Randall Publishing Purchases Cahners Automotive and Trucking Magazines

    TUSCALOOSA, Ala.--March 23, 2001--Randall Publishing Co., Tuscaloosa, Ala., a leading trade publishing and Internet information source for the trucking, construction, woodworking and pump and rotating equipment markets, announced today that it has purchased four trucking and automotive publications from Cahners Business Information.
    The properties are Automotive Industries, RPM magazine, Owner Operator and Commercial Carrier Journal. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
    Randall has purchased these magazines as part of its strategic plan to become the worldwide leader in the industries it serves.
    "Our goal is to completely submerge ourselves into each area we work for - trucking, construction and industrial - and give our customers the information they need from all outlets available," explains Mike Reilly, Randall's president and chief operating officer. "We are excited about the acquisition of CCJ, RPM, Owner Operator and Automotive Industries, because it helps us attain our customer-service goals and broadens our reach. The combination of our magazines will help create a dominant information source for trucking and transportation."
    Randall already enjoys an impressive market share in the trucking industry. Currently, Randall's Trucking Media Group publishes Overdrive, Truckers News and Trucking Co. magazines; produces and maintains its "everything trucking" information and service website, eTrucker.net; coordinates and promotes the Great American Trucking Show; sells and maintains billboards in truck stops across the nation; coordinates, promotes and produces national weekly radio programs; and hosts numerous forums for trucking executives, and drivers and drivers' spouses.
    Automotive Industries is a monthly publication serving the domestic and international original equipment-manufacturing (OEM) segment. The magazine is written for engineering, design, manufacturing, production, management and purchasing executives in the motor vehicle industry.
    RPM magazine, published monthly, features trucking news and features for owner-operators, employee drivers and small fleet owners. A large part of this magazine is dedicated to recruiting company drivers and owner-operators.
    Owner Operator is a business magazine for independent truckers and small fleet owners. Published 10 times a year, the magazine covers topics such as vehicle selection, equipment specification, record-keeping and business management.
    The monthly publication, Commercial Carrier Journal educates executives who manage, operate and maintain the nation's private, for-hire, utility and specialty fleets. These executives oversee fleets that include motor vehicles, trucks, tractor-trailers, bus and off-highway vehicles.

    About Randall

    Founded in 1934, Randall Publishing Co. now publishes more than 30 magazines, directories and periodicals, and maintains more than 25 websites. Randall operates the Trucking Media Group (Overdrive, Trucking Co. and Truckers News magazines), the Construction Media Group (Equipment World, and RentSmart! magazines) and the Industrial Media Group (Pumps & Systems and Modern Woodworking magazines). Randall also owns and operates several online media entities (including www.eTrucker.net, www.e-worldconstruction.com, www.pump-zone.com, and www.modernwoodworking.com), trade shows (PumpUsers Expo and the Great American Trucking Show), radio programs, a billboard company, a company-sponsored publication division serving Fortune 500 companies, a UCC-filing database and research group, and other media-oriented services.
    Randall was recently named the sixth-fastest-growing publishing company in the nation by Folio: magazine.

    About Cahners

    Cahners Business Information (www.cahners.com) is a leading provider of critical information and marketing solutions to business professionals in the media, manufacturing, electronics, construction and retail industries. Its market-leading properties include more than 135 business-to-business publications, over 125 Webzines and Web portals, as well as online services, custom publishing, directories, research and direct-marketing lists. Cahners is a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group - a world-leading publisher and information provider operating in the scientific, legal and business-to-business industry sectors.