Trade Press Media Group

What Trade Press Media Group does

Trade Press Media Group, Inc. (TPMG) is a privately held, multi-channel B2B media company founded in 1915 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and currently operating as a subsidiary of Forum Media Group, a German-headquartered international media conglomerate that acquired the firm in 2018. The company serves four vertical professional communities — facilities management, commercial cleaning, rail transportation, and (since August 2024) meetings and events — through an integrated platform of six B2B magazines, three web portals dating back to 1995, and six major trade shows and conferences including NFMT (launched 2001), RailTrends (2005), the Critical Facilities Summit (2013), and Secure Rail Conference (2015).

TPMG's core technology and content assets include the AuDataMine audience database (described as the largest integrated database for facilities management, commercial cleaning, and rail industry marketers), the fnPrime and Critical Facilities Connect subscription membership platforms launched in 2020, and an extensive email/newsletter infrastructure used for both first-party content delivery and third-party list rental. The company monetizes through multiple recurring and transactional revenue streams: print and digital magazine subscriptions, event registration (including a $395 non-buyer fee and a $4,600 solicitation enforcement fee), advertising and sponsorship across print, digital, and events, email list rental, and paid membership programs.

The company employs 51-100 staff at its Wauwatosa, Wisconsin headquarters (with a Cedar Rapids, Iowa office for the recently acquired Meetings Today publication) and is led by President and CEO Bob Wisniewski, who has been with the company since the 1990s. TPMG has historically expanded via a combination of organic product launches, magazine acquisitions, and bolt-on M&A, with the 2024 Meetings Today acquisition signaling an intent to broaden the vertical portfolio under Forum Media Group's ownership.

Name

Trade Press Media Group

Legal name

Trade Press Media Group, Inc.

Website

https://tradepress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Trade Press Media Group is a privately held B2B media company serving facilities management, commercial cleaning, rail transportation, and meetings/events professionals through magazines, web portals, trade shows, membership programs, and audience data products; founded in 1915 in Milwaukee and owned by Germany's Forum Media Group since 2018.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B Media and Trade Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Platform & Audience Insights (CDP, Data Warehouse, Attribution) (MPAHAJAN), Content Supply Chain Orchestration & Workflow (Ingest-to-Publish, Automation) (MPAHALAG)

Keywords

• B2B media publishing
• Trade show management
• Facilities management media
• Audience data services
• Professional conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Print Magazine Subscriptions: Subscription revenue from six business-to-business magazines including Sanitary Maintenance, Building Operating Management, Facility Maintenance Decisions, Contracting Profits, Progressive Railroading, and Facility Cleaning Decisions.
2. Trade Show and Conference Registrations: Revenue from major trade shows including NFMT Conference, RailTrends, Critical Facilities Summit, Secure Rail Conference, and regional expositions. Events include buyer qualification requirements and non-buyer fees.
3. Advertising and Sponsorship: Revenue from advertising in magazines, websites, email newsletters, and at trade shows/conferences. Company shares audience data with exhibitors and sponsors for targeted marketing.
4. Email List Rental and Marketing: Company rents lists compiled from personal information gathered from website, print publications, trade shows, and other products. Also uses data for third-party reporting to help customers understand their advertising audience.
5. Digital Media and Webcasts: Revenue from educational webcasts, webcasts for continuing education, digital newsletters, and online membership programs including fnPrime and Critical Facilities Connect.
6. Membership Programs: Subscription-based membership programs including fnPrime (all-in-one resource for facilities professionals) and Critical Facilities Connect (membership for critical infrastructure operations professionals).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Trade Press Media Group is a multi-channel B2B media company that publishes six trade magazines (Building Operating Management, Facility Maintenance Decisions, Sanitary Maintenance, Contracting Profits, Facility Cleaning Decisions, and Progressive Railroading), operates industry web portals (FacilitiesNet.com, CleanLink.com, ProgressiveRailroading.com), produces live trade shows and executive conferences (NFMT, RailTrends, Critical Facilities Summit, Secure Rail Conference, NFMT High-Performance Buildings Conference), and runs subscription membership programs (fnPrime, Critical Facilities Connect). It monetizes its first-party audience data through AuDataMine, a database used by advertisers and exhibitors for advanced targeting, and supports its facilities management, commercial cleaning, rail transportation, and meetings & events audiences.

Product overview

Trade Press Media Group is a multi-channel B2B media company that operates a platform of diverse products and services. The company publishes six business-to-business magazines (Facilities Management, Progressive Railroading, CleanLink brands including Sanitary Maintenance, Contracting Profits, Facility Cleaning Decisions, and Meetings Today), operates multiple web portals (FacilitiesNet.com, CleanLink.com, ProgressiveRailroading.com), produces live trade shows and conferences (NFMT, RailTrends, Critical Facilities Summit, Secure Rail), manages subscription membership programs (fnPrime, Critical Facilities Connect), and offers a data service (AuDataMine). The portfolio connects buyers and sellers across facilities management, commercial cleaning, rail transportation, and meetings industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FacilitiesNet.com: Industry web portal for facilities management
• CleanLink.com
• ProgressiveRailroading.com
• Progressive Railroading
• RailTrends
• Secure Rail Conference
• RailPrime
• Contracting Profits
• Facility Cleaning Decisions
• Sanitary Maintenance
• fnPrime
• AuDataMine
• Critical Facilities Connect
• NFMT
• Meetings Today
• Incentives Today
• Facility Maintenance Decisions

Products and services

• FacilitiesNet.com A comprehensive B2B web portal serving facilities management professionals with industry news, resources, and tools.
• Building Operating Management A B2B magazine for building owners and managers covering operations, renovation, and construction of multi-floor and multi-site office buildings, data centers, campuses, medical facilities, retail chains, hotels, and government buildings.
• Facility Maintenance Decisions B2B magazine (formerly Maintenance Solutions) launched in 1993 to satisfy information needs of directors of maintenance and engineering responsible for commercial and institutional buildings.
• Progressive Railroading A leading rail transportation industry B2B publication, acquired in 1994 from Murphy-Richter Publishing Company in Chicago.
• RailPrime A premium subscription service under the Progressive Railroading brand providing exclusive content and insights for rail industry professionals.
• RailTrends A two-day executive conference for rail industry analysts and top executives, launched in New York City in 2005.
• CleanLink (CleanLink.com) A B2B web portal serving the commercial cleaning industry with news, resources, and business-building opportunities.
• Sanitary Maintenance A bimonthly B2B publication launched in 1943 for the janitorial supply industry, covering distributors and industry news.
• Contracting Profits B2B magazine launched in 1995 providing high quality business information to owners and managers of building service contracting firms.
• Facility Cleaning Decisions B2B magazine (formerly Housekeeping Solutions) created for in-house cleaning managers in institutional buildings; renamed Facility Cleaning Decisions in 2013.
• NFMT Conference National Facilities Management & Technology Conference, the company's first major facilities management trade show launched in 2001; qualified end-user buyers attend free while non-buyer suppliers pay a $395 registration fee.
• Critical Facilities Summit B2B conference and exposition debuted in 2013 addressing information needs of those responsible for design, construction, and on-going operation of mission critical facilities.
• Critical Facilities Connect Subscription-based membership program for facilities professionals responsible for operations of critical infrastructures including enterprise and co-lo data centers, providing year-round education, training, content, and community.
• fnPrime Online membership program providing facilities professionals with all-in-one resources to stay current and advance their careers, including educational videos, webcasts, ebooks, session handouts, and VIP treatment at live events.
• AuDataMine The largest integrated database for facilities management, commercial cleaning, and rail industry marketers, providing comprehensive audience profile and behavior data for advanced targeting.
• Secure Rail Conference B2B conference produced under the Progressive Railroading magazine brand, focused on protecting and managing the security of rail technologies, assets, and workers.
• NFMT High-Performance Buildings Conference B2B conference and expo dedicated to advancing awareness and understanding of energy- and resource-efficient, intelligent, people-friendly facilities.
• Meetings Today A Cedar Rapids-based B2B publication serving the meetings and events industry, acquired by Trade Press Media Group in August 2024.
• Incentives Today B2B publication under the Meetings Today brand covering incentives and motivation strategies for the meetings industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves 35,000 directors of maintenance and engineering with Facility Maintenance Decisions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Partnership with BOMI to create and market the Master Facilities Executive Certificate seminar series, expanding into e-learning and professional development for facilities management professionals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• North Coast Media: North Coast Media is a B2B media company publishing trade magazines and digital properties across specialized verticals, mirroring TPMG's focus on serving niche B2B professional audiences with multi-channel content.
• Randall-Reilly: Randall-Reilly is a B2B media and data company serving trucking, construction, and rail-related industries. Its blend of print, digital, events, and proprietary audience data closely parallels TPMG's rail transportation vertical and AuDataMine-style data assets.
• Endeavor Business Media: Endeavor Business Media is a B2B media company built through roll-up M&A of trade publications, websites, and events across more than 25 verticals — a direct comparable to TPMG's multi-channel, multi-vertical B2B portfolio strategy.
• BNP Media: BNP Media is a multi-vertical B2B media company publishing trade magazines, running events, and producing digital content across similar professional niches (e.g., facilities, industrial, mechanical). It mirrors TPMG's print-plus-events-plus-data model in adjacent verticals.
• Scranton Gillette Communications: Scranton Gillette is a B2B media company focused on infrastructure and construction-related industries (including rail and buildings), publishing trade magazines and running associated events — directly comparable to TPMG's rail and facilities management franchises.
• 1105 Media: 1105 Media is a B2B media company operating trade publications, websites, and events across multiple professional verticals including facilities and government — a similar multi-channel B2B platform to TPMG.

Others

• MultiView: MultiView is a B2B digital media company focused on industry-specific lead generation and content marketing solutions — adjacent to TPMG's AuDataMine-driven audience targeting and list rental business, though focused on demand generation rather than owned media.

Broad incumbents

• Informa Markets: Informa Markets is the world's largest B2B events and exhibitions operator, with extensive trade show, publishing, and data businesses. It competes for exhibitor and sponsor dollars in many of TPMG's verticals at a much larger scale.
• Zonda (formerly Hanley Wood): Zonda is a leading B2B media, data, and events company serving the residential and commercial construction industries — overlapping with TPMG's facilities management vertical at broader scale.
• Informa Connect (formerly Informa Connect): Informa Connect runs large-scale conferences and training programs across multiple industries including facilities, infrastructure, and operations — directly comparable to TPMG's NFMT and Critical Facilities Summit event franchises.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Trade_Press
• Facebookfacebook.com/TradePressMediaGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trade-press-media-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trade Press Media Group