About Pro Publications

Pro Global Media Ltd was founded in October 1996 by Paul Brown (the ‘P’ in Pro), and Robert McCaffrey (the ‘Ro’ in Pro), to publish the original Asian Cement Magazine. Pro quickly diversified, to produce European, Middle Eastern and American cement magazines. Starting in 1997, Pro also started to publish a series of cement industry Databooks. In 1998 the company commenced publication of Global Gypsum Magazine and Global Lime Magazine, and also founded its first website - www.propubs.com.

In March 1999, Pro organised its first conference, the Global Gypsum Conference in Bangkok, quickly followed by the European Cement Conference in Berlin. The company has since organised or is in the process of organising over 40 conferences and exhibitions, attracting up to 450 visitors each, in Aachen, Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Cancun, Dresden, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Hanoi, Helsinki, Istanbul, Jeddah, Krakow, Kuala Lumpur, Las Vegas, London, Miami, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Paris, Prague, Puerto Rico, Riga, Rio de Janeiro, Riyadh, San Francisco, Shanghai, Strasbourg, Sydney, Tehran, Toronto, Vienna and Washington DC. 

Starting in 2007, Pro re-oriented its conferences, away from general ‘regional’ conferences, and towards ‘must-attend’ specialised niche events, such as refractories, mortars, environmental impact abatement, quality control and alternative fuels. This has resulted in increased attendance, an improved producer/vendor mix and very high approval ratings.

In 2000, following rationalisation in the global cement industry, Pro combined its cement magazines and the Global Lime magazine into GCL: Global Cement and Lime Magazine, which was renamed Global Cement Magazine in October 2006. In mid-2008 Global Cement Magazine added coverage of alternative fuels and raw materials (including slag) to all issues of the magazine.

Starting in 2004, Pro was one of the first companies in the world to offer its magazines for free download to registered users around the world, and this was recognised in 2007 with the presentation to Pro of the Periodical Publishers Association’s ‘Most innovative route to market’ award. Starting in 2008, Global Cement Magazine became available to industry participants and advertisers in print format at no cost - another first for the industry.

In October 2006, PRo's Global Slag Magazine was featured as the guest publication on the BBC's 'Have I got news for you' satirical comedy topical news quiz TV programme.

Since 2007, a division of Pro has organised several major consumer exhibitions in the UK, each event attracting thousands of visitors.

In 2008, Pro reorganised all its websites to provide customer-centric subject-specific portals, featuring industry news, articles, links and forums: these are now at the heart of the company’s communications strategies. The sites will undergo further development through 2011.

Since 2008, Pro has co-promoted the world-class Global Mining Finance events in London, bringing together miners and financiers from around the world.

In January 2008, the company published its Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Policies, as well as codifying 'The Pro Way'.

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Pro continued to provide much-needed market information to the building materials industries, during the worst global recession for 60 years.

2011 saw the greatest changes to the company's operations since its inception. With an entirely new web site, on-line conference registration, greatly enhanced digital publications, on-line visitor preference registration (via www.proids-online.com), newsletter publication (Global Cement Weekly and Global Gypsum Monthly) and greater reader interaction, Global Cement and Global Gypsum will become the leading sources for industry information. PRo’s websites are now at the heart of the company’s communications strategies and will undergo further development through 2012. Through 2012, the editorial mix will evolve to align even more closely with reader requirements. 2012 will see continuing evolution for PRo’s business-to-business sector.

2012 saw continuing evolution for PRo's business-to-business sector. In response to requests from various parts of the industry, Global Cement launched two new events in 2012: Global CemTrader and Global CemFinance. CemTrader looked at SCMs and conventional fuels for the cement and lime industries, while CemFinance focused on finance and projects. We continue to innovate!

2012 - our 15th full year of business - saw continued evolution for PRo's business-to-business sector.

Whatever your business, we look forward to helping you achieve your aims.