Cedar sellers new quality push

aIUALITY and service are buzzwords of the back-toldtrbasics '90s and Western Red Cedar Lumber NFociation is trying to be right on fte mark.

"That's what all of our programs, including those for retail dealers, are all about," says Ken McClelland, WRCLA executive director in the association's Vancouver, B.C., head office.

"Our members are committed to producing quality cedar products and sunding behind them with service. To spread this message nationwide we have opened a national advisory service, Super Cedar Service," he says. ',We want to communicate and share information about cedar with the people who need it." ing programs for sales staffs to familiarize them with cedar grades so they can give customers their own brand of Super Cedar Service."

A bandy three ring reference book, "WRCLA Specifier Guide," provides information abut western red cedar, its properties and uses for the retail dealer. This will be updated on a regular basis as new WRCLA tides are published. A new eight minute video, "lt's a Natural," explaining why cedar is an environmentaily friendly building material plus giving an informative updating on cedar grades and uses, has been filmed with the retailer and his cedar customers in mind. A poster and point of purchase information

Southeast) to answef, questions and offer free literature on how to specify, install and finish western red cedar lumber products for exterior and interior applications. Since communication means listening as well as speaking, they are doing plenty

WRCLA cedar advisors are stationed in three regions across the United States (M idwes t, West and of both. McClelland says the association is getting useful feedback from its new open door policy.

"It helps to keep us upto-date," he explains.

Lectures, staff training seminars, banners, statement stuffers, ad mats, videos, colorful brochures and posten are fargeted specifically to the retail dealers. "We want to raise our profile at the dealer level and provide as much support as we can," he adds. "Our field staff is on the road much of the time traveling to trade shows and speaking engagements. We offer train- for new patio deck grades (see story p. 36) are being designed. A quarterly newsletter is another componen t of the association's service driven Lumber Association, 4290 Bells Ferry Rd., Sre. 106-581, Kennesaw, Ga. 30144,(404) 9283318, FAX 405-5918593. program. Reviewed as "interesting, innovative and relevant on a wide variety of cedar related issues," it is free to retailers along with a specifiers guide and complete list of WRCLA literature and videos from Western Red Cedar

Story at a Glance

Super Cedar Service offers free materials and services designed to help retailers sell more cedar ... regional offices provide training programs for sales, product knowledge reference guides, videos, advertising and promotion help.

A LTHOUGH cedar Producing -dmembers of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association see no immediate end to the tight cedar log supply, they expect 1993 production levels to remain about the sane as last year's 900 million board feet.

Much of the western red cedar lumber in the U.S. market comes from British Colunrbia which faces a fiber supply crunch on several fronts, including a heavy winter snow Pack and planned reductions in the allowable cut an4ounced by the B.C. provincial golvernment. U.S. cedar producers, who supply aboutZl%o of. the cedar used in this countrY, are experiencing their own environmental demands and shortfalls.

Statistics prepared by the B.C. Council of Forest Industries and the Western Wood Products Association, Portland, Or., project cedar log volumes remaining steady, but lower, through 2005. U.S. coastal production is expected to drop from a 198690 level of 2.91million cubic meters to 2.50 by 1995 and hold through 2005. For the same Period, U.S. inland production is anticipated to decline from .93 million cubic meters to .77. British Columbia coastal production will fall ftom 1986-90's 6.85 million cubic meters to 6.30 in 1995, 6.15, 2000, and 6.00, 2005, while interior production of 1.74 (19861990) will hold at 1.65 until2005.

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