our top titles and various industry articles. The selected features are pieces by IP authors and other online postings in the industry that we think will be of particular interest to our colleagues and customers.

If you have a suggestion for a posting on this page, please write to our website manager at help@industrialpress.com with the email subject line “Suggested IP Website Posting.”


Industrial Press attended the 2023 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held from June 19-23, in Atlanta, Georgia. To learn about SkillsUSA, NIMS, and see pics from this landmark event, click here.

Industrial Press at the MORE! 2022 Conference

Industrial Press at the MORE! 2022 Conference

Maintenance and Operational Reliability: A 5-Star Definitive Guidebook

“I could not put this text down… Get this book if you are looking for proven methods and help in making the right business decisions to achieve a competitive advantage in today’s fast-paced global economy.”

A definitive work with a comprehensive treatment and detailed approach/process to free your organization from a “reactive culture” of equipment maintenance, this work is organized around five pillars of maintenance/reliability excellence, with a detailed structure of twenty-four “building blocks” that ensure successful reliability improvement and deployment. The pillar structure provides numerous real-world examples and management techniques for proactive management/reliability improvement systems. The book is a wealth of information with numerous examples and management techniques essential to a proactive maintenance and reliability process/culture. It serves as a guide and series of straightforward visual aids to ensure an entire organization’s successful, positive change. I could not put this text down and believe what differentiates this effort from others are the detailed and practical steps and a sound methodology for proactive maintenance with detailed organizational roles and responsibilities. Get this book if you are looking for proven methods and help in making the right business decisions to achieve a competitive advantage in today’s fast-paced global economy. — Customer review courtesy of Amazon, March 2022

IP Publisher Judy Bass

Publisher Spotlight” Interview, Forecast, February 2022.

“If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s how to be resilient and pivot…”

Forecast, a wide-reaching publication dedicated to the best hardcover and paperback books in the market, speaks with Industrial Press Publisher Judy Bass. She discusses learning trends, IP’s best-selling texts and expanded offerings, including our latest publications and versatile one-stop shopping resources for our customers.

IP Authors Meet at SMRP Conference

Bestselling IP authors met at the SMRP 29th Annual Conference, held in St. Louis, Missouri, in October. This event, hosted by the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals, focuses on education, networking, and innovation.

This year, the conference was well attended, both in person and virtually, by maintenance, reliability, and physical asset management professionals from around the world. Highlights included more than 60 exhibitors and 75 education sessions and workshops, plus the opportunity to earn recertification credits by attending workshops and track sessions.

(Image above courtesy of SMRP; for more information, visit smrp.org.)

Bill N. Mountjoy, Ramesh Gulati, and Donald H. Nyman at the SMRP 29th Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.
John L. Ross, Jr., and Ramesh Gulati at the SMRP conference.

“Machining Outlook Takes Flight Again in Aerospace Market”

Matthew Gifford, National Sales Manager with Mitsui Seiki USA, writes that the company, as a machine tool provider, is experiencing a faster comeback than anticipated. He advises, “Suppliers need to conduct inquiries now about how to improve machining, processes and operations so they are ready for the flight out of the pandemic pit.”

(Link to article published online by SME; see SME.org. Image courtesy of Mistui Seiki USA, headquartered in Franklin Lanes, New Jersey; see mitsuiseiki.com.)

Robotic assembly in factory.

“The Manufacturing Skills Gap: What Is It and How to Solve It?”

The manufacturing skills gap is not simply a buzzword within the industry. Instead, it’s the reality that many manufacturers are facing right now. Learn what is causing this divide, and steps employers and education institutions can take to bridge it.

(Link to article and image courtesy of Propel, of Santa Clara, CA; see probelplm.com.)

The devolvement of lean,” article by IP author Lonnie Wilson, Indian Management, June 2019

Spare Parts Inventory Management Just Got Easier.

Industrial process systems to lean business systems success” via IMV, by Mike Sondalini. Business Industrial Network.

“Mapping  Your Path to Business Success,” by Mike Sondalini. Courtesy Industry Week

IP President & CEO Alex Luchars

Industrial Press’s Alex Luchars Spotlight interview by Kerry Singe, Forecast, February 2019.

Machinery’s Handbook, 30th Edition, book review, by George Buliss,  Courtesy of The Home Shop Machinist.

Machinery’s Handbook, 30th Edition, book review by Alan Richter, Editor, Cutting Tool Engineering.

For more information on the founding of Industrial Press by the Luchars family and more than 100 years of the Machinery’s Handbook, click here.

Explore AutoCAD.

“Easier Than You Think,”article by IP author Steve Heather. Autodesk® Partner Solutions Design Guide 2019.

To read a past interview with Steve Heather, click here.