100 and as Successful as Ever
The success story of our tram.news, HANNING & KAHL’s customer newsletter for transport providers, private and industrial railways, system suppliers, waggon manufacturers, car builders and consultants, took off in spring 1997. The initiator, Eckart Dümmer, then Managing Director of HANNING & KAHL GmbH & Co. KG, had the right idea at the right time.
By Sigrid Riewe-Scholz
From the beginning, our customer newsletter columns entitled “Current Affairs“, “Events“, “New Markets“, “Our News“, “System Solutions“ and “On the Spot“ have carried technical input for transport operators and workshops, presented innovative solutions and trends for rail-based transportation, and informed readers of interesting customer projects in Germany and abroad. The authors of the non-sector-specific columns “Car News“, “Trainspotter“ and “Sightseeing“ look further afield. They present the latest dream cars – recently more and more frequently with electric motor – fascinating railway routes around the world, and take readers on captivating city trips. Just how popular these columns are, became clear when one particular issue did not have “Car News“, and our attentive readers immediately enquired what had happened.
Of course, our readers also notice the occasional slip-up: we once printed a mirror-inverted photo: as shown, the tram would certainly have derailed, as one reader was quick to point out. We are informed immediately if a reader does not get his copy of tram.news. This tells us that you, dear readers, appreciate our newsletter .. a fact which is also backed up by our regular customer surveys. Incidentally: if we stacked all 400,000 copies printed to date, we would reach 360 metres and could almost compete with the TV tower in Berlin – which at a height of 368 metres (1,207.45 ft) is Germany‘s tallest building. We promise we will work on the missing eight metres with our upcoming issues. The roughly 450,000 square metres of printed surface of the tram.news could also cover 63 football pitches.
In time for our jubilee, we are launching some new features: the tram.news has a new layout; there will be separate German, English and Chinese versions. Our newsletter is also now available in a digital version. If you are interested, simply register on our redesigned tram.news website under tramnews.hanning-kahl.de to receive a digital copy.
Are you one of our loyal readers and do you remember many editions? Then you will be able to solve our tram.news crossword puzzle. Email the solution with your name and address to tram.news@hanning-kahl.com. We will draw 100 winners from all correct submissions, and they will receive a surprise in the post. The deadline for entries is 01.05.2022.
Crossword puzzle
1. How many years has the tram.news been on the go?
2. Who (surname) wrote the editorial for the first tram.news?
3. What is the name of the column which reports on vehicles which are not rail-based?
4. Which transport provider also featured in the first edition of the tram.news?
5. What is the name of the column written by our subsidiary in Berlin?
6. In how many languages is the tram.news published?
7. Which vehicle is on the cover of the 100th edition of the tram.news?
8. What is name of the depot and also the tram stop shown on the cover of this edition of tram.news?
