LETTERS

We welcome your letters to the editor. Just FAX your comments about the magazine or particular afticles to 714-852-0231 or mail kt Editor, Building Products Digest,4500 Campus Dr., Ste.480, Newport Beach, Ca.92660.

Wholesale Horrors

I can't help myself. I must send along a comment or two on the April editorial [on wholesaling) ("Doing So Muchfor So Little,p.6).

Do you really think we wholesalers are doing enough? Let's look at a bit of the demands on us:

Start with deliveries-not just the next day-try appointments at 4 a.m. What does your truck do for the next three hours until the other customers open up?

Roena, matched a $25,000 donation from Lowe's to the Rainbow Center of Wilkes, Inc.

Izzy Packing is now head of shipping at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to owners Ilugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.

We are expected to carry an unlimited amount of inventory-which always must be fresh-while there is no guarantee of the order.

We are expected to come to the stores every month or two to train their staffwho in 60 days are gone.

We are expected to pick up any items that were overordered due to too many people buying.

We spend hours coaching people at the store how to quote, only to have special run material returned to us because that's not what the buyer thought he ordered.

We must pick up even one off grade board and give credit-if that is what the customer wants.

All this, my friend, only to have the customer you have slaved for and the mill you have served get together. Now, they don't need you. The mill ends up raising their grade and lowering their price and now they try to figure out this thing called "service!"

Enough, enough! I must go out and help the crew barcode another load of lx2. Life is like a box of chocolates !

Been there-done that! (name withheld by request)

A TOUCH O['HT]MOR

Just a little note to let your staff know they were slipped a laugher ("Personals," April p. 23).

"Melton Snow (melting snow) is winter specialties mgr. (a by-product of winter) at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv. (get real), according to owners Hugh Mungus (very, very large) and Freddy Fungus (first cousin of Al Coholic)."

I believe nobody has parents that sadistic.

Ken Welch Dyke Industries, Inc. 301 Evans Rd. New Orleans. La.70123

Actually, Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus have kept Building Products Digest readers abreast monthly ofpersonnel changes at their company for the last 15 years. Just lookfor the last item every month in the "Personals" column.

Editor

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Structural Plastic Lumber?

The Plastic Lumber Trade Association has launched a three-year, $1.8 million campaign to develop technologies for structural uses of plastic lumber.

The association recently formed a research alliance between plastic lumber manufacturers and state and federal government agencies, managed by the Battelle Memorial Institute, to create optimized, recycled plastic lumber products for the structural marketplace.

The initial areas of product focus will include residential decking, material handling and marine applications.

EDI Over The Internet

For the first time. orders from an on-line catalog can be sent in EDI format over the Internet.

Currently, on-line orders are typically E-mailed to the supplier, who then prints out the order for entry into an order processing or other system.

Electronic Commerce Systems' new "Retail Catalog" transforms orders into EDI documents. which are then securely transmitted via the Internet to the appropriate supplier. By eliminating data entry, errors, labor and other costs are reduced.

Short-Term Conlidence Dips

Wholesaler-distributors' confidence in current business conditions decreased on a short-term basis but increased on a long-term basis, according to a confidence index survey by Arttrur Andersen.

Respondents attributed lower short-term confidence to their inability to maintain the same levels as the previous quarter, which was severely affected by adverse weather conditions.

Optimism over the continuation of stable interest rates and inflation contributed to a slightly higher confidence level for the long-term.

Bleached Wood Floors Fade

The 1990s back to basics approach has spilled over into the wood flooring industry.

Past trends of pastel and whitewashed.wood floors are fading as consumers return to a more back-tobasics, 1990s feel in decorating, according to the National Wood Flooring Association.

Lighter, more natural earthtones are now the too floorins finish.

"Natural finishes are currently the highest demand in wood flooring," says Greg McGavran, Firebird Industries. "Ten years ago, we had many requests for whitewashed floors. Today, ToVo of our customers ask for natural finishes."

As housing costs continue to increase, interior designers are choosing natural-finished floors because they lighten a room and make it look bigger.

Although natural finishes are a growing trend nationwide, there are still regional preferences for darker finishes. In the South and Southeast, floors with red finishes. such as mahogany and rosewood, rue on a major increase.

Big $ For Home lmprovement

More than 4OVo of U.S. consumers plan home improvements this year, according to an American Express Retail Index survey.

Other findings:

The top project is interior decorating (38Vo), followed by extensive renovation and remodeling (28Vo), gardening (25Vo), landscaping (23Vo), mandatory maintenance (21 Vo), exterior decorating (2OVo), expansion (l0%o) and restoration (7Vo).

Most will buy their supplies from home superstores (39Vo), then hardware stores (27Vo), home furnishing/ decorating stores ( I 37o), lumberyards (l2%o), and gardening stores and nurseries (87o).

. They most look for fair prices (76Vo), wide selection of products (52Vo), quality merchandise (34Vo), helpful salespeople (3OVo), and convenient location (29Vo).

. The most common budget is $501 to $2,000 (37Vo), followed by $500 or less (327o), over $4,000 (2OVo), and $2,001 to $4,000 (ll%o).

Structural Panels Climbing

North American structural wood panel industry production rose 2Vo last year to a record 33.1 billion sq. ft. (3/8" basis), according to APA-The Engineered Wood Association.

Plywood production in both the U.S. and Canada remained level with 1994, while OSB production climbed 6Vo to 7.9 billion ft. in the U.S. and lOVo ro 3.76 billion ft. in Canada. OSB now represents about 357o oftotal North American structural wood panel production.

LUCKY DECK: Calilornia Redwood Association's ninth annual redwood deck conlest is underway, with point-of-purchase entry blanks and banners available to retailers. $15,000 in cash prizes plus merchandise is otfered. The deadline lor entries is Seot. 1.