25 years!

This is the first issue of a very special volume: this year, GIM International is celebrating its 25^th anniversary. Feeling nostalgic, I browsed through our very first edition. Published in May 1987, the first ever issue of GIM International had a circulation of 6,000 copies and was distributed to more than 80 countries. Now, two and a half decades later, I am proud to say that we have approximately doubled those figures, distributing nigh on 12,000 copies to some 160 countries. Without a doubt, we are the only magazine in our field reaching countries ranging from Argentina and Estonia to Canada and Fiji. Since we became active online, the readers of our printed editions have been joined by several thousands of new readers who make use of our website and weekly newsletter to learn about the latest industry news and developments. Likewise, these readers are based right around the globe.

While the first issue of GIM International was printed in black and white except for the cover, nowadays we of course use full colour throughout the magazine. The first issues mainly contained features on surveying instruments, such as automatic total stations, theodolites and levels, plus plotters, lasers and electronic distance meters. Interested readers had ample opportunity to request more information by using the pre-printed reply card that was included in the magazine. Names of some ‘hot and happening' manufacturers from 1987 include Asahi Pentax, Topcon, Kern, Wild, Zeiss, Lietz Sokkisha and Nikon. That basis has not changed dramatically - we are still updating our readers on products, hardware and software used for land surveying, geo-IT, GIS, photogrammetry and remote sensing and related fields. And although we no longer offer the reply card service, we know that interested readers are still contacting the manufacturers we feature, which still include some very familiar faces from all those years ago with many new suppliers. In the course of the past 25 years, countless people have worked to ensure this magazine reaches you every month without fail: editors and editorial managers, circulation managers, publishers, designers and sales people, to name but a few. Not only are we grateful for the belief they have shown in this publication, but we also want to thank you, the subscriber to this magazine, for reading so loyally, for suggesting ideas for features, for writing articles, and above all for being part of the GIM International community. That's what has kept GIM International going strong for the past quarter of a century.

This is going to be a special year in which we will mark our anniversary every now and then by looking back on past developments from a future perspective. Because that, to us, is even more important. We intend to continue to look to the future, publishing state-of-the-art articles on developments in geomatics in order to support you in your day-to-day work as an industry professional. I view this edition as the first issue of the next 25 years. Have a great 2012!

P.S. We are proud to welcome a new member to our ‘International Organisations' section: from now on, GIM International will feature an IAG page every month.