End of an Era for our Graham

After 22 years as editor of Earthmovers Magazine, during which time he has been responsible for producing 267 issues, Graham Black is heading off for some well-deserved retirement time.

The first issue of Earthmovers was published in May 2004, although Graham is always keen to point out that he wasn’t officially the editor for the first issue, but he has been in place ever since.

Under Graham’s guidance Earthmovers has consistently been recognised as the original and most respected publication focusing on construction and earthmoving machines in the industry. Over the years Graham and his team of freelance contributors have travelled all over the world to report on the latest product launches and increasingly new technologies, bringing a taste of the action in a truly honest and non-biased way, to the magazine’s faithful readership around the world.

In my humble opinion, Graham has been the beating heart of the magazine, his knowledge of the products and the people involved with them is unsurpassed, he has quite literally been a safe pair of hands over the years.

From a personal perspective, I owe everything to Graham for my involvement with Earthmovers, for it was him who very kindly invited me to become a contributor back in 2013, when we were both attending an event in Turin with New Holland construction equipment, it’s a scenario I have recalled on numerous occasions since.

We were being given a cultural tour of an art gallery on top of the famous FIAT building, and Graham just shuffled up to me and said, “There’s always a place for you at Earthmovers if you are interested Nick”, to be honest I was totally gobsmacked, to be invited to join the magazine, which I had been reading ever since issue one, and to this day I still have every copy in the shed!

I went for it and Graham has been a constant source of support for me over the years, especially as I was never trained as a professional journalist, I’m just a digger driver with a passion for the machines, but he has helped to make my ramblings readable and for that I will always be eternally grateful for.

We all know Graham is a very humble man and doesn’t take praise too well, but I would just like to say on behalf of myself and all the other contributors, thank you for your total professionalism and friendship over the years, and hopefully we will still be seeing you around at some events in the future.

And now Graham has handed over the reins to our new editor Harry Hunter, who I’m sure is going to bring some youthful enthusiasm to the role, and we wish him all the best going forward.

I’ve been delving into my archives to find some Graham Black in action photos from over the years, which I hope you will enjoy, all the best Graham.