SFPA meeting emphasizes quality commitment

AnErvewED resolve to im- Iprove the quality of southern pine lumber was affirmed by members of the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) at their Tlst annual meeting, held on Hilton Head Island, s.c.

At the same time, SFPA members called for manufacture of southern pine lumber that has greater consumer appeal, with emphasis on appearance and meeting the needs of the end user.

Other key topics discussed were Canadian lumber imports and proposed repeal of timber tax incentives. A long-range plan for government affairs was approved, and new officers and directors were elected.

"Teamwork for Tomorrow" was the theme. Keynote speaker Bud Wilkinson, former head football coach and athletic director at the

University of Oklahoma, used anecdotes from his legendary coaching career to help explain how teamwork is developed.

A videotape report on SFPA's program results and plans for tomorrow was shown to kick off the general session. In a welcome address, SFPA chairman of the board John E. Stevens said that "nowhere is teamwork more important than in the marketing area." He said the association's marketing progr:rm "is sound in all respects." But he added that "our marketing efforts will be effective only if we achieve the necessary improvements in southern pine lumber quality."

"We must offer the consumer more choices of southern pine products if we are to stay a major player in this arena," Stevens said. "Simply to con- tinue making only the same structural products that are designed for the new residential market will not give us the penetration we need in this highly competitive consumer market. "

"I don't believe we should change our structural grades or dimensions," commented Stevens. "We should leave these products alone. We must develop a new, complete line of wood products with different nomenclature that have consumer orientation and consumer appeal."

As a sequel to a "what customers are saying about southern pine lumber qudity" panel discussion at the June midyear meeting in Atlanta, a Panel discussed what southern pine lumber producers are doing to imProve quality.

Panelists were William B. N4gle Jr., Georgia-Pacific Corp.; Gene Parker, Westvaco Development Corp. ; Jos€ph Sample, Temple-Eastex Inc.; and John C. Shealy, Willamette lndustries Inc. The moderator was Drrain Cless, Weyerhaeuser Co., chairman of SFPA's marketing committee.

Cless prefaced the panel discussion by noting that quality "is not just satisfying the minimum requirements of the white and treated Cradins rules." He said the white gading rules were written to produce a grade of lumber for the framing market of the '60s and early '70s. But treated and engineered systems markets require lumber that is straighter, has less wane, smaller and fewer knots, and more accurately assigrred structural values.

"In other words," Cless said, "we havegone from acommodity framing market to specidty markets which require good appearance and accurate strength assignments. "

Each panelist traced current quality control approaches at their respective companies, making these points: o Quality must be a consisient factor. After finding out what a customa wants, "sell him the same thittg today that he liked yesterday." o It takes people to get these results; you can't get it with machines."

. Target production for l09o on grade, not 9590. Let the 9590 figure be used, as intended, for subjective differences in grading assessment. o Reduce intermediate wane, the focus of most of the quality criticism. oGet out and talk to framers and builders. Some of the younger ones have never used southern pine and have a negative image of the species that must be erased. o Produce lumber that the customer needs rather than lumber that is easv to make.

Story at a Glance

Need for products with consumerappoal emphasized... producer's quality report... speakers develop teamwork theme...Expo'87

A luncheon address by Senator Dale L. Bumpers (D-Ar.) addressed a wide range of issues, but zeroed in on the threat of losing timber capital gains tax treatment and the peril of mounting Canadian lumber imports. "I'm on your team on these issues," Bumpers said.

On the subject of Canadian lumber imports, Bumpers said it was not the value of the U.S. dollar that was giving our northern neighbor a trade advantage, but rather government subsidies of Canadian timber.

Bumpers noted that he is a cosponsor of both the Gibbons bill, which would redefine "subsidy" within U.S. trade law, and the McClure bill, which would limit the amount of imported Canadian lumber to historic market shares.

At the meeting of the Board of Drectors, a proposed long-range plan for the association's government affairs program was unanimously approved. A major thrust of the plan is to continue efforts to influence legislation and regulations at the federal level, and to expand to the state level in the south.

On other actions taken, the board approved changing Expo '87 to June 18, 19 and 20.

Dwight Harrigan, president and owner of Harrigan Lumber Co., Monroeville, Al., and executive vice president and owner of Scotch Lumber Co., Fulton, Al., was elected chairman of the board. His father, W.D. Harrigan, served as president of the Southern Pine Association, the forerunner of SFPA, in 1964-65.

J. E. Stevens, president, Kirby Forest Industries, Houston, Tx., became immediate past chairman. J. Carl Jessup Jr., vice president, Weyerhaeuser Co., New Bern, N.C., was elected vice chairman; Harold C. Maxwell, group vice president, building products division, TempleEastex, Inc., Diboll, Tx., treasurer; William R. Ganser Jr., president, and Lionel J. Landry, secretary, were reelected.

Newly-elected district directors are John Albert, Union Camp Corp., Savannah, Ga.; T.H. O'Melia Jr., Scotch Lumber Co., Fulton, Al.; Gor- don McKay, Boise Cascade Corp., Florien, La., and Harry Williams, Williams Forest Products Corp., Cleveland, Tx. Directors-atJarge are Don Hoffman, International Paper Co., Dallas, Tx.; Ronald Paul, Louisiana-Pacific Corp, Conroe, Tx. ; John Shealy, Willamette Industries, Inc., Ruston, La.; Richard Carlisle, MacMillan Bloedel, Inc., Pine Hill, Al.; William H. Stimpson, Gulf Lumber Co., Mobile, Al.; and J. M. Tolleson Jr., Tolleson Lumber Co., Perry, Ga.

Affiliate members elected to the executive committee are H. M. Lupold, Holly Hill Forest Industries, Inc., Holly Hill, S.C., and Carlton Whittle, Structural Wood Systems, Greenville, Al.

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San Antonio Retailer Expands

Guadalupe Lumber Co.. considered to be the largest independent home center in San Antonio. Tr., has entered the multi-store strata after 53 ) ears.

The ne* location oftrcially opened at -16,5.1 Rigsbv in southeastern San Antonio during the tlrst *eek of October. Renor ation of the eristing building and Iumber sheds on the propert)'prorided 16,000 sq. ft. of retail space on an almosl three acre site. Ample off-street parking is coupled u ith the convenience of a drir ethrough lumber and hear'l material 1 ard.

"The first three dals of our grand opening sale far erceeded our sales erpectalions." \lark Grothues. president of Guadalupe Lumber, said. Promotion of the openin_s rras done *ith direct nrail catalogs, ne\\spaper ads and point ol sale material.

"This is nrore of a ser\e yourself operation a\ iompared to our more departmentalized main store," Grothues erplained. The original location is larger *ith -s3.000 .q. it. oi retail \pacc on 3 sf\ €D acre complcr oi building material storage. This older location is on South Zarzamora Street in San Antonio.

Robert Barnes is manager of the nerr location uhich has l5 emplol'ees. Crothues i: third generation managcment of the prir atelv held Guadalupe Lumber Co. Phil Grothues Sr. i: chairman oi the board.

The t'amil1 began in business in groceries and general merchandise in 1933 and made a transition into lunrber after the depression. Sons of the founder and the grandchildren hare independentll begun successful buildin_e nraterial operations under other names in San Antonio and South Central Teras includine \tG Building \laterials.