BPD
SEPTEMBER 2015
Building Products Digest
INDUSTRY NEWS & MONEY-MAKING STRATEGIES FOR LUMBER & BUILDING MATERIAL DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS
OSB & PANELS UPDATE
CEDAR & REDWOOD
UP CLOSE: EASTERN WHITE PINE
BPD
September 2015
Volume 34 Number 7
Building Products Digest
BPD
Building Products Digest www.building-products.com
A publication of 526 Media Group, Inc.
151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
President/Publisher Patrick Adams padams@building-products.com Vice President Shelly Smith Adams sadams@building-products.com Publishers Emeritus Alan Oakes David Cutler Editor/Production Manager David Koenig david@building-products.com Associate Editor Stephanie Ornelas sornelas@building-products.com Contributing Editors Carla Waldemar, James Olsen Advertising Sales Manager Chuck Casey chuck@building-products.com Circulation Manager Heather Kelly hkelly@building-products.com
Special Features
In Every Issue
8 ONE ON ONE
WITH ELK CREEK’S BRETT SLAUGHTER
12 FEATURE STORY
BENEFITS OF THICKER OSB
13 TOP OSB PRODUCERS 2015 14 INDUSTRY TRENDS
INSIDE STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS
18 MARGIN BUILDERS
MARKETING REAL CEDAR’S ROI
20 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
DELIVERING THE REDWOOD MESSAGE
26 NAWLA–THINKING AHEAD
ATTRACT NEW TALENT TO THE INDUSTRY
38 NELMA SPECIAL SECTION
• WINNING EASTERN PINE DESIGNS • GRADER ACADEMY UPDATE • LATEST MARKETING TOOLS
6 ACROSS THE BOARD 16 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE 22 OLSEN ON SALES 24 EVANGELIST MARKETING 36 MOVERS & SHAKERS 48 NEW PRODUCTS 51 FAMILY BUSINESS 52 ASSOCIATION UPDATE 52 IN MEMORIAM 52 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE 53 DATE BOOK 53 ADVERTISERS INDEX 54 FLASHBACK
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September 2015
How to Advertise
PRINT or ONLINE Chuck Casey Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 chuck@building-products.com Patrick Adams Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 padams@building-products.com CLASSIFIED – David Koenig Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 david@building-products.com
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BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST is published monthly at 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 486-2735, Fax 714-486-2745, www.building-products.com, by 526 Media Group, Inc. (a California Corporation). It is an independently owned publication for building products retailers and wholesale distributors in 37 states East of the Rockies. Copyright®2015 by 526 Media Group, Inc. Cover and entire contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without written permission. All Rights Reserved. BPD reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter, and assumes no liability for materials furnished to it.
ACROSS the Board By Patrick Adams
Dancing in the rain
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FEW WEEKENDS AGO, I was home and didn’t have a ton of plans. As with most of you, life seems to leave very little time for so-called “happiness” as we rush from appointment and chore to kids’ events and responsibilities. I was enjoying a Southern California summer afternoon, prepared for a relaxing day with the family, when fate or Global Warming brought about an unusual (at least for So. Cal.) downpour of rain. Before the skeptics begin speculating about what we Californians call a “downpour,” I can assure you this one rivaled the best summer storms I have experienced anywhere in the world! I immediately began thinking about what a drag this was! Wouldn’t you know it? A rare day that we could have enjoyed a picnic with the family or a swim in the pool, the rain has to come and ruin it all! Although we’re in a multiyear drought, why couldn’t it rain on a work day or when I was traveling? I was shaken out of this spiral of thought by my 4-year-old laughing hysterically as she ran around the backyard getting absolutely drenched, wearing her normal clothes, shoes and socks. While I thought, “Olivia, what are you doing getting your clothes drenched in this rain!,” what I saw left me speechless. It was the sight and sound of pure happiness! We all spend a lot of time planning or waiting to be happy, don’t we? We plan a career so that when we retire, we can be happy. We plan vacations to some great locale to have a happy time with friends and family. We tell ourselves, if we can just get over that mountain, then we’ll have a good time heading down the other side. At this point, my daughter would have been dryer had I just thrown her in the pool—and yet, I’m not sure I have ever seen a sight that was pure, honest joy! I’ve spent a lot of the last year traveling the country, meeting many of you and learning about our great industry. I’ve seen the passion for what we do carry through generations and survive many of the nation’s toughest times as I have asked to hear the stories of what built these businesses and allowed them to thrive. I’ve found myself looking back and smiling about the memories of the people that I’ve played golf with, shared meals and stories with and recently even getting drenched myself on my first river jetboat experience! These are happy memories that I will remember forever because they were unex-
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pected, unplanned and real. Whether it is the coincidence of wisdom with age or a year spending time with some of the most quality individuals I have ever met, I’m learning that you can’t “plan happiness.” Rather, it finds you when you stop searching for it. This is not to say that life is perfect or without stress or challenges; far from it! But, I’m fortunate to have one of the best teams working with me to truly make a difference and serve the people we care about. I’m blessed to have the best family any man could dream of who understands when I’m away from home and makes every minute we’re together a reminder that these are the best of times. I’m so fortunate to work in an industry full of people who have welcomed me, helped me, and already made me feel like they are life-long friends. So in that particular moment when my daughter laughed and said, “Daddy, come dance in the rain with me!,” I didn’t respond with that typical “adult response.” Instead, I ran out into the rain, jumped in puddles with her, and got drenched. My wife looked out the window, worried that I had truly lost my mind, but then laughed and came out and joined us! Perhaps too much work or a mid-life crisis has me losing my mind! Or, possibly, I’m finally learning that when we live in the happiness of the moment we’re in, even when the rain has ruined our plans, those are the true happy moments that last a lifetime! Every day there will be countless excuses for postponing our happiness. Many of us have serious challenges that justify our worry. But, I’ll bet that every day we can also find a good reason to be drenched in the happiness of how our lives are blessed! I hope all of you enjoyed a great summer and found good reasons to dance in the rain! I am thankful for the memories that have been made with all of you so far and look forward to the next downpour we share together! “When I was 5 years old, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ~ John Lennon Patrick S. Adams Publisher/President padams@building-products.com Building-Products.com
OnE On One With Brett Slaughter, Elk Creek Forest Products
Elk Creek sees hard work, integrity as keys to success University, where he would meet his future wife. Using both his father’s and his grandfather’s values as a foundation for his business, Slaughter emphasizes just how much his time with his elders affected him: “My grandfather and I did a lot of hunting together. There was a connection there. Communication was important to him. When he grew up, there was a lot of black and white, a lot of right and wrong. He made it simple. He showed me how to treat people.”
BRETT SLAUGHTER
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B RETT S LAUGHTER was a young boy, it was all about sports, fishing and hunting. “As a kid, I didn’t know there was much left in life besides that,” unaware that one day he would be running a multi-million dollar forest products manufacturer, he told BPD publisher Patrick Adams. Having grown up in the lumber industry and now worked in it for over 20 years, there’s no question that Slaughter knows it well. About 14 years ago, he founded Elk Creek Forest Products, McMinnville, Or. In that time, the company has grown to nearly 60 employees and over $40 million in annual sales. The company ships small batches of specialty beams and timbers to New York, Hawaii and everywhere in between. After touring the Oregon mill, the two sat down to discuss the ambitions behind Elk Creek and its ongoing mission to care for its people and provide HEN
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quality forest products with integrity and efficiency. Growing up in a hunting family in Oregon, Slaughter always looked up to his father and grandfather. This ultimately led to his strong background in the industry. “My grandfather is where our experience with the wood products industry all started. He left the farm in Oklahoma, came to Oregon in the early 1940s, and started driving a log truck. After driving for more than a year, he got into the veneer business and started working at a mill in Junction City making plywood.” Slaughter’s grandfather went on to work for Harold Jones’ veneer and plywood mill in Eugene, Or., and later TrusJoist until his retirement, and his father eventually got involved as a worker and became a foreman at the same mill as his grandfather. His father went on to attend Oregon State
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Slaughter spent his early years in Eugene as his father’s career in veneer sales took off. When he was 14, his family moved to the Portland area, a change that at first didn’t sit easily for a young teen just about to start high school. “It was the ultimate move for someone of that age. I was playing ball, I had a lot of friends, and it was just before high school, but it certainly wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. You start to realize that instead of losing friends, you make twice as many and you have more perspective. You learn something new. You learn what to do and how to do it. It ended up being a very positive thing.” As Slaughter made his way through school, earning his bachelors degree from Western Orgeon State College, his father went on to work for Cascade Forest Group and several years later started Elk Creek Sales in 1996. Meanwhile, Slaughter was climbing the ladder at Forest Grove Lumber (in the same McMinnville building in which his own business currently resides). He joined in 1995 and began taking over as sales manager in 2000. Building-Products.com
Although grateful for having been the place where he met his wife, Slaughter knew there were better opportunities for him, and circumstances left him desiring more from the industry. After several conversations with his concerned yet gracious wife, Slaughter moved into his dad’s basement and launched Elk Creek Forest Products in 2001. “It wasn’t until I left Forest Grove and began working with my dad, that we got into lumber and enough where we felt like we needed to take the Sales title and focus on a more distributionbased title, and Elk Creek Forest Products was founded. “I finally decided to do business my way, so I did. I had one phone, a fax machine, relationships in the industry, and a wise father. I said, ‘Okay,’ and I just jumped. On my second day, my dad’s secretary told me she had never seen anyone make as many phone calls in a two-day period as I had. “I met a lot of people, many of whom I knew would not remember me. I just wanted them to know that I’m here to work for them.” Slowly but surely orders started coming in and by borrowing forklifts and working closely with other mills in the early days, and doing things most others wouldn’t or couldn’t do, Slaughter was able to build up his company. He explained it was definitely going to be a journey, but he had a lot of people in the industry who were willing to help him. But with every journey, comes mountains to climb.
In 2007, I was working closely with my dad and we were growing at a pace that was demanding cash for inventory faster then we could collect it. The success was almost killing us. “My dad kept on doing his veneer, but then in the industry, there was more opportunity for lumber and more variability, and when the downturn hit the veneers, he was no longer able to carry on what he’d been doing for many, many years. But he is very optimistic and could always pull through with a good idea.” Having strong work ethic in his blood, he pressed forward and today, Slaughter’s father works with Atlas Trading and runs a plywood plant in Washington. The two still work closely together. “His path was quite different than my grandfather, who had a planned retirement. My dad is still working seven days a week. He’s healthy, and has a drive and a passion for what he does.” Watching his father’s and grandfather’s journeys set a base for Slaughter’s view on the industry and the future of Elk Creek. “I very much learn by example. I want to follow those I respect. I find myself being a teacher that way with my children, and the most important thing is giving your children confidence and an opportunity to succeed.” In 2007 Elk Creek partnered with now parent company Idaho Pacific. Timing was on Slaughter’s side as the
Great Recession was just around the corner. “They became someone who could quickly take care of many of our challenges and provide a line of credit where I was able to catch up and take an opportunity to move forward. “The timing was a gift, and as much as I would love to have my own company in the sense of owning it all, I would never put my reputation or those I’m working with in harm’s way, and Idaho Pacific has provided strength and wisdom for our growth.” Today, the company is thriving, overcoming industry obstacles and finding new ways to improve in today’s challenging economy. What is the most important thing to Slaughter? His people. “You start to realize what you’re actually capable of and what you really care about. This whole thing means a lot to me because I see the blessings I was given. It’s more about the people than the dollars. I would rather have the integrity and truth, and working with people who understand excellence is far more important than where I live or what I drive. If this seems like the right thing to do, let’s do it. I feel the responsibility for not only the worker but their family and their needs. “At Elk Creek we have the culture knowing that we work out of respect, not fear. If someone wants to leave my company for a higher pay, I will be straight with them. I really think it’s
“I sold most of my wood from my cell phone in the car or the forklift. Honestly, if cell phones didn’t exist, I don’t know how I would have done it. “Then we quickly got into where we couldn’t pay everyone in 10 days. We were building so fast and I could pay them in 15 or 20 days, but I needed more loads. I had it all sold, but people would ask why I couldn’t pay them. So I told them the truth: that my money was spread out all over the place and I hadn’t collected it all yet. Turns out the people who believed in me are my biggest vendors today. Hopefully their risk was their reward.” Like most business ventures, it wasn’t always a walk in the park. The company faced challenges in 2007. “My father and I are go-getters. We have a very competitive blood line. Building-Products.com
FROM THE BOTTOM UP: Having started the company in his father’s basement with nothing but a phone and a fax machine, Slaughter pushed forward to build a successful forest products company. September 2015
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GIVING OPPORTUNITY: Much like his father and grandfather, Slaughter makes it a point to give opportunities for family to be involved if their interests and skill allow. On the left, his eldest son (in black) is seen assisting lumber workers at the mill.
important to tell your employees exactly what you can do for them and to be honest. “We’ve moved our company four times in 14 years and not one person has left because they have to drive an extra half hour. That’s how I gauge a lot of our success. Our employees are happy and they know they are not just a number. We always figure out a way to make it work and that doesn’t happen if you don’t have teamwork.” Although Elk Creek is fruitful, producing quality forest products, Slaughter still faces challenges, like most successful companies will find. “In the majority of the meetings that we have, it gets very complicated with our data, our network, and system. All of our arrangements and manufacturing tasks, it gets very complicated, but we have a choice. We could over-complicate it or we could use common sense every time we get something that’s not yet built into a complete process. One thing I’ve noticed in this industry is that no two days are the same. You’ve got to be able to take a common sense approach in every aspect.” Recalling the memories of being around his father’s veneer mill, Slaughter remembers playing around with the wood, counting inventory, and summers at work—memories that his father experienced with his grandfather, and moments his own boys now get to experience, as his eldest was seen working and learning the
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trade during the mill tour. Slaughter recognizes that in those early years, a foundation was being laid out for him, particularly in the moments he witnessed his grandfather’s love for the industry and his family, from leaving retirement to help turn a failing company into a multi-million dollar business, to running two operations in Eugene, and to having a real connection with every worker. He heard how his grandfather would leave the first shift to drive hours home just to spend 20 minutes having dinner with his family and put his kids to bed, then drive back to the mill to make sure the night shift got started okay. This was a work ethic that was passed on to Slaughter and his father, as Slaughter found himself making sacrifices for his own family years later. “Even though I was the one out there and not getting sleep, it was really a team effort and the team starts with my wife. It’s having the support of people who believe in you that keeps you going. The sacrifice that she makes is equal to mine. None of this has the qualification of success if you can’t maintain the most important of relationships. And that was something that I learned from both my grandfather and father.” Despite his grandfather’s passing seven years ago, Slaughter holds his memories close, and the morals he learned even closer. September 2015
“I’ve never met a harder-working person. And it didn’t matter whether it was making plywood, or giving breaks to the workers outside by the hour, during hunting when we had just one more hill to climb, whatever it was, he had that attribute that I wish we had more of everywhere. “There was a deposit there that failure wasn’t an option. He empowered people. He was never in it for the money, it was for the success of doing it the right way and treating people the right way.” Using this as an anchor for his business values today, when asked what he thinks his grandfather’s legacy would be, Slaughter simply says, “Relationships.” And what will his legacy be? “I hope to take all the things I’ve learned, look out years down the road, and see that I have people in place who have a positive mindset. Focus on the positive, on what you can do and what’s next. I want to pass on a mindset of pursuing what you do because of the love and passion you have for the trade. Always do what’s right. “Human nature will pay you back and sometimes indirectly, sometimes they are not immediate returns, and sometimes there will even be setbacks, but I’m hoping I’ve trained a team of people with passion who understand what excellence is all about and how to get there. It’s about the people, not the paycheck. We’re all family, and we all need to look after each other.” Building-Products.com
FEATURE Story By Jody Dedmon, Weyerhaeuser Distribution
Upgrade OSB thickness to enhance performance
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HEN IT COMES to selecting a thickness of OSB panels for floors, walls and roofs, most builders follow the building code. But savvy dealers know that, for certain conditions, a
small bump in thickness can help customers construct more comfortable, durable homes. Here are two applications where panel upgrades can make a significant impact on performance.
THICKER OSB subflooring increases stiffness, reduces deflection, and minimizes pops and squeaks in wood flooring.
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Energy-Efficient Floor Systems
For decades, 23/32” has been the most commonly used thickness of OSB subflooring. But a simple switch to 7/8” panels offers several advantages for accommodating a home’s energy efficiency and for ensuring the performance of finish materials and the overall feel of the floor. As an increasing number of builders move HVAC ductwork into conditioned space to improve energy efficiency (either as a competitive advantage or to meet energy code requirements), the prevalence of wider on-center joist spacings has also grown. Wider spacing, however, may lead to noticeable movement underfoot. Upgrading to 7/8” OSB subfloor can help ensure performance of finished floors such as tile and hardwood while also contributing to a more stable feel. The thicker OSB also offers at least 20% improvement in nail retention. Although 23/32” panels are span-rated for floor systems spaced at 24” O . C ., the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) suggests a thicker subfloor is necessary to reduce deflection of the subfloor and minimize pops and squeaks in the wood flooring. NWFA recommends a 7/8” panel for joists at 24” O.C. Similarly, tile requires sufficient stiffness. APA–The Engineered Wood Association’s publication “Technical Topics: Ceramic Tile Over Wood Structural Panel Floors,” provides guidelines for two-layer wood residential tile assemblies; a single layer of 7/8” OSB satisfies the recommended capacity for those two-layer wood assemblies across typical joist on-center spacing. Further, compared to a 23/32” panel, 7/8” OSB is more than twice as stiff and produces less than half the expected subfloor curvature between joists, which can help prevent tile and grout cracking. Even for resilient and carpet floors, a thicker subfloor will feel more solid underfoot, while providing additional sound dampening for multifamily applications and reducing potential damage from drywall carts during construction.
Roofing Under Heavy Snow Loads
In most areas of the country, 7/16”- to 15/32”-thick OSB panels are sufficient for meeting code requirements for roof systems. However, in cold climates, going above code can help increase the performance and life span of the roof system. Snow and ice accumulation put downward force on a building’s roof, and catastrophic failures happen when the load exceeds the weight it was designed to carry. Upgrading to 5/8” OSB panels, as part of a properly installed roofing system, can help handle the weight of the winter elements. The panels are thicker for added bending strength and are denser than commodity sheathing; in addition, panels with tongue-and-groove edges provide for more efficient distribution of heavy loads. Both panel upgrade options provide the same functionality as traditional code-compliant panels, so the change for contractors is minimal. In return, builders are crafting structures more likely to satisfy homeowners, with more comfortable steps underfoot and greater peace of mind overhead. – Jody Dedmon is OSB market development manager for Weyerhaeuser Distribution, Charlotte, N.C. Reach him at jody.dedmon@weyerhaeuser.com. Building-Products.com
OSB North America 2015
Nine companies combined to produce an estimated $18 billion sq. ft. of OSB last year in North America, led by LP. In 2015, there will be a new leader. Earlier this year, Norbord , Toronto, Ont., acquired Ainsworth, Vancouver, B.C., making it the largest producer of OSB in North America. Norbord now has 17 OSB plants with a combined annual capacity of 7.7 billion sq. ft. (15 of them in North America, with a capacity of about 7.1 billion sq. ft.). Last year, Norbord’s OSB mills all operated at full capacity—except for shuttered plants in Huguley, Al., and Val-d’Or, P.Q., although Huguley continues to be maintained and refurbished for eventual restart. At the end of the year, the wood-handling end at its Joanna, S.C., mill was rebuilt, increasing capacity by another 150 million sq. ft.
Louisiana-Pacific , Nashville, Tn., has 11 OSB plants in the U.S. and Canada (10 operating), plus one in Brazil and two in Chile, with total capacity approaching 6 billion sq. ft.. Last year, LP’s North American mills produced 4.3 billion sq. ft. of OSB, up 7% from 2013. LP also just announced it is adding a FlameBlock FireRated OSB Sheathing line at its Clarke County, Al., facility. Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, Ga., has a combined annual capacity of more than 5 billion sq. ft. at its nine OSB plants—but for the last several years, only six of the mills have been operating, pushing companywide capacity below 4 billion sq. ft. Weyerhaeuser, Federal Way, Wa., held steady in production at its six OSB mills in North America. The facilities, with a combined capacity of 3 billion sq. ft., marginally increased output to 2.788 billion sq. ft. in 2014, from 2013’s 2.772 billion sq. ft. Huber Engineered Wood, Charlotte, N.C., owns five OSB mills, with a combined annual capacity of 2.1 billion sq. ft., but since 2011 has been running just four mills. Earlier this year, Huber rolled out its new ZIP System stretch tape, for installing OSB sheathing. Tolko, Vernon B.C., last year operated two of its three OSB mills—Meadow Lake, Sask., and its Athabasca Mill in Slave Lake, Alb., which together boast capacity of 1.5 billion sq. ft. a year. Its third, in High Prairie, Alb., has been idle since 2007. Since 2012, Tolko has been using the facility as a regional training center. RoyOMartin, Alexandria, La., currently operates one OSB mill—an 850-million-sq.-ft.-a-year facility in Alexandria, La.—but recently broke ground for a second in Corrigan, Tx. The $280-million plant is expected to start up by fall 2017. Arbec Forest Products, St. Leonard, P.Q., owns two OSB mills—a former Tembec facility in Québec and a former Weyerhaeuser facility in New Brunswick—with a combined annual capacity of 700 million sq. ft. Langboard’s Quitman, Ga., OSB mill can produce up to 440 million sq. ft. per year. September 2015
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InDUSTRY Trends By Joe Pasma, Insulfoam
Structural insulated panels help builders meet tough energy codes Energy codes focus on creating an airtight envelope as air leakage accounts for up to 40% of a home’s energy load according to the National Association of Home Builders. Meeting these code requirements with traditional building methods like stick framing requires builders to undertake heroic measures to search out and seal all gaps using caulks, expanding foams, and other sealants. Since homes, apartments and other light construction have hundreds of interfaces between framing members, this is no small feat.
Airtight Building Envelope Made Simple
When builders ask your sales staff for ideas on better sealing the envelope, one of the best recommendations they can make is to use inherently airtight systems like structural insulated panels (SIPs) or insulated concrete forms (ICFs). WITH CONTINUOUS insulation and the ability to create an airtight building envelope, SIPs help builders meet the requirements of the nation’s ever-tougher energy codes. (Photo by Scott Homes)
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of builders in the U.S. now face demanding energy codes. As of May 2015, 39 states have adopted codes equivalent to or more energy efficient than the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Those 39 states account for 89% of the country’s population, and include the top 5 most populous states— California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois. As an LBM dealer, your builder customers are always looking for ways to meet the tough requirements of everstricter energy codes. Among their challenges are how to better seal the building envelope against air leaks and provide continuous insulation. California’s Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Program requirements, which are likely to find their way into other state codes in the coming years, specifically require: “all joints, penetrations and other openings in the building envelope that are potential sources of air leakage shall be caulked, gasketed, weatherstripped or otherwise sealed to limit infiltration and exfiltration.” The IECC likewise sets tough standards against air leakage. As of the 2012 IECC, builders must demonstrate code compliance with a blower door test that achieves three to five air changes per hour at 50 Pascals of pressure (ACH50), depending on the jurisdiction. HE VAST MAJORITY
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SIPS HAVE far fewer gaps to seal than other framing methods. (Photo by Premier SIPS) Building-Products.com
BUILDER STAGES SIPs at a jobsite for rapid installation.
(Photo by Premier SIPS)
Testing by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that SIP construction is about 15 times more airtight than stick framing. DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) found that the air leakage in a SIP structure was only 8 cu. ft. per minute at 50 Pascals compared to 121 cu. ft. per minute for a stick-framed building. One reason for the superior airtightness is SIPs arrive at the jobsite in large, ready-to-install sections. Imagine a home with a 20-ft. wall section. With conventional stick framing, there would be 15 vertical cavities needing insulation along that wall (assuming 16-in. O.C. spacing of studs). With fiberglass insulation, those cavities have hard-to-seal gaps along the right and left side of each batt. Yet one 20ft.-long by 8-ft.-tall SIP could comprise that entire wall, with gaps to be sealed limited to the panel ends, top and bottom. Another reason that SIPs are so airtight is because the connections are sealed with mastic. Each joint has multiple beads of mastic that work to stop the movement of air through the panel joints. But, does SIPs’ airtightness in lab tests hold up in the real world? Yes. In one powerful indication of this among thousands of SIP homes built throughout the U.S., California’s Clarum homes built a 3,300-sq. ft., single-story home at a mid-price range using SIP walls and roof, that was rated at 0.2 ACH-50. That’s up to 25 times more airtight than the IECC 2012 requirements, surpassing even the Passive House standard of 0.6 ACH-50.
structural and insulation assemblies. For example, ORNL tested the “whole-wall” R-values of SIPs and stick framing, taking into account thermal bridging through structural members. The SIP wall built with 3.5-inch thick foam core had a dramatically higher R-value of 14.09 compared to 9.58 R-value for a 2x4 stud wall at 16 inches O.C. and fiberglass insulation—that’s 47% better thermal resistance for the SIP. A key reason SIPs far outperform stick framing is that SIPs offer continuous insulation across their height, width and depth and have far fewer thermal bridges.
Outstanding Insulation Performance
– Joe Pasma, PE, is the technical manager for Premier SIPs by Insulfoam, a division of Carlisle Construction Materials. He can be reached at joe.pasma@premiersips.com.
In addition to their ability to create a tight building envelope, SIPs also offer superior thermal resistance to other Building-Products.com
What’s In It for Dealers?
SIPs offer builders many advantages, but dealers may wonder about losing out on sales of insulation and sealants. Yet, it’s important to remember the value LBM pros provide. When Amazon.com announced it would sell building products, many LBM dealers feared they would suffer the same fate as book publishers by being under-cut on price. But, savvy dealers realized that while Amazon might be able to sell builders cases of caulk cheaply, it will never be able to compete with their building expertise. So, when a builder expresses frustration about the challenges with meeting ever tighter building codes, you can try to double down by selling him more sealants, or set yourself apart with real solutions such as providing insights on SIPs and other advanced building methods, which helps build loyalty over online sellers.
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COMPETITIVE Intelligence By Carla Waldemar
Eureka!
Dealer strikes gold by diversifying
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in them-thar hills? Hard to say. But Jeff Pardini’s great-grandfather headed west to Northern California with high hopes in the gold-rush craze of the 1870s. He and his son, Jeff’s grandfather, hit pay dirt—not with their pans, but with their lumber mills that planed timbers for those mine shafts as well as the water-conduit infrastructure for hydraulic mining. By the 1950s, a panhandler’s getrich dreams had long evaporated, so S THERE GOLD
the outfit changed its focus from milling lumber to selling it, plus adding all those SKUs carried by a modern building center, which they called Hills Flat Lumber Co. (It still sells gold-mining equipment, just in case.) After a 30-year run, and bowed by the deaths of his father and uncle, Jeff’s dad decided to call it quits, and offered to turn the operation over to the next generation. Jeff grabbed at the chance. Never mind that he was
FAMILY TRUST: Top management, including (left to right) brother-in-law David Caddy and brothers Kennan Pardini, Jeff Pardini, and Jason Pardini are constantly working to keep their 60-year-old business fresh.
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only 17. “I was interested, so I opened up a lot of programs offered by our co-op. If you’re not in a co-op,” he declares, “it’d be tough to survive—I don’t see how. Creating programs with various vendors on our own would have been very, very hard. So, in the ’90s, I had an efficiency group come in, look at the business, and make recommendations for the old store, 6,000 to 7,000 sq. ft. on 1.5 acres. We did some remodeling.” Just as effective, Jeff launched an ambitious advertising program, reaching 58,000 people. “Right away, we saw a 20% to 50% growth,” he reports, convinced “You’ve gotta let people know you’re there,” anchoring Grass Valley, north of Sacramento. “Other dealers look at what an ad costs and go ‘Wow! That’ll never pay off!’—a huge mistake,” he believes. “I didn’t concentrate on products; instead, I made the ads funny, like a comic strip—because, realistically, you can get a saw blade for about the same price anywhere. You’ve got to remind people you’re there.” So, at 17, Jeff was manning “a successful business, making reliable amounts of money, like any other yard—$2 to $3 million a year. But I took that business to $11 million on those 1.5 acres,” he said. Next up, I started a second store, in Colfax; closed the first store, then opened a third—much larger—store back in Grass Valley,” the current flagship. But, as all you dealers out there know so well, timing is everything. And in this case—disastrous. “We opened the new store a month after Building-Products.com
9/11.” People were scared stiff, and not parting with money. But they weren’t traveling, either, Jeff figured— and invoked a new advertising campaign, playing on patriotic motifs: Cancelling that overseas vacation? Well, turn your backyard into a vacation retreat. And make your kitchen something you can enjoy every day. As he affirms, “It worked.” The second Hills Flat store was going gangbusters, too. “But it was a very small store, bursting at the seams, with only 20 parking spots. So the question became, ‘How can we turn people around and get them quickly in and out?’ Quite a problem,” he allows. He solved it without adding a single inch to the footprint. “We had 20, 30 very skilled salespeople. We got them to walk customers through the entire project quickly, in and out the door—all while maintaining the best customer service ever. We went from 100 transactions a day to 340, and a clear parking lot.”
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA’S Hills Flat Lumber, Grass Valley, has stayed strong by tweaking its operations to better serve consumers, so that its retail sales equal its pro sales.
Another tough time led to another creative, “Do it with what you have” solution. “In the slow-down of the ’90s, instead of laying people off, we gave customers a larger target to hit. We stayed open longer and spread our people thinner, instead of retracting, like a lot of yards. We decided to look around and better track the market—easier for the Colfax location than Grass Valley, back where my grandfather started. So in 2007, we set a yard up there, which did really well, considering the recession. It gave us help in opening the new Grass Valley store, too. In 2005, we’d bought two lots on top of a mountain—drilled and blasted the top of the mountain off, flattened it, so now instead of 1.5 acres and 4,000 to 6,000 sq. ft, we have a sixacre yard with 30,500 sq. ft. But those ensuing five years were bad,” he reminds us: “Really not good, with the stock market falling. Lots of people lost yards. Instead, we decided to diversify. Not only did we expand hours, we added whole new product lines.” And here’s where our story really takes off, just as the stuff on the floor did. As antidote to the recession, Hills Flat filled 2,800 sq. ft. with kitchen appliances, including “a huge line of Italian ranges selling for $3-4,000 (our sales became the fifth-highest in the country) and Whirlpool (third-highest). We sell a ton of appliances,” Jeff declares. “And they work, too!” In those kitchen vignettes, you can Building-Products.com
smell the roasting turkeys for the staff’s Thanksgiving and Christmas parties, as well as the cooking demos for customers (cookies, anyone?). “It’s just been fun!” says Jeff. So has the Carhartt line. “I’d questioned whether we even wanted to get into clothing,” he recalls, “but we sell a ton of it. Our [already sizeable] November sales doubled in December. The nursery has been expanded to 15,000 sq. ft. boasting a “wonderful selection, plus oddball stuff.” Decking (“a huge display on the floor, which people can walk on”), paint and tools almost sell themselves, too. “I noticed the town was lacking in service for smallengine repair, so we added that, and now repair everything. We advertise that we’ll have it fixed in under two weeks, not the usual two-months.” There’s also a deli (and a long line for the popular breakfast burritos) and line of Hobie kayaks and paddleboards (hey, this is California) to buy or rent. Hunting, fishing and camping equipment, too (plus licenses). And those gold-mining pans. You never know…. Diversifying extends to the outfit’s customer base. Formerly a 70/30 mix of pro and retail (with special outside sales force for its commercial/industrial division, serving logging operations, hotels and schools), Jeff has evened the ratio to 50/50—“not by losing anything on the contractor end,” he emphasizes,” but by pumping up the retail effort” through—once again—advertising. “We mention our lowprice guarantee, even featuring Home Depot’s prices in our ads.” Why court the weekend warrior? As Jeff explains, “Retail traffic shores up the business. Any yard loses money six months of the year,” he claims—“a huge valley to dig out. But with retail, you have that coming in; it smoothes it out. Even if you just break even, it’s a recipe for success.” And success, he underscores, is not secured by “any one thing. It’s a culmination. Here’s the way I look at it. You can offer three things: price, service and quality. So I decided to put service first, make it the most important. Quality is a close second, and price a close third: That’s the way you have to do it,” he’s convinced. “Offer the highest quality you can get, in stock. And people are smart enough to understand. As to customer service, we’re open, and we deliver, seven days a week, 363 days a year. I’m always there to help out.” So is the rest of the 150-strong team. “They want to succeed, to do a good job. I teach them, ‘Smile. Eye contact. Greet. Share information. A thank you. And slow the no.’ If you don’t know, ask a second salesperson. “We try not to run out of product on the shelves; I hate that! We have a corporate program, a formula, and we readjust it with every order. We have people in our stores who do nothing but count inventory. And a weekly ‘Whole Patrol’ to make sure there’s not an empty peg. If a customer is turned away, that’s a big deal: How many sales do you lose? It’s hard to get them into the store, so if they’re in here and we can’t serve them, that’s terrible.” Not gonna happen. And that’s the key to success. Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net September 2015
Building Products Digest
17
MARGIn Builders By Western Red Cedar Lumber Association
The real value of real cedar
Marketing wood’s ROI
T
ODAY’S REPAIR and remodeling market is bursting at the seams with composite and synthetic products for decks and siding alike. These products are often advertised as being low maintenance, long-lasting, and, curiously, having an appearance that mimics real wood. While trying to sell one product by claiming it looks like another is a subject for a different article, it does raise an interesting question: Are man-made products better than the real thing? If you ask a realtor the answer is a resounding “no.” In an article recently published by the National Association of Realtors, natural materials like cedar add more curb appeal and a higher resale value to a home than synthetics.
It’s a message the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association is pleased to see, and they’re making the most of it as part of their comprehensive U.S. marketing program. WRCLA will be discussing elements of this program, in particular “stories from the trenches” from their in-market technical experts, at this year’s NAWLA Trader’s Market Nov. 6 in Dallas, Tx. And the fact that WRC has a high return on investment is a message they were quick to add to their program. “The value proposition for WRC has always been the species’ natural beauty, durability, and versatility,” says WRCLA managing director Jack Draper. “But with thirdparty studies now showing it helps resale value and even
WOOD DECKS offer a significantly higher return on investment vs. alternative materials, according to a new study.
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(All photos courtesy WRCLA) Building-Products.com
has health benefits over synthetic materials, we obviously want to promote that as those are pretty compelling reasons for a homeowner to buy one product over another.” Based on information from the NAR’s 2015 Cost vs Value Report and findings from the National Association of Home Builders, a video infographic was created highlighting the different returns on investment a home owner would see by adding a wood deck versus a composite deck. Although costs vary by region, the results were significantly higher for wood, with an average 81% ROI compared to 68% for composite. However, that figure climbs to over 100% for wood in some areas like the Pacific Northwest. The video serves as a destination site for consumers seeking more information, and a print, PR and social media campaign around the message provides directions and links to the video. In addition to promoting WRC in traditional and new media, WRCLA is also creating tools to facilitate the sale of cedar on the retail floor. One such tool is the Real Cedar Retailer App—or “DIY on the Fly”—and, given the rapid growth of mobile use, it’s beginning to gain attention at the retail level. According to Draper, “41% of all visits to realcedar.com are now from smartphones and tablets. That’s up from 35% just a year ago. Our technical reps were the first to field test it, and they got a great response and valuable insights from retailers.” In essence, the app serves as a mobile technical resource that provides support to the retailer and planning and specifying information for the consumer. The content is easily accessible and is broken out by applications such as: siding and trim, decking, timbers, and fencing and gates, among others. Grades, coverage tables and profiles are also fea-
NEW APP supports retailers’ efforts in helping consumers plan and spec western red cedar projects.
tured in addition to information on maintenance and finishing. The app also has a geo-locator showing the Real Cedar retailers closest to your current location. DIY on the Fly was made available to retailers in May at WRCLA’s AGM Cedar School—a two-day training session covering everything from manufacturing to grading to installation. The app is now downloadable from the Apple Store and Google Play. WRCLA has created a number of unique and innovative programs to sell WRC’s value proposition and make it more accessible at the retail level.
simplify
Building-Products.com
September 2015
Building Products Digest
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PRODUCT Spotlight By Charlie Jourdain, California Redwood Association
Delivering the redwood message
Up close and personal
showing the thousands of assembled architects and design professionals how redwood is a beautiful, perfectly applicable product to use in interior and exterior designs. It was a perfect connection to the convention’s theme, “Impact.” CRA also developed a continuing education course through the AIA that focuses on the sustainable qualities of redwood. This valuable information is even more useful when comparing the qualities of a natural product like redwood to composite and manufactured building products that claim to be environmentally friendly. Focusing on the next generation of architects, CRA is proud to sponsor Cal Poly’s Solar Decathlon entry for this year’s national competition. This unique design competition evaluates a handful of schools’ designs for net zero energy homes—and we’re pleased to provide redwood that will be used as decking and siding on this structure. Plus, the hands-on experience will give these future design professionals the confidence they need to recommend redwood for their clients’ projects.
Building Trades
Like architects, many builders and contractors are slowly becoming more aware of redwood’s availability in more CALIFORNIA REDWOOD was on display at the recent American Institute of Architects show, and…
I
N MANY WAYS, promoting a great product like California redwood is simple. Once an architect, builder or homeowner has the opportunity to see, touch and feel the possibilities only redwood can offer, the deal is done. While it may seem easy, marketing is still a significant investment of time and money. That is why CRA has grown its marketing strategy over the past few years to help these important groups understand the benefits redwood brings to any project. Our work this year is a great example of how we’ve helped keep redwood visible and a viable product for consideration among all of them.
Architects
We brought our redwood message to the American Institute of Architects’ national convention earlier this year,
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Building Products Digest
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… SUNSET Magazine’s Sunset Celebration Weekend, as well as… Building-Products.com
proved to many how redwood is not only available today, but also a beautiful and cost-effective product that really stands out among a forest of pretenders. We will deliver that message again at the 2016 Builder’s Show.
Consumers
… 2015 STREET of Dreams in Portland, Or.
(All photos courtesy CRA)
markets across the country. So we’ve attended two trade shows over the past year: • JLC Live Northwest allowed residential construction professionals in the northwestern U.S. to learn the latest building trends and see products up close. The experience of touching and handling redwood communicates more than any artfully-photographed brochure ever could. • Deck Expo, an event hosted by the North American Deck and Railing Association for builders and remodelers,
Building-Products.com
Homeowners are always seeking inspiration for improving their houses, and we love sharing ideas about the many ways you can work with redwood, so we carefully selected a couple of events to support. Redwood was one of the many fine California products on display at this year’s Sunset Celebration Weekend in Menlo Park, Ca., where attendees sample many aspects of the California lifestyle, from carefully crafted culinary fare to conscientiously constructed shelters. The 2015 Street of Dreams event in Portland, Or., was especially meaningful, as the theme “Rediscovering America,” emphasized reconnecting with original American products like redwood. Having a presence among important influencers like these is just one facet of any marketing strategy. What we’re learning, though, as we have our conversations, helps us continually fine-tune our message and strategy for future marketing endeavors. – Charlie Jourdain is president of the California Redwood Association. Reach him at charlie@calredwood.org or (888) CAL-REDWOOD. Founded in 1916, CRA is one of the oldest trade associations in the lumber industry. From the very beginning, the association’s primary mission has been to promote redwood products and educate builders and consumers on the advantages of using redwood. To learn more about redwood, visit www.calredwood.org.
September 2015
Building Products Digest
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OLSEn On Sales By James Olsen
Overcoming objections
A
S SIMPLE AS it may seem, many sellers do not overcome objections. These sellers begin in a charming way, but lose their conviction when the customer gives them a reason they can’t or won’t buy. Objections are (almost) the same across all industries. Most customers only have one objection. If we can overcome that objection, we are very close to an order. Our approach with customers should be confident without being arrogant. The customer cannot push back if we are not pushing. Quiet confidence is attractive. We are all tuning forks. When we are relaxed, our customers will relax. Below are the major objections we all face and some great answers to them.
“Your price is too high.” Simply, “If we can work on the price, can we put this together?” Don’t say, “Where do I need to be?” This makes the customer the boss and makes them do all the work. Ask them to work on this issue together. Another option is to say, “Huh, we’ve been selling well at this level, what are you thinking on price?” This makes price a discussion between partners. The fact that we are selling will also slow down the price grind. “I don’t need any right now.” “That’s fine, Mr. Johnson. I am not looking to sell you anything right this minute. What I am trying to do is to get to know more about you and your business to see if we are a good match for each other.” “I am happy with my current supplier.” This will be the major objection we face when trying to open new accounts. Most customers we call on will already be buying from someone else! This is good. It means they do buy what we sell. “I don’t want to get in the way of your current relationships. Why don’t we continue to talk? I can be your backup supplier. That way if anything does happen with your
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current supplier, you and I will already have a relationship. You will already know the quality of my products and service. It’s always good to have a back-up plan. Let me be your back up plan.” Our goal is to get the customer to continue to take our call. People are protective of their ongoing relationships. We don’t want to challenge them by saying we are better. We are not going to get married on the first date, so we relax and work on the future of our relationship. “The market is weak.” Instead of trying to change a customer’s mind, go with them on this objection. “Really, where do you see this bottoming out?” (It’s amazing that customers are experts at telling us the market is coming off, but not so expert at telling us when it will bottom out.) Many customers will say, “I have no idea, but it’s probably going to zero.” Confidence is key. We want to act like we just sold 20 on our last call and we are going to sell 20 on the next call. “How long can you wait before you have to buy?” Many will say, “I’m just going to buy partial loads out of distribution.” When our customers give us this reply, we ask, “How much are you paying out of distribution?” May sellers clam up on this objection. The idea is to understand the customer’s mindset. If they are not buying why force it? Keep the customer talking about their situation. In this way we will learn what they are thinking. We cannot sell to an obscure target. “When this thing bottoms out, how much will you buy?” When the customer gives us an idea, we babysit their inventory on subsequent conversations. We will be doing this with several (all) of our customers, so when the market bounces we will close them all in a row. The Hidden Objection. Sometimes customers aren’t buying from us and are reluctant to tell us why. Saying, “Pete, it feels like it’s a relationship thing” will often crack the safe. I’ve seen customers react with relief to this phrase. When customers can’t tell us why they aren’t buying, this phrase will make them feel understood. Preparation is key. When we are calm and confident while overcoming objections, we will sell more. James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503) 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com Building-Products.com
EVAnGELIST Marketing By Alex Goldfayn
The revenue mindset
I
to grow your company quickly, you need to think about it the right way. You’re not selling, you’re helping. You’re not imposing, you’re providing great value. Ask your customers, they’ll tell you. Here are some additional revenue growth truisms: Marketing is the low-hanging fruit. If you want to grow your business, there is nothing you can do—not even sales meetings!—that will grow your company faster, easier and more effectively than good marketing. Sales is one-on-one. Marketing is one-to-many. Marketing allows people to raise their hands, and volunteer themselves as being interested in your work. Marketing feeds your salespeople. Marketing feeds your family. Effective marketing requires the right mindset. You cannot out-market, out-sell or out-produce your mindset. If you think you’re selling products or services that’s what you will market. If, conversely, you believe you are improving lives and growing businesses, that is what you will market. Since marketing is nothing more than a transference of perceptions (yours, onto your market), good marketing begins between your ears. Here, then, are the major mindset shifts required to improve your marketing: You don’t sell products and services, you improve lives and companies. There’s such a massive difference between these two beliefs that this shift can actually mean seven figures in additional sales for most of you reading this. If you tell me you sell products or services, I think you’re a commodity, and I’m bored. If, conversely, you tell me you can help me grow my business, and as a result I can achieve my dreams, you will have my undivided attention (and probably some of my money, too). You’re not imposing on prospects’ time, you’re availing them of your tremendous value. When you believe that you’re in the business of improving lives and growing companies, you don’t hesitate to pick up the phone to tell people about the great value they’re missing out on if they don’t do business with you. The effective mindset is “I believe in my value and will shamelessly communicate it to clients and prospects.” Unfortunately, too many think “I don’t want to bother my prospects.” Here’s the truth: You are doing prospects a disservice by not informing them of how you can help them. You owe it to them! They deserve to know. This next mindset shift is huge, with tremendous implications for your company’s success: Effective revenue growers take action instead of overthinking, over-planning, and under-executing. Want to know the key to marketing more? It’s marketing more. This is how easy it is. There is no secret or magic to growing your business besides taking more action. That’s it. F YOU WANT
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If it seems overwhelming, and you’re not sure what to do, let me list five activities here, none of which take more than 15 minutes each. I find that 15 minutes per day is a terrific period of time for new action because it’s fast, nonthreatening and difficult to avoid. Even you have 15 minutes per day! So, tomorrow, first thing in the morning, sit down and execute one of these marketing activities: • Call a customer. Ask them how they think, feel and talk about your company. You’ll be cementing your relationship, identifying powerful marketing language, and poking around potential opportunities. • Write a good email with powerful value and an enticing offer to a group of customers or prospects, and send it. • Call a local media member and offer to help them with the topic that they cover. • Pick a page on your website and make it simpler and more emotional. • Start a spreadsheet and start dumping everyone you’ve interacted with over the past year into it. Then assign the task to somebody else. Pass the spreadsheet around your company. Build your lists! This is one of the most effective marketing tools at your disposal. I can keep going, but these should get you through the first week. By then, hopefully you’ll think of additional 15-minute marketing activities you can be implementing. If you want to grow your business, market. If you want to market better, or more, believe in your value, and focus your mind (and your messaging) on how people are better off after working with you, rather than on your products and services. And, in the name of all things revenue and growing bank accounts, take action! Alex Goldfayn CEO, Evangelist Marketing Institute www.evangelistmktg.com Building-Products.com
THInKInG Ahead By Bethany Doss, Capital Lumber, and NAWLA Board Member
Attracting new talent to the lumber industry the board. This aging workforce has extensive knowledge and experience, and we now have to capture and share the wisdom with our future generation of employees—a generation that can be somewhat difficult to access.
Challenges in Recruitment
There are many reasons why the challenge of new talent recruitment, particularly among the Millennial generation, exists in the lumber industry. Most of these revolve around perception. Oftentimes, we apologize for our industry not being “sexy” or “cool,” but the fact is that this new generation of talent is not that different from any other. They want to work for a strong company with good benefits that provides a clear path for growth and opportunity. This industry is about people and relationships; it is our responsibility to sell this to any potential hire, not just the Millennials. Younger candidates may believe that this is a “sunset” industry or one that isn’t technologically advanced, modern or environmentally friendly. And since some mills are based in small towns, it’s also difficult to find local talent. It’s essential that we work to dispel these myths with our prospective workforce by highlighting the state-ofthe-art technology of your facilities, promoting the advantages of the town(s) your facilities are in, and talking about the environmental benefits of wood—it’s a renewable resource and can help tackle climate change.
O
NE OF THE BIGGEST challenges many business leaders are facing today involves recruiting and retaining new talent. Our industry is no different. Most of our current workforce is comprised of Baby Boomers who are approaching retirement within the next five to 10 years. Because of this, succession planning has become a crucial priority for business owners and managers across
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Getting Their Foot in the Door Through Internships
One of the easiest ways to attract and retain new talent is through a company internship program. Through Capital Lumber’s internship program, we place multiple interns at each location. We have hired and retained sev-
Building-Products.com
A Special Series from north American Wholesale Lumber Association
Tips for Expanding Your Talent Pool
• Talk to your local universities and colleges and attend their recruitment fairs to promote your job or internship opportunities to their students. Target the schools that have the programs related to those opportunities. • If possible, give presentations to specific classes in those schools, outlining your business and discussing the benefits of working there. • Use LinkedIn or other social media platforms to get the word out about your company and engage with potential candidates. • Do research on who you want to recruit, and reach out to them in the way they would like to be contacted. • Before recruiting for an internship program, have a set structure. Savvy interns will quickly notice if the program was not well-planned or poorly executed.
eral of those interns as full-fledged sales and product managers. One of the biggest contributors to success in forming an internship program is getting buy-in from your current employees. Having someone market the program is key, but also having some of the more seasoned team members train and educate the interns is really where the knowledge flow happens. Mentorship is crucial. This also creates a “buddy system” for the intern, where they know they have someone available to ask questions and help them through daily activities and duties. If you’re planning to start an internship program to recruit new talent, make sure it is aligned with the local universities with whom you work. For example, most business schools will give credit to their interns if they are assigned a project from the employer. Get to know your local university’s career services department and interview them to see what they are looking for with their interns. The greatest success we’ve had with Capital Lumber is our relationship with our local universities. They know our company by name, and when a strong candidate comes up, they know to call us first to see if we are interested. These relationships may take some time to build, but are an important part of the process. Additionally, with your program, there should be a formalized structure in place, which includes a 30- to 60day onboarding and training schedule. Also, ensure the
Building-Products.com
intern has plenty of work to do that will give him or her hands-on experience and build a knowledge base. Our internships are project-based, so the interns can go back to their classes with a tangible experience. We all remember being interns at one point, and the most depressing thing was that you were responsible for making coffee and making copies—nobody likes that. It is important to us that our interns have something they can put on a resume and are able to present a solution to a problem we face every day. Lastly, once you hire interns, treat them like new hires, not burdens. And always pay them.
Establish a Standard for Success
One of the biggest benefits of working in this industry is, by far, the relationships. With a company that fosters a culture of innovation and growth, a new professional can flourish and make a difference in a short amount of time. The industry has a lot of educational organizations that your younger workforce should get involved in, and NAWLA specifically has created a lot of “Next Gen” opportunities to network. The more involved they are in the industry as a whole, the more likely they will want to stay with your organization. Encourage them to get involved in NAWLA 10 Groups, and send them to training sessions, such as Wood Basics where they not only learn the fundamentals of the lumber industry, but they make lifelong friends they can connect with in the future. One of the most important aspects of all this is to make sure whoever leads your company’s recruiting effort believes in the process. You have to have a good cheerleader promoting your company and sharing why it’s the best place in the world to work. – Bethany Doss is business manager for Capital Lumber, Healdsburg, Ca., and a member of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association’s board of directors.
About NAWLA
NAWLA (North American Wholesale Lumber Association) is the association that delivers unparalleled access to relationships and resources that improve business strategy and performance through sales growth, cost savings, and operational efficiencies for wholesalers and manufacturers of forest products and other building materials that conduct business in North America. Learn more about how NAWLA can help your business at www.nawla.org.
September 2015
Building Products Digest
27
CNRG Taking Over Marvin’s
OUR VALUE PROPOSITION 2015
MORE REASONS YOU’LL NEVER NEED ANOTHER EWP SUPPLIER:
Central Network Retail Group, Natchez, Ms., has acquired 70-yearold Marvin’s Building Materials, Leeds, Al. Marvin’s operates 28 home centers in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee, with #29 currently under construction and expected to open in October in Camilla, Ga. “We couldn’t be more excited about the addition of Marvin’s to our portfolio of stores and brands,” said Jimmy R. Smith, chairman of CNRG. “Marvin’s fits perfectly in our geography of stores giving us a stronger position in the southeast.” Formed in 2011, CNRG currently operates 81 home centers, hardware stores, and lumberyards in 10 states under fourteen different brands.
Lowe’s Takes Tiny Bites of Big Apple
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E OUR VALU S TO RE REASAON ISE EN MOP FROM BO NOW, EVUR EW : YO BUY CASCADE DEALER DELIVERY ONWIDE NDABLE NATI D NEERED WOO BETTER ENGI
To learn more: www.BC.com/inst21 or call 800-232-0788
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MORE ABOUT THESE LATER: BETTER ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS
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© 2015 Boise Cascade Wood Products, L.L.C. BOISE CASCADE, the TREE-IN-A-CIRCLE symbol, BC FRAMER and “Great products are only the beginning” are trademarks of Boise Cascade Company or its affiliates.
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Building Products Digest
Lowe’s opened a scaled-back 30,000-sq. ft. store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, N.Y., Aug. 17, with a second convenience-sized location to open this month in the city’s Chelsea neighborhood. The smaller convenience format, influenced by the Orchard Supply Hardware stores the chain acquired in 2014, will offer more high-tech improvements and urban-friendly services, including a free potting station for indoor plants.
BMC Buying Robert Bowden
BMC, Atlanta, Ga., has agreed to acquire Robert Bowden, Inc., Marietta, Ga., expanding its custom and production millwork capabilities to the Southeast. “Over the past 32 years, Robert Bowden has built a fine reputation for excellence for providing custom and production millwork,” said BMC CEO Peter Alexander. “We are very excited about growing both companies through the combined strength of RBI and BMC, and both companies will remain focused on our customers through the combination.” Nick Massengill, president of RBI, added, “The alignment of cultures between these two great companies will fit the strategy of BMC and will provide scale for RBI. The transaction presents great opportunities for future growth and prosperity.” Founded in 1983, RBI operates distribution centers in Marietta, Duluth and McDonough, Ga., as well as a manufacturing operation in Marietta. September 2015
DEALER Briefs Builders FirstSource, Dallas, Tx., has completed its acquisition of ProBuild Holdings, Denver, Co., creating the industry’s largest LBM dealer, with over 430 locations across 40 states. Aurora Lumber , Aurora, In., was devastated by a late-night fire Aug. 10. The yard suffered about $250,000 in damages, including loss of its showroom and considerable inventory. Louisiana Builder’s Supply, Baton Rouge, La., reportedly has closed after eight years. Anchor Lumber, Silvis, Il., was back in business a day after an Aug. 3 fire tore through its lawn & garden dept. US LBM’s Hines Supply division added a 7,000-sq. ft. showroom in Bloomington, Il. (Joe Stubler, GM). 84 Lumber Co. will open a new store and door shop this month in St. Augustine, Fl., four years after it pulled all stores from Northeast Florida. In addition, 84 has closed its Harmans, Md., store to convert it into a custom door shop. Busy Beaver, Pittsburgh, Pa., is aligning its 16 home improvement centers with True Value. La Grange Park Ace Hardware, La Grange Park, Il., was closed
indefinitely Aug. 20 after a large portion of its roof support cracked.
Kabelin Ace Hardware will rebuild Granger, In., store, following an Aug. 17 fire. Ace Hardware is targeting a Nov. 1 opening in St. Augustine, Fl. Franchisee Kyle Turner currently operates two Aces in Jacksonville, Fl. Habitat for Humanity opened a 9,400-sq. ft. ReStore discount LBM outlet Aug. 22 in W. Boca Raton, Fl. (Matthew Carter, mgr.). Braly Builders Supply , Palestine, Tx., was honored with the Texas Treasure Business Award. Aubuchon Hardware is eyeing a 1-acre site in Ipswich, Ma., to possibly build store #121. Building-Products.com
Cedar Creek Expands Presence in Wisconsin
Cedar Creek, Oklahoma City, Ok., has relocated its Sun Prairie, Wi., branch to a considerably larger facility in Madison, Wi. The new branch officially opened for business Aug. 18, retaining the same phone numbers. At 13.4 acres and with 113,000 sq. ft. under roof, the new site provides room to add “a whole catalog of specialty products beyond what the old commodity lumber reload could accommodate,” said Jim Shalvoy, VPmarketing. “It will add cedar siding, fiber cement siding, engineered wood products, housewrap, hardwood plywood, and a broad portfolio of new products.” The prior facility was inherited from Roberts & Dybdahl, which Cedar Creek purchased last year. “It
was very small, so small there wasn’t even room for on-site offices,” said Jim Shalvoy, VP-marketing. “It was almost a temporary beachhead into the market that they had intended to expand, but never had the chance to follow through on.” Cedar Creek operates 24 locations serving 32 states.
Indiana Store Changes Hands
Longtime owner Sam Crawn has sold Sam’s Do-It-Best Hardware, Brazil, In., to Steve Guernsey, who will rename the store Brazil Hardware and convert it into an Ace Hardware. The store will remain open as it undergoes a roughly seven-week remodel starting Oct. 1. Being added are a new product assortment, new signage, new POS scanners and software, a new floorplan, and some red paint, to coordinate with Ace’s colors.
Your source for
LARGE TIMBERS, SPECIALTY PRODUCTS, & REMANUFACTURING • Redwood • Western Red Cedar • Southern Cypress • Douglas Fir • Ipé • Abaco
Building Products Digest
Conifex Timber , Vancouver, B.C., has completed its acquistion of the El Dorado, Ar., sawmill shut down by Georgia-Pacific in 2006. Weyerhaeuser Distribution
is now stocking a full line of Fortress Railing Products at its Charlotte, N.C., distribution center.
Simpson Door Co. is now being represented by Flyover Premier Sales, Lee’s Summit, Mo., in the Midwest, from Kansas to Michigan and Ohio, and by Marquis Sales & Marketing, Clear Spring, Md., in the mid-Atlantic and inland, from New Jersey down to Tennessee and Georgia. Cordeck, Kenosha, Wi., bought the assets of HH Robertson, including the Q-Floor/Taproute in-floor wire management system. Pan American Screw , Conover, N.C., acquired Western Builders Supply, Billings, Mt. WBS joins Pan American’s three other brands—Deerwood Fasteners, Sure Drive USA, and Co-Op Screw. WBS CEO Rob Saunders will stay on during the transition. For the long term, Dale Rife, current Pan American VP-finance, will relocate to Montana to head WBS. Northeast Building Supply, Architectural Building Components ,
Bridgeport, Ct., acquired
Hackensack and Long Branch, N.J.
ECi Software Solutions, Fort Worth, Tx., acquired the JumpTrack proof-of-delivery solution from Jump Technologies . For the last eight years, ECi has been providing JumpTrack to dealers using its DDMS and Red Falcon systems. PRO Group presented its 2015 Paul L. Cosgrave Memorial Award for superior hardware merchandising to
Nunda PRO Lumber & Hardware, Nunda, N.Y. RoyOMartin’s forestry operations have logged eight straight years without an OSHA-recordable injury. American Wood Council has redesigned website at www.awc.org, making it mobile responsive.
877.533.7695 32
SUPPLIER Briefs
September 2015
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Parksite Purchases Lavelle
Parksite Inc., Batavia, Il., has acquired Lavelle Co., a Fargo, N.D.based LBM wholesaler serving retail lumberyards throughout North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa since 1939. “Our objective is to grow significantly faster than the market, and acquisitions are an important piece of our growth strategy,” said Parksite president Ron Heitzman. “The Lavelle Co. has built a strong market position with quality products, great people and excellent customer service and we are excited to have them become part of the Parksite organization. The acquisition will expand both our geography and product portfolio.” Nationally, Parksite now has nine locations in the eastern half of the U.S., with nearly 400 employees.
RSG shareholders will receive approximately $286 million in cash and $291 million of Beacon common stock, and Beacon will refinance approximately $565 million of RSG’s debt. It is targeted to close on Oct. 1.
Based in Dallas, Tx., RSG distributes roofing supplies and related materials from 83 locations across 24 states, including the Pacific Northwest—a first for Beacon.
Beacon Roofing Buying RSG
Beacon Roofing Supply, Peabody, Ma., has agreed to acquire Roofing Supply Group, a roofing products distributor owned by investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion.
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HANDY HARDWARE, Houston, Tx., rolled out an even broader range of new private-label products that pumped up heavy attendance at its recent fall market in San Antonio, Tx. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the attendance and participation at this year’s fall market,” said president Craig Cowart. “Our double-digit gain in attendance, with close to a thousand attendees and over 500 manufacturers, represents Handy’s focus on recapturing lost market share with both existing and new customers.”
September 2015
Building-Products.com
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September 2015
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MOVERS & Shakers Bob Taylor, president and CEO, Do it Best Corp., Fort Wayne, In., will retire Jan. 4, 2016, and be succeeded by current executive VP and COO Dan Starr. Brandon Natale, ex-ProBuild, has been named VP-purchasing at J.P. Hart Lumber Co., San Antonio, Tx. Robert Torino, ex-Brockway-Smith Co., has joined Boston Cedar, Manchester, Ct., as a territory rep for Connecticut. Joe Person has been named CFO for WOLF, York, Pa. Jeremy Rogers, ex-84 Lumber, is new to outside sales for Mead Lumber, Kearney, Ne. Tisha Little is new to sales at Tennessee Valley Forest Products, Chattanooga, Tn. Chuck Stout has been appointed VP of operations for Shannon Lumber Group, Horn Lake, Ms. Raul Lopez has been promoted to store mgr. of McCoy’s Building Supply, Brownsville, Tx. Travis Torrence, ex-Biewer Lumber, is now Cincinnati, Oh., territory mgr. for BlueLinx.
Jerry Resides, ex-Alside Supply Center, is now in outside sales with 84 Lumber, Murrysville, Pa. John Hess Jr., owner/manager, Johnny’s True Value Hardware, Harlingen, Tx., has retired from the business his father started in the 1950s. Patrick Hamill, ex-Metrie, is a new branch mgr. with Horizon Forest Products, Richmond, Va. Bob Parquette, ex-Big Bay Lumber, is new to the industrial sales division of Great Northern Lumber, Blue Island, Il. Tony Hare, ex-ProBuild, is now in outside sales with American Building Supply, Coppell, Tx. Nathan Schremser, ex-Forest Products Supply, has joined Makita USA, as industrial territory rep for Kansas City, Mo. Jason Karasek is new to outside sales at Carter Lumber, Middlefield, Oh. Mark Olson is now in sales at Marling Lumber Co., Madison, Wi. Nick Dowd has been appointed president of Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp., Louisville, Ky.
Thomas Winowiecki has been hired as mgr. of engineering services for Hoover Treated Wood Products, Thomson, Ga. Gerard Arpey, former American Airlines CEO/chairman, has been named to the board of directors of Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga. Andrew Werfelmann is new to North American Wholesale Lumber Association, helping to organize the 2016 Leadership Summit. Dan Olson, owner of Ace Hardware stores in Franklin Park and Waukegan, Il., was named the 2015 Ace All-Star Retailer, acknowledging his extraordinary fundraising, leadership skills, innovation and commitment to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. William B. Cox Sr., founder, Cox Industries, Orangeburg, S.C., will be inducted March 3, 2016, into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame. Howie Dewing is the new greeter at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., report owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.
Size does matter. Douglas Fir up to 20” x 20” x up to 40’ Cedar 16” x 16” x up to 32’
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Building Products Digest
318-5261 phone (214) 358-2314 fax (214) 358-2383 www.richardsontimbers.com
September 2015
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Eastern White Pine Special Issue
SUSTAINABLE VERSATILITY DESIGN competition is an annual design contest for architecture, engineering, and design students. This year’s winner used eastern white pine as the primary component for a showcase house for the Community Development building in Bryan, Tx.
Honored design
NeLMA announces 2015 architecture student competition winner
J
ACK SEARCY, a second-year environmental design student at Texas A&M, is the recipient of the 2015 Rich Quitadamo Sustainable Versatility Design Award for his project entitled “Bryan Showcase House.” The Rich Quitadamo Sustainable Versatility Design Award, sponsored by the Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association (NELMA), is a design contest for architecture, engineering, and design students currently enrolled in an accredited architecture program to design a modern sustainable structure featuring eastern white pine. Judges base their decisions on dialogue-inspiring, future-predicting, forward-thinking designs. “N E LMA developed the SVDA award program in 2010 as a vehicle to reintroduce wood, particularly Northeastern softwoods, to the next generation of architects and designers,” said Jeff Easterling, president of NELMA. “We envisioned the competition as an activity to engage the creativity of today’s students while providing a stimulus to see the value of
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Building Products Digest
using wood as a contemporary and sustainable building material.” The 2015 design challenge for all
entrants: Design a contemporary, single-family home that significantly features eastern white pine. The project
PRESIDENT of NELMA, Jeff Easterling (left), and Fine Homebuilding senior editor Andy Engel, a Sustainable Versatility Design award judge, presented the 2015 award to Jack Searcy via Skype. September 2015
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must incorporate at least three different eastern white pine grades. Total number of 2015 entries almost doubled from 2014, with students hailing from Hawaii to Maine and points in between. Andy Engel, senior editor of Fine Homebuilding, served as a judge for the contest and emceed the award presentation at the 2015 NELMA annual meeting. In his opening remarks, Engel noted, “Some people ask why wood is still relevant; this shouldn’t even be a question. The designs from these students are exceptional, and I’m hopeful for the future with them in it. I can’t say enough about the value of education in the building industry.” Engel continued by praising NELMA’s outreach efforts to architecture students nationwide: “You guys are really smart by holding this design contest. By introducing wood early in their career, you’re creating a longrange effect on these kids.” Searcy and his professor, Ahmed Ali, assistant professor of architecture, appeared at the NELMA annual meeting via Skype to discuss the winning design and their overall views on the use of wood in architecture.
PREMIUM GRADE eastern white pine was used solely for the interior, including in the ceiling and flooring boards. The species is not frequently used for flooring, but coating the wood with oil prior to finishing provided the eastern white pine with both softness and durability.
Using Eastern Pine
When asked if this project would influence his future designs, Searcy replied in the affirmative. “Wood is experiencing resurgence right now, and I want to be part of it. Designing with eastern white pine in the future is a sustainable choice; the versatility and beauty of the different wood
STANDARD GRADE eastern pine was used for exterior siding and cladding, to be cost efficient.
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Building Products Digest
September 2015
grains adds so much to a design.” Ali discussed his students’ response to the Sustainable Versatility Design challenge, which he integrated into his curriculum: “My students very much enjoyed learning more about the process of designing with wood.” Searcy received a $1,000 cash award and a custom trophy carved from eastern white pine. In their comments, the Sustainable Versatility Design Award judges praised his project as a hybrid of contemporary and traditional Texas architecture, and noted his creative uses of industrial, standard, and premium grade eastern white pine throughout the house. Rebecca Diaz, also a second-year environmental design student at Texas A&M, earned a second-place finish. Her project, “Single Family Home,” featured eastern white pine for both framing and exterior. Making extensive use of wood in the home’s interior, wood application highlights include sunken paneling, ceiling molding, kitchen cabinetry, and the dining room table and chairs. The Rich Quitadamo Sustainable Versatility Design Award was named after Rich Quitadamo, a veteran member of the NELMA marketing committee who was instrumental in the creation of the SVDA program. Following his untimely passing in 2013, the committee voted to honor his unselfish work and participation in NELMA by naming the annual student competition award in his honor. Complete details of the 2016 Sustainable Versatility Design competition will be posted on www.sustainableversatility.org later in 2015. Building-Products.com
Eastern White Pine Special Issue
Grader Academy A year of success
O
NE YEAR AGO,
NELMA launched the Grader Academy, the first-of-its-kind, multi-species, forward-thinking, educational resource for the industry. Initially aimed at future graders, the Grader Academy has attracted the notice of mill employees, wholesaler/dealer employees, people interested in lumber sales, and even a few builders/contractors. “After only a year, the Grader Academy is reaching deeper into mills than we ever anticipated,” said Jeff Easterling, president of N E LMA. “It’s clear that it’s
Manufacturers of Quality
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Sales: Win Smith, Jr. win@limingtonlumber.com (207) 625-3286 • Fax (207) 625-7399 www.limingtonlumber.com
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Building Products Digest
September 2015
become a strong tool for educating the industry as a whole.” The intent of the Grader Academy is to turn the daunting, laborious process of becoming a lumber grader on its ear: “The Grader Academy takes NELMA’s member services to a whole new level by providing the information
GRADER ACADEMY provides necessary information in a visual, easyto-follow format accessible to mill employees, dealers, wholesalers and
needed in a visual, easy-to-follow format,” continued Easterling. Found at www.graderacademy.org, the NELMA Grader Academy is free/non-subscription, with zero pay-to-use elements. Users are finding simple, easy-to-understand grading background information, rules, and more, at their fingertips 24/7/365. By paralleling the two most important softwood lumber species and species grouping the Northeastern and Great Lakes Regions—Eastern White Pine and Spruce-PineFir—courseware was designed focused on the natural learning approach. Visual images are integrated into each learning element to reinforce all elements of the grading process. Four series of learning levels are planned, with three already in place: • Level 100 focuses on lumber characteristics and basic knowledge. • Level 200 teaches how to apply lumber characteristics learned to actual lumber grades. • Level 300 explains grading rule exceptions and the Building-Products.com
by utilizing drag-and-drop technology.
ADDING A FUN element to the Grader Academy, Above Board is an interactive game component that simulates real-time lumber
application of interpretations. • Level 400, the most advanced level, will use knowledge shared within the previous modules to challenge users to build their own lumber grade
Building-Products.com
Above Board is a unique element added by NELMA that truly sets the Grader Academy apart: This interactive game component extends the reach of the body of knowledge by adding in a little fun. Simulating realtime lumber grading in a mill setting, Above Board offers variable lug speeds ranging from beginner to advanced. As with the Grader Academy, Above Board is completely free to play. “We are so pleased with the positive reaction to the Grader Academy,” Easterling said. “NELMA now reaches into 20 states and our primary goal as an association remains providing each and every member with the information and services they need. With the Grader Academy, the focus remains
September 2015
on creating satisfied customers: are end-users getting the grade of material they expect? We will continue to grow the Grader Academy to meet the needs of our members, their employees, and the industry as a whole.”
NELMA Grader Academy Stats Since December 1, 2014:
• Registered users up 65% • Course quizzes taken up 118% • Each of the three existing levels includes a top 10 ranking of all users, indicating number of courses taken and success within each course.
Building Products Digest
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Eastern White Pine Special Issue
Introducing Skip & Wane
W
HEN WAS THE last time you read a comic strip that really spoke to you? Introducing another first from NELMA: a forest products industry-
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Building Products Digest
themed comic strip, The Adventures of Skip & Wane. The strip focuses on two brothers working at a softwood lumber mill in the Northeast.
September 2015
Let’s meet everyone: • Wane, the knowledgeable, handson mill supervisor; • Skip, his younger brother, the
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newbie who just started working at the mill; • Burl, the seasoned know-it-all mill employee; and • Mill employees (and mascot!) Dolly Varden, Mr. Pickwick, and Spike Knot, the dog. “We like being on the cutting edge of marketing within the wood industry,” said NELMA’s Jeff Easterling. “Unique marketing vehicles challenge those in the industry, encouraging them to see things in a different way. We think the entertainment value of Skip & Wane will continue our efforts to raise awareness for NELMA industry-wide. It’s an inexpensive, effective tool for sharing key messages in a new way. We hope it brings a smile to the faces of our readers!” Each strip will focus on key industry topics, sharing information via industry inside jokes or humorous targeting of the competition. Each character’s traits will play into the stories, adding humor in a wink-wink fashion. Two strips have been released, with another four planned in the near future. “Cartoons embedded within marketing strategies are deeply rooted in history,” continued Easterling. “Their results are well documented as some
Building-Products.com
of the most-read and most-remembered elements of a promotional campaign.” The use of non-traditional forest products marketing vehicles has been NELMA’s signature over the past several years. Successful ventures include
September 2015
the Grade Swatch, the 360° Virtual Tour, the animated “N E LMA vs.” online video series, and the Grader Academy. Each Skip & Wane strip will be posted on www.nelma.org and promoted via social media.
Building Products Digest
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Eastern White Pine Special Issue
21st century marketing of eastern white pine NeLMA social media update
A
S THE CONSTRUCTION industry becomes more intertwined with social media, N E LMA has stayed ahead of the curve with consistent content updates across existing platforms and targeted outreach program in new directions. “Social media is one of the most interesting and influential things to happen to this industry in decades,” said Jeff Easterling, president of NELMA. “What was once scoffed at as a fad is now an absolute necessity for any association, company, or brand. Our strategy is to reach our key audiences where they are and more and more, they’re engaged in social media.” Steady contributors to Facebook and Twitter for the last several years, N E LMA uses these most common
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Building Products Digest
platforms to share association and industry information. Visitors to the NELMA Facebook page will find a solid mix of NELMA news, case histories featuring eastern white pine, forest/wood facts and figures, and wood industry updates. NELMA on Twitter features much the same information, edited down to the 140-character parameter. “This last year has seen a strong increase in engagement with our N E LMA followers,” continued Easterling. “As members and dealers venture out into social media more, we see them popping up on our walls liking and sharing our information and engaging with us in the comment section.” NELMA.org, the association’s keystone website, is an interactive, easy-
September 2015
Visit NELMA on Social Media NELMA (Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association) @iNELMA
NELMA NELMA (Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association)
Building-Products.com
to-use online destination packed full of northeastern softwood lumber educational information and selling tools. Targeted at retailers and wholesalers, the site offers deep knowledge and usable information designed to help these audiences with their daily jobs. Digging a little deeper: An updated Library offers NELMA publications for easy ordering and features standard grading rules, design values, and span tables for quick review. Not sure how to read a grade stamp? Find out here. An entire section is devoted to the popular White Pine Monographs, beautiful brochures detailing eastern white pine applications of the past and present. A new Mill Locator offers a complete listing of NELMA mills in both address and map formats. Videos are everywhere! Site visitors can check out two videos promoting the most recent White Pine Monographs, plus animated comparisons of eastern white pine, PVC, and radiata pine. Also in the N E LMA arsenal: EasternWhitePine.org, a more consumer-based website focusing on beautiful applications for the product. News Blocks feature case histories, design trends, and multiple uses of eastern white pine through project
What Is
profiles and feature stories. SustainableVersatility.org is a specialized NELMA site to share information about the association’s Sustainable Versatility Design Award, a recognition awarded annually to a college student studying architecture or engineering. What’s next on the social media horizon for NELMA? Two things: Pinterest. The perfect online location for NELMA’s portfolio of beautiful home projects, the association opened a Pinterest page over the summer. Information will be dynamic, with photos loaded on a regular basis.
LinkedIn. As an association, NELMA serves its members, many of whom are already active on this business-targeted social media portal. NELMA’s profile went live over the summer. “We’re keeping a finger on the pulse of social media trends in the industry, and taking a leadership role in association information sharing,” concluded Easterling. “As for the future, we won’t rule anything out. Not all social media platforms are right for NELMA, but we’ll research any and all newcomers and jump in where appropriate.”
?
Described as more of a catalog or clearinghouse of information, Pinterest is designed to inspire users to take action and research, chose, and complete projects. Featuring easily searchable key words and more beautiful photos than the eye can handle, photos are pinned to boards (organizational tools) by the user. This ability to custom organize pins makes it incredibly user-friendly. Recently experiencing exponential growth, Pinterest was described in a recent Forbes magazine article as “… Pinterest doesn’t get a whole lot of respect… which will make it even more surprising when Pinterest eats its competitors alive.” As of February 2015, Pinterest boasted approximately 70 million active users and a worth of about $5 billion.
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September 2015
Building Products Digest
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NEW Products
Ground-breaking Screws
Starborn Industries has introduced a longer version of its Deckfast Metal screw for attaching 2” PVC, composite or hardwood decking to metal framing. The 2-3/8" screw is the only product on the market designed to attach 2” decking to metal framing.
STARBORNINDUSTRIES.COM (800) 596-7747
Spouts with Chic
Sonoma Forge has expanded on its WaterBridge Collection with a new spout option that broadens the versatility and function of the “industrial chic” faucet style. The new Elbow Spout is offered for ramp-style sink designs and for smaller sinks where the water stream would ideally be directed straight down. With multiple options in size, spout style, handle style, and finish, the WaterBridge Collection blends as beautifully in a chic urban loft as it does in a rustic farmhouse retreat.
eTape16 solves all the hassles of getting measurements right and the frustration of measurement mistakes, in one tough, compact tool. Like a traditional tape measure, its metal blade comes in U.S. and metric markings. Its large, easy-toread digital readout is accurate to 1/16’’. A simple push of a button displays measurements in inches, feet, fractions and decimals, and converts to metric.
SONOMAFORGE.COM
ETAPE16.COM
(800) 330-5553
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Building Products Digest
Digital Measuring
(303) 818-6546
September 2015
Building-Products.com
Fashionable Closet Finish
WoodTrac has added the fashionable Salt Oak finish to its standard finishes for its full line of WoodTrac closet systems and mirror frame mouldings. Also available in White, Cherry and Espresso, the new rustic yet modern finish offers a reclaimed wood look in neutral gray tones that are becoming more popular in today’s new construction and remodeling projects. The systems are being used for residential remodeling, as well as in new construction featuring closet systems as an upgrade from builder-grade wire systems
WOODTRAC.COM (855) 854-7465
PVC Trim for Life
Versatex’s PVC Cellular Trim is cut with a proprietary system to keep the edges clean and dimensionally accurate with true 90° angles and designed with a more natural surface texture to complement fiber cement and cedar. Its extended warranty gives builders,
renovators and homeowners another reason to specify and apply its weatherresistant premium PVC architectural trim products and systems. VERSATEX.COM (724) 857-1111
Mobile Sales Aid
Epicor Software has launched Epicor BisTrackTCloud, a mobile sales software package that helps boost the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of LBM salespeople when they are away from the office. It provides quick, easy access to customer and product data, seamless customer communications, and remote ordering capabilities.
EPICOR.COM
(949) 585-4235
Secret Post Base
The new concealed post base CPTZ by Simspon Strong-Tie incorporates a knife plate with a standoff base. It achieves a clean, concealed look while providing a 1" standoff height above concrete. The CPTZ is installed with 1⁄2" diameter galvanized pins (supplied). The 1" standoff height is code-required when supporting permanent structures that are exposed to weather or water splash, or in basements. The standoff also reduces the potential for decay at post or column ends.
STONGTIE.COM (800) 999-5099
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Your Eastern & Midwest Redwood Specialist
REDWOOD DECKING THE NATURAL ALTERNATIVE
Full Range & Large Inventory Reman to Specific Patterns • Clear All Heart • Clear Mixed Grain • Construction Heart • Decking Pattern Stock • Bevel Siding • Beaded Ceiling We Ship by the Unit or by the Piece Family Owned & Operated for Over 60 Years
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7459 Franklin St., Forest Park, IL 60130
Fax: 708-771-7391 • Email: joe@chicagosuburbanlumber.com
www.chicagosuburbanlumber.com September 2015
Building Products Digest
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Shingles with Protection
Glenwood by GAF Shingles offer all the natural beauty and dimensional look of real wood shakes, blending luxury and style with ultimate performance. With ultra thickness and staggered exposure, the shingles’ industry-leading triple-layer construction provides maximum dimensionality, resulting in a truly authentic wood-shake look. They offer StainGuard protection to help ensure the beauty of customers’ roofs against unsightly bluegreen algae.
GAF.COM
(877) 423-7663
Silent Panels
Zintra Acoustic Panels by interior finishes manufacturer Baresque is a line of cost-effective acoustical panels that combine noise-reduction performance with modern and versatile design aesthetics. Manufactured in 110-inch-long sheets, the panels are suitable for a multitude of applications, including walls, ceilings and screens, and joint-free floor-toceiling installations. Class A fire-rated, they can be trimmed with a carpet knife and adhere to a wall or ceiling using contact cement or Liquid Nails.
BARESQUE.COM
Powerful Generators
Generac Power Systems’ new diesel-powered portable generator, the XD5000E, is designed for high-intensity needs associated with professional use. Ideal for professionals and contractors looking to power lights, tools and other equipment, the XD5000E is uniquely engineered for the rugged demands associated with construction jobsites and agricultural applications.
GENERAC.COM (888) 436-3722
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FAMILY Business By Wayne Rivers
Prescription for change in your family business
W
HEN MY SON Hart was nine years old, he was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. The doctors rushed us to the hospital where the pediatric diabetes team worked to get his blood glucose down to acceptable levels. Thank goodness, he reacted well to insulin, and he began to feel better almost immediately. As soon as the emergency was resolved, the team refocused on teaching this little boy how to personally and responsibly manage a chronic disease. Hart would, they explained, have to test his blood glucose level regularly, calculate the appropriate doses of insulin, and give himself—a child’s worst nightmare—injections several times a day. The diabetes staff was most encouraging, and we as parents, of course, were also reassuring. As part of the injection training, the nurse assured my son that the shots wouldn’t hurt. She turned to me and said, “Dad, roll up your sleeve!” I eyeballed her with a smile on my face, assuming she was kidding. She was not. I said in a voice much less masculine and controlled than I had hoped, “You’re going to give me a shot?” “That’s right. We’re going to show Hart it doesn’t hurt a bit.” I looked at my wife, who was laughing at my barely disguised show of fear. Deciding I needed to show strength for my
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son in this life altering experience, I rolled up my sleeve and resolved to not show any pain even if the nurse drove a gutter spike into my arm. She was right; it didn’t hurt a bit. So what does this have to do with you and your family business? What the diabetes team demonstrated to me was that, in a time of change, uncertainty or need, someone has to show leadership and model that change. While it might provoke fear and discomfort, it’s necessary and right, and that it will lead to improved health of the system. It was inadequate for the nurses or the parents to simply give lip service to the fact that the changes “wouldn’t hurt a bit.” We had to show that the changes would indeed prove painless and were simply logical steps necessary to chart a new path. Then we had to make a bold, unambiguous demonstration to cement the point. If change is afoot in your family business, you must be on the front line leading the change by showing everyone that, in spite of your own misgivings, you’re tough enough to take one for the team and come out whole on the other side. You’ve got to be willing to roll up your sleeve and take the first shot in order to model the correct behavior for others on the team. Want long-lasting changes made in your family business? Model the
changes actively. Be a living, breathing role model. Lead from the front. Demonstrate your courage and commitment to the changes. Telling others to change won’t cut it. You must live the changes you want first, and that leadership will inspire your followers more than mere words ever could. – Wayne Rivers is president of The Family Business Institute, Inc. (www.familybusinessinstitute.com). Reach him at (877) 326-2493 or wayne.rivers@familybusinessinstitute.com.
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IN Memoriam Calvin Horn, 79, owner and operator for over 30 years of Horn Lumber, Norman, Ar., died Aug. 12. Nancy A. Heminger, 83, former co-owner of Argos Lumber Co., Argos, In., died Aug. 17. She operated the business with her late husband, Charles Heminger, from 1963 until they retired in 1996. Norman “Jack” McNichols, 91, longtime co-owner of McNichols & McNichols Lumber Co., Laurelville, Oh., died Aug. 17. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Zauiak during World War II.
John Floyd Davis, 66, longtime outside salesman with Williams Brothers Lumber Co., Conyers, Ga., died Aug. 12. After serving in the U. S. Army in Vietnam, he joined Williams Brothers in early 1970s. He left in the early 2000s to work in the ministry. Robert D. Hamm, 98, ex-owner of Southside Lumber, Richmond, In., died Aug. 1 after a brief illness. Following a career in construction, he launched his own business and later worked for Carter Lumber, Richmond. Albertis L. “Albert” Sherow, 76, died Aug. 18, two weeks after retiring from Kabelin Ace Hardware, Plymouth and Walkerton, In.
CLASSIFIED Marketplace Rates: $1.20 per word (25 word min.). Phone number counts as 1 word, address as 6. Centered copy/headline, $9 per line. Border, $9. Private box, $15. Column inch rate: $55 if art furnished “camera-ready” (advertiser sets type), $65 if we set type. Send ad to Fax 714-486-2745 or david@ building-products.com. Checks payable to 526 Media Group. Deadline: 18th of previous month. Questions? Call (714) 486-2735.
HELP WANTED
PRODUCTS FOR SALE
INSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc., the premier manufacturer of fire-retardant treated wood, is seeking an inside sales professional. This position is located in Thomson, Ga. The ideal candidate is a motivated, self-starter with excellent communication and computer skills. A college degree with two years of inside sales and lumber or plywood trading experience is preferred. This position is responsible for maintaining excellent relationships with customers and vendors, fostering a commitment to the brand, cross-selling/up-selling, and participating in activities designed to improve customer and company performance and market visibility. To apply, please send your resume and references to hr@frtw.com.
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SHAVER WOOD PRODUCTS Southern Yellow Pine Timber Production
6x6, 6x8, 8x8, 10x10, 12x12
Reload Services & Storage Available Norfolk Southern Mainline Served Easy Access to I-40 & I-77 Company-Owned Truck Fleet (704) 278-9291 • Fax (704) 278-9304 Cleveland, N.C. email steve.twiford@gmail.com or shavers.reload@gmail.com
TRI-STATE LUMBER CO.
Your Southern Yellow Pine Timber Connection Specializing in 6x6, 6x8, 8x8, 10x10 Tel. (662) 862-2125 • Fax 662-862-4900 email jgibson@tristatelumber.net
WANTED TO BUY
ASSOCIATION Update Northwestern Lumber Association is armed and ready for clay shoots Sept. 24 in Hugo, Mn., and Sept. 30 in Grand Island, Ne. Other NLA activities include an Iowa State Cyclones football game Oct. 3 at Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Ia.; a heritage roundtable Oct. 12-14 in Rochester, Mn.; and a bluepint reading and material take-off workshop Oct. 14-15 in St. Cloud, Mn. Florida Building Material Association expects its upcoming annual convention and trade show Sat the Gaylord Palms Resort, Kissimmee, Fl., to be its largest yet. The Sept. 23-25 event will feature golf, exhibits, architectural design symposiums, and an industry panel discussion on “The New Age of Our Industry.” Northeastern Retail Lumber Association affiliates kick off annual meeting season, beginning with Retail Lumber Dealers of Maine and New Hampshire Retail Lumber Association’s joint confab Sept. 11 at the Samoset Resort, Rockport, Me. Annual meetings continue with Eastern New York Lumber Dealers Sept. 24 at Century House, Latham, N.Y.; New Jersey Building Material Dealers Sept. 30 at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club, Bedminster, N.J.; Central New York Retail Lumber Dealers Oct. 16 at Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, N.Y.; and others into the fall. Mid-America Lumber Association is hosting estimating classes Sept. 22 in Newton, Ks., and Sept. 29 in St. Louis, Mo. National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association’s annual industry summit will be held Oct. 79 at the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Co. The three-day educational and networking forum designed to promote the growth of LBM dealers, distributors, wholesalers, and the manufacturers who supply them. National Hardwood Lumber Association is hosting its annual convention & exhibit showcase Oct. 7-9 at the Omni, Nashville, Tn.
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DATE Book Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with sponsor before making plans to attend. Retail Dealers Association of Maine – Sept. 11, annual meeting in conjunction with New Hampshire Retail Lumber Association, Samoset Resort, Rockport, Me.; www.nrla.org. Peak Auctioneering – Sept. 12, LBM auctions, Mount Clemens, Mi.; Sept. 19, Minneapolis, Mn.; Sept. 26, Indianapolis, In.; www.peakauctioneer.com. Hoo-Hoo International – Sept. 11-15, annual international convention, Minneapolis, Mn.; paul.boehmer@weekesforest.com. Composite Panel Assn. – Sept. 13-15, fall meeting, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs, Fl.; www.compositepanel.org. New York & Long Island Lumber Assn. – Sept. 18, Mets baseball outing, Citi Field, New York, N.Y.; www.nrla.org. Kentucky Forest Industries Association – Sept. 18-19, wood expo, Masterton Station Park, Lexington, Ky.; www.kfia.org. True Value Co. – Sept. 18-20, fall market, McCormick Place West, Chicago, Il.; (773) 695-5000; www.truevaluecompany.com.
ADVERTISERS Index Accoya [www.accoya.com] ...........................................................23 Anthony Forest Products [www.anthonyforest.com] .................37 BW Creative Railing Systems [www.bwcreativerailings.com] ...19 Boise Cascade [www.bc.com] ......................................................30 Boral USA [www.boralamerica.com] ...................................Cover I Chicago Suburban [www.chicagosuburbanlumber.com]...........49 Crumpler Plastic Pipe [www.cpp-pipe.com] ................................50 Durgin & Crowell [www.durginandcrowell.com] .........................41 Everwood Treatment Co. [www.everwoodtreatment.com].........11
Lumbermen’s Association of Texas & Louisiana – Sept. 22-23, fall committee/board meetings, San Marcos, Tx.; www.lat.org.
Great Southern Wood Preserving [www.yellawood.com] ............7
Mid-America Lumber Assn. – Sept. 22, estimating classes, Newton, Ks.; Sept. 29, St. Louis, Mo.; (816) 561-5323; www.themla.com.
Hancock Lumber [www.hancocklumber.com].............................47
Florida Building Material Assn. – Sept. 23-25, annual convention & show, Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, Fl.; www.fbma.org.
J.D. Irving [www.jdirving.com] ......................................................43
Forest Products Society – Sept. 23-25, window & door symposium, Madison, Mi.; (770) 209-7257; www.forestprod.org. Eastern New York Lumber Dealers Assn. – Sept. 24, annual meeting, Century House, Latham, N.Y.; www.nrla.org. Kentucky Building Materials Assn. – Sept. 24, Congleton Cup golf tournament, Lexington, Ky.; (502) 245-6730; www.kbma.net. Northwestern Lumber Assn. – Sept. 24, clay shoots, Hugo, Mn.; Sept. 30, Grand Island, Ne.; (763) 544-6822; www.nlassn.org. RISI – Sept. 28-30, conference, Chicago, Il.; www.risi.com. Forest Products Society – Sept. 28-30, intro to wood science/forest products course, MSU, Starkville, Ms.; www.forestprod.org. Northeastern Young Lumber Execs – Sept. 29-Oct. 2, Northern California timber tour; www.nrla.org.
Kop-Coat [www.kop-coat.com] ............................................Cover II Lee Roy Jordan Lumber Co. [www.jordanredwood.com]...........32 Limington Lumber [www.limingtonlumber.com].........................42 Matthews Marking Systems [www.matthewsmarking.com].......48 Maze Nails [www.mazenails.com].................................................31 MetsaWood USA [www.metsawood.us] .......................................51 Mid-Columbia Lumber [www.mid-columbialumber.com] ...........34 North American Wholesale Lumber Assn. [www.nawla.org] .....25
New Jersey Building Material Dealers Assn. – Sept. 30, annual meeting, Fiddler’s Elbow, Bedminster, N.J.; www.nrla.org.
Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Assn. [www.nelma.org]...39
DeckExpo – Oct. 1-2, Navy Pier, Chicago, Il.; www.deckexpo.com.
Nyloboard [www.nyloboard.com] ...................................................3
Remodeling Show – Oct. 1-2, Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, Chicago, Il.; (866) 475-6495; www.remodelingshow.com. Northwestern Lumber Association – Oct. 3, Iowa State Cyclones football game, Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Ia.; Oct. 4-9, Tennessee mill tour; (763) 544-6822; www.nlassn.org. National Hardwood Lumber Assn. – Oct. 7-9, annual convention, Omni Hotel, Fort Worth, Tx.; (800) 933-0318; www.nhla.org. National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Assn. – Oct. 7-9, annual industry summit, Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Co.; www.dealer.org. House-Hasson Hardware Co. – Oct. 8-10, market, Lexington, Ky.; (800) 333-0520; www.househasson.com. Do it Best Corp. – Oct. 9-12, fall market, Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, In.; (260) 748-5300; www.doitbestcorp.com. Peak Auctioneering – Oct. 10, LBM auction, St. Charles, Il.; www.peakauctioneer.com. Northwestern Lumber Assn. – Oct. 12-14, heritage roundtable, Rochester, Mn.; Oct. 14-15, bluepint reading & material take-off workshop, St. Cloud, Mn.; (763) 544-6822; www.nlassn.org. Building-Products.com
Richardson Timbers[www.richardsontimbers.com] ...................36 Robbins Lumber Company [www.rlco.com]................................45 Roseburg Forest Products [www.roseburg.com] .......................33 RoyOMartin [www.royomartin.com] ...............................................5 Sandy Neck Traders [www.sntraders.com] .................................46 Seaboard International Forest [www.sifp.com] ...........................44 Sherwood Lumber [www.sherwoodlumber.com]........................21 Simpson Strong-Tie [www.strongtie.com]..............................28-29 Swanson Group Treated Wood [www.swansongroup.biz].........35 Viance [www.treatedwood.com].........................................Cover IV
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FLASHBack 85 Years Ago This Month
Although the nation continued to sink deeper into the Depression, BPD’s sister publication, The Lumber Merchant, in September 1930 was filled with hopeful stories pointing out silver linings and celebrating news of expansions and new products that could signal a turnaround. Bright spots included: • Weyerhaeuser launched one of the industry’s first lumber branding campaigns. Funded by Weyerhaeuser Sales Co., the distribution arm for its forest products, the 4Square campaign promoted 13 packaged lumber products, to convey the message of “confidence in carefully manufactured, properly seasoned, machine squared, full-length lumber, trademarked, grandmarked, species-marked, and guaranteed.” The campaign included colorful spread ads in trade magazines for dealers, builders and even farmers (Country Gentlemen), as well as in the Saturday
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September 2015
SEPTEMBER 1930 issue of California Lumber Merchant spotlighted Schumacher Grip Lath wallboard.
Evening Post. As The Merchant reported, “The campaign reflects the progress of the lumber business from the cracker-barrel stage to the stocking of packaged lumber products possessing all the merchandising qualities that have enabled substitute materials to invade the lumber field; how modern lumber products of this type enable the dealer to meet the ‘ready-cut’ and mail order house competition; and, of equal importance, take lumber buying and selling out of the ‘get what you can’ class.” • Simonds Saw & Steel Co. announced plans to build the largest saw factory in the world. The company, founded in 1832, bought a large tract of land in Fitchburg, Ma., where it would spend $1.5 million constructing a hulking, five-acre structure to consolidate older plants in Chicago and two in Fitchburg. The new location was celebrated as being the first largescale “windowless factory.” It had “no windows, skylights, shadows, partitions, stairways or elevators… air, light, heat, humidity and sound (would) all (be) controlled.” It was completed on time, less than a year later, and to this day remains site of Simonds International’s headquarters. • Lumber dealers were urged to pursue a fast-growing new market: miniature golf courses. Every day ground was being broken on a new course, boosting their total nationwide to more than 15,000. In particular, Southern California had added hundreds of new courses over the last few years. Back in 1930, construction of such courses consumed about $6,000 to $8,000 apiece for “incidental framing of greens and fairways,” creating a $1 milliona-year market. But the National Lumber Manufacturers Association figured that total could be at least tripled, if dealers began pushing amusement center builders to enclose their courses for year-round operation. The NLMA Trade Extension Department published a Pony Golf Course fact sheet, arming dealers with all the information they’d need. The brochure detailed the present use of lumber in laying out courses and suggested ways it could be increased. It also provided examples of large, truss-less types of roof construction for creating long, wide, unobstructed floor areas and structures with open side walls to improve ventilation and lighting. The buildings could also allow mini golf courses to be combined with skating rinks, theaters, markets, gas stations, information bureaus, indoor tennis courts, bowling centers, and “basketball fields”—creating even more opportunities to sell lumber.
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The
MERCHANT
Magazine
BPD
Building Products Digest
Close 2015 with a surge in sales of decking-related products by advertising in our final decking issue of the year to keep your products in front of retail and wholesale buyers. Advertise in the November 2015 issues of Building Products Digest (in the East) and The Merchant Magazine (in the West), which will heavily focus on the latest trends and innovations in decking, railing, fencing and accessories.
• Advertise in all three of our annual Decking Special Issues (Nov., Feb. 2016, and May) and receive a frequency discount off your ad rate. • Serving the LBM industry since 1922, Building Products Digest and The Merchant Magazine are the only monthly publications targeted at the distribution chain.
• Industry’s highest rates of readership pass-along, retention and paid subscribers. • Circulation supplemented by attendance at over 30 LBM industry conferences and events annually. • Most comprehensive, top-to-bottom reach into the distribution channel.
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