Bpd dec 2013

BPD

ENGINEERED WOOD  WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT  2014 INDUSTRY CALENDAR INSIDE DECEMBER 2013

Building Products Digest

INDUSTRY NEWS & MONEY-MAKING STRATEGIES FOR LUMBER & BUILDING MATERIAL DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS

BPD Special Features

December 2013

Building Products Digest

In Every Issue

9 FEATURE STORY

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

10 INDUSTRY TRENDS

THE ROAD AHEAD IN EWP

12 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

WOOD-BASED HOLIDAY GIFTS

20 PHOTO RECAP: APA MEETING 22 PHOTO RECAP: TRADERS MARKET

 Volume 32  Number 10

6 TOTALLY RANDOM 14 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE 16 OLSEN ON SALES 19 MOVERS & SHAKERS 28 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE 29 DATE BOOK 30 IN MEMORIAM

30 IDEA FILE 30 ADVERTISERS INDEX

Online BPD DIGITAL VERSION, BREAKING INDUSTRY NEWS & PHOTOS BUILDING-PRODUCTS.COM

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TWITTER.COM/BLDGPRODUCTS

Schedule your industry show travels throughout the year

Month-by-month planning guide for over 300 LBM Industry Meetings & Expos throughout 2014 Digital version available online or pull out from the centerof the December issues of Building Products Digest 4

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Building Products Digest

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December 2013

Building-Products.com

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www.independentsdoitbest.com

TOTALLY Random

By Alan Oakes

BPD

Building Products Digest

Go with the flow!

H

back-to-back events, including the NAWLA Traders Market, with continued signs of the industry being upbeat, perhaps now is a good time to finally recognize the industry upturn. Yes, it’s not where we would all want it, but we have seen the turn of a very deep curve and are positioned to start the growth that we all have been waiting for. It's good to see smiley faces again. While 2013 will be up (although maybe not quite to economic forecasts), 2014 should head even further north. While the industry will still have its ups and downs and growth will bring its own issues, it will be a much better place.

As business starts to grow again, we are all probably feeling a bit stressed as we likely have 50% less staff around us now compared to pre-recession. As the market grows again and companies still are reluctant to hire, this is perhaps the time to review how we as individuals are performing and measure how productive we really are. The reality is that many of us waste a good part of our working day, which has grown substantially worse with cell phone and Internet usage in the office.

So the question as we look at our day is where can we save time to cut costs, improve productivity, and, most importantly, add value to our companies?

Imagine that you are a systems analyst analyzing yourself. How do you really spend your day? If we’re truly honest, I suspect most of us are wasting 25% or more of every day.

If you start by breaking time into minutes, how many minutes did you spend reading emails? Answering them? Deleting? Tweeting? Facebooking? Making phone calls? Actually, my questions are not how many minutes did you spend on all the above for business reasons, but for personal reasons. How much time did you take from your company, which is paying you to be productive, during working hours? Now add to that the long lunch hour, the late arrival, chit-chatting in the hallway, waiting for meetings to start, and you can easily see the time lost before you even start to analyze real work.

In some companies there are processes that haven’t changed for ever. Think about a nut and a bolt. How many turns does it take to get to the final quarter torque to tighten it? The reality is you may turn the bolt 10 times, yet that last turn is the only one that adds real value. So how do you reduce the other nine turns to save time and increase productivity? It is the same with what we do every day in the office or in the plant. If we can be honest with ourselves, how many of these turns could be eliminated with not one iota of difference to the end result?

How much time do we spend looking for things because we are not well organized? How much “stuff” do we hold on to? How is our desk organized? How much time is lost due to multi-tasking and getting distracted? I know for me that the technology in our company always seems to be behind where it needs to be, regardless of how we try to improve it. How much time is lost in unproductive meetings (even waiting for them to start)? How often does the printer run out of paper?

For me, the secret to higher productivity is to finish one task and flow to the next one—unlike this month’s column, which has taken four attempts to finish. Now if I could only practice what I preach!

To all our readers, much thanks for your loyal support to our publications. To our advertisers who loyally choose us, which allows us to publish each and every month, a BIG thank you. My big wish to all is that you have a wonderful, happy and healthy holiday season and that you get to enjoy it. See you next year on our travels.

AVING RETURNED FROM

Alan Oakes, Publisher ajoakes@aol.com

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Building Products Digest

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December 2013

www.building-products.com

A publication of Cutler Publishing

4500 Campus Dr., Ste. 480, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Publisher Alan Oakes ajoakes@aol.com Publisher Emeritus David Cutler Director of Editorial & Production David Koenig dkoenig@building-products.com Editor Karen Debats kdebats@building-products.com Contributing Editors Carla Waldemar, James Olsen Advertising Sales Manager Chuck Casey ccasey@building-products.com Administration Director/Secretary Marie Oakes mfpoakes@aol.com Circulation Manager Heather Kelly hkelly@building-products.com

How to Advertise

Chuck Casey Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 ccasey@building-products.com Alan Oakes www.building-products.com Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 ajoakes@aol.com.

CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE David Koenig Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 dkoenig@building-products.com

How to Subscribe

SUBSCRIPTIONS Heather Kelly Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231 hkelly@building-products.com or send a check to 4500 Campus Dr., Ste. 480, Newport Beach, CA 92660 U.S.A.: One year (12 issues), $24 Two years, $39 Three years, $54 FOREIGN (Per year, paid in advance in US funds): Surface-Canada or Mexico, $49 Other countries, $65 Air rates also available.

SINGLE COPIES $4 + shipping BACK ISSUES $5 + shipping BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST is published monthly at 4500 Campus Dr., Ste. 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660-1872, (949) 852-1990, Fax 949-852-0231, www.buildingproducts.com, by Cutler Publishing, 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®2013 by Cutler Publishing, 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.

Building-Products.com

FEATURE Story

Photo by RoyOMartin

By Lee House

5 ways to improve efficiency

in warehouse management E

FFICIENCY IN THE warehouse is paramount to the success of any LBM company. It’s amazing how simple tweaks to processes can have big impacts on efficiency—and an organization’s bottom line. Despite this, many companies fail to make the necessary changes.

Here are five simple things that can improve efficiency in warehouse management:

means every order mistake costs you double. No matter how large you are, this is unsustainable for the financial health of your company.

The simple fix is to always doublecheck an order. Make it a policy, create a system, put a sign up so everyone remembers, do something! This is especially important when you have new hires picking orders.

Get a WMS

You know all too well how annoying it can be to misplace your favorite shirt, ball cap, or even your keys. You assume they’re “lost forever,” when, in fact, they’re just buried under a pile of junk in your bedroom. This simple scenario can cause immense frustration, make you late for an important engagement, and ultimately increase your stress levels well above a reasonable level.

So what happens when your warehouse is unorganized and messy?

Instead of being late for an appointment, you might be late sending out an order—which costs you money.

Allocating an hour or two per week, or even per month, to cleaning the warehouse can lead to amazing improvements in your efficiency. You never know what missing or misplaced orders you might find. A clean warehouse also allows employees to

A warehouse management system can provide your company with greater inventory visibility and improved warehouse efficiency by enabling more accurate delivery of customer orders. Expedited orders can be reduced, and the ability of staff to quickly pick and ship products is made much easier. If your organization hasn’t implemented a WMS, it is time to start considering it.

Double-check orders

Humans are prone to lapses in judgment. As the saying goes, cross your T’s and dot your I’s. This has never been more of a requirement than in the warehouse. The cost to send out an order for the second time, after messing up the first order, is typically more than $100 (more than double the cost of sending a first order). That Building-Products.com

Keep your warehouse clean

move around more quickly and get things done easier. It’s just common sense.

Bring some order to your orders

Stacking items in an orderly, logical fashion enables easy and timely retrieval of items for staff, which increases efficiency. Items can more easily be found and are less likely to be lost or misplaced—thereby reducing waste and optimizing available space.

Walk the floor

A great way to identify inefficiencies is to have senior employees walk the warehouse floor. It only takes a few minutes. Getting an outsider’s perspective on day-to-day warehouse operations can go a long way to understanding where bottlenecks are occurring and why. Sometimes regular inspections become so routine that what may seem “normal” is actually grossly inefficient. Giving senior leadership—those with the authority to implement processing changes— insight into what may seem like mundane company operations can lead to extensive time and cost savings for the company.

– Lee House is v.p. of I.B.I.S. Inc., Peachtree Corners, Ga., a software solution provider for the manufacturing industry. He can be reached at lhouse@ibisinc.com or (770) 903-3320.

December 2013

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Building Products Digest

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9

INDUSTRY Trends Engineered Wood Products

The road ahead in EWP

Q&A with new APA president L AST MONTH,

APA–The Engineered Wood Association bid farewell to its president of eight years, Dennis Hardman, who is retiring after more than 30 years with the organization.

Stepping into the presidency is Ed Elias, a 35-year veteran of APA who has served in numerous roles, including technical, financial, and international marketing.

We asked Elias to offer his perspectives on how APA and the engineered wood industry viewed 2013 and what dealers can expect in 2014.

Q: What expectations does APA have for housing in 2014?

Elias: Along with the rest of the world, we’re forecasting housing demand in 2014 and global economic growth in general with cautious optimism. The economy is slowly improving, and the housing market is recovering in many areas. APA is forecast-

Q: How will APA approach these changing market scenarios?

Elias: As an association, that means keeping a focus on our core goals and services while remaining open to opportunities to expand our programs to new and developing engineered wood products and systems.

Specifically, related to housing, the association is pursuing the mainte-

NEW APA PRESIDENT ED ELIAS

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Building Products Digest

ing 1.1 million housing starts in the U.S. in 2014, up 16% from an expected 945,000 starts in 2013. In Canada, we are expecting overall housing starts to remain similar to 2013 at 187,000.

That being said, confidence among consumers and builders is still fragile and challenges, from a tight lending market to labor issues, remain. Of particular note is the fact that multi-family construction is up 32% for 2013, relative to single-family starts at 16%.

This trend is expected to continue for several years, based on the assumption that as household growth among young people picks up, their first move is going to be into a rental apartment and not toward the purchase of a single-family house.

On the positive side, home prices are generally higher by 12% relative to a year ago. Real gross domestic product is expected to average 2.8% through 2018, which is potentially high enough to improve the employment rate to levels where housing starts by 2015 could be as high as 1 to 1.2 million units per year. By 2018, APA forecasters are projecting that single-family housing starts could reach 1.05 million per year and multifamily 0.5 million starts per year.

Demand growth in other end-use sectors, such as repair and remodeling, non-residential construction, and industrial markets, is expected to average 3% in 2014.

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December 2013

nance and expansion of structural wood-based panel wall sheathing. But, we have also continued to support the growth of engineered wood floor systems and reduced callbacks through installation education and the proper specification of standard compliant products by engineers, architects and builders. For example, through our APA Simplified Wall Bracing program we are promoting the value proposition for the use of fully sheathed walls in low to moderate wind zones. Four states incorporated these provisions into their building codes this past year—North Carolina, Georgia, Idaho and Montana.

The association has also promoted the expanded application of wood structural panel sheathing used in combination with systems other than foam sheathing to meet energy code and structural building requirements through our Advanced Framing construction program.

More at the trade level, we have also focused on expanding the technical information available on mobile platforms such as iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Basic mobile Builder Tips related to the prevention of panel buckling, proper panel and nail spacing, squeaky floors, and care and handling of stock on the building site were successfully introduced in 2013.

Q: What are the biggest challenges for engineered wood manufacturers in the present economy and marketplace? How will those challenges affect LBM dealers and their customers, if at all?

Elias: Recovering from our recent recession, there are no shortages of challenges. Overall market demand remains the primary challenge faced by the North American engineered wood products industry. North Building-Products.com

American structural wood panel production in 2013 is forecast to reach 21.3 billion sq. ft. on a 3/8” thickness basis. We remain well below the 43 billion sq. ft. of production during 2005 and the peak of our housing market that totaled 2.3 million housing starts that year.

Government fiscal policy is a challenge that we cannot directly address but clearly impacts labor markets, interest rates, and consumer confidence. The trend of depressed employment rates across all age classes, most notably in the under-35 age group, continues to adversely impact household growth and homeownership.

Global supply and demand of wood products may also impact future consumption patterns of North American construction materials. The cost of raw materials and labor, and the availability of transport for distribution, will need to be balanced against trade policies between developing and developed nations. Competitive use of wood fiber for non-structural applications, such as wood pellets to meet clean energy targets, could also impact future availability. Other potential constraints deal with expanding regulatory concerns on formaldehyde emissions and those of methanol, as well as green building legislation.

There are no shortages of challenges; prioritizing them will be a key role of the association, its board of trustees, and membership.

Q: What’s the industry production forecast for 2014 and beyond?

Which categories are expected to be the strongest performers?

Elias: For 2014, we forecast U.S. and Canadian plywood and OSB production to rise by 1.9 billion sq. ft. reaching 25.7 billion ft., up 9% from 2013. By 2018, U.S. and Canadian structural wood panel production is expected to reach 27.4 billion sq. ft.

For 2014, North American production of engineered wood products, such as glued laminated timber, structural composite lumber, and wood Ijoists, are forecast to improve by 5%, 12% and 7%, respectively as the North American economy improves. Overall glulam demand in North America is expected to grow from 251 million bd. ft. in 2013 to 328 million bd. ft. in 2018. Structural wood I-joist production is expected to grow from 625 linear ft. in 2013 to 887 million linear ft. in 2018. LVL volumes will increase from 61.5 million cubic ft. in 2013 to Building-Products.com

79.8 million cubic ft. in 2018.

An increase in housing starts is expected to be the main driver for this increasing demand for engineered wood in North America. We also believe that recovery in non-residential construction will lag behind but follow home building. In this latter sector, we expect to see 31% growth by 2018 in comparison with 2013.

Q: What are some of APA’s chief highlights from 2013?

Elias: APA’s website, www.apawood.org, had almost 5,000 visits per day, every day of the year. Nearly 6,000 end-users had technical issues addressed by the APA Product Support Help Desk. New and updated technical publications were added to our library, and close to 150,000 publications were downloaded.

We developed a bi-national ANSI standard for cross laminated timber and published a performance-rated structural insulated panel ANSI standard for use in wall applications.

Promotion and education supported several APA wall sheathing systems to expand the specification and application of structural wood panels.

APA established a strategic partnership with WoodWorks and, with the U.S. Forest Products Lab, hosted two Carbon Challenge competitions.

Our field services staff hosted six dealer training events in the past year and presented a variety of educational sessions around the U.S. Q: What resources can engineered wood retailers and end-users expect from APA in 2014?

Elias: We will continue to support the cost-effective use of structural wood wall sheathing to meet state energy and building codes. We will promote the preference of continuously sheathed wood structural panel walls to builders and code officials through field calls, publicity, seminars and publications.

We will also continue to promote the specification and proper application of engineered wood products in APA wall, roof and floor systems, both in residential as well as commercial construction applications. The latter will be in conjunction with the industry-wide WoodWorks campaign.

As well, increased incorporation of web-based programs, mobile applications, and social media will continue to be a priority.

December 2013

Engineered Wood Panel Demand Growing Sharply

Demand for OSB and plywood structural engineered wood panels in North America is expected to reach about 30 billion (3/8” basis) sq. ft. in 2013 and grow to nearly 40 billion sq. ft. by 2016, according to Principia Consulting.

Specialty OSB and plywood panels are the fastest growing segments within the business. Specialty panels offer value-added performance benefits compared to commodity panels, which enable manufacturer product differentiation in the market and some protection from competitive pressures through specification selling, leading to steady demand and higher margins.

“Industry pricing and margins are subject to wide swings due to the cyclical nature of the structural engineered wood panels business,” said Steve Van Kouteren, Principia’s business director-industry reports. “As manufacturers bring capacity back online and plan new greenfield plants for the next growth cycle, a well-positioned specialty panels business provides higher margins and price stability during these cycles.”

Building codes are a key driver of specialty structural engineered wood panels demand. A complex maze of building codes with varying adoption rates by states and local municipalities are driving changes in how homes and commercial structures are designed, built and remodeled.

For example, energy codes are affecting demand for radiant barrier sheathing (RBS) and weather-resistant coated sheathing. California’s recently updated Title 24 energy codes require RBS at the roof in specific climate zones, and the 2012 IECC residential energy codes are driving product innovation and demand for air and moisture barrier products, including coated structural engineered wood panels. Other building codes affecting the demand for specialty panels include fire, seismic and wind load.

To quantify these industry dynamics and trends, Principia will release a new study, “Structural Engineered Wood Panels 2014, Specialty Applications in Building and Construction,” in the second quarter of 2014. 

Building Products Digest

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11

PRODUCT Spotlight Lumber-Oriented Presents

Holiday gifts for the wood lovers in your life

I

F SOMEONE ON your holiday gift list can’t get enough of the beauty and durability of wood, you’re in luck this holiday season. From pocket knifes to pens to covers for Apple devices, you can satisfy anyone’s craving for something made of wood.

The original Swiss Army knife, manufactured in Switzerland since 1891, is now available with a beautiful hardwood handle. One model, named SwissChamp, includes 25 different tools, including a can opener, screwdrivers, wire stripper, chisel/scraper, wood and metal saws, and a toothpick.

It’s $130, at www.swissarmy.com.

Several companies make wood cases for mobile devices. One of the best known is Grove (grovemade.com), which is based in Portland, Or., and manufactures all its products there.

The company’s WoodPrint iPhone 5/5S cases are constructed of durable maple: $79 for a plan case and $119 for one decorated with custom artwork. If you’d rather have bamboo, a plain case will cost just $79. Or you can choose from dozens of pre-made cover designs for $99.

SWISSCHAMP hardwood-handled pocket knife from Victorinox

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BAMBOO DEVICE COVERS from Grove

For iPad Minis and the new iPad Air, Grove offers Wood Smart cases handcrafted of maple, with a flexible bamboo cover that allows three different standing positions. The price is $79 for the Minis and $99 for the Air. Yet more wood cases are available from Miniot (www.miniot.com), based in the Netherlands. Stylish protection for the iPhone 5/5s is provided by a range of hardwood cases. The company’s iWood case costs $106 and is available in several wood species and colors. Book ($194) completely surrounds the phone and is made from two contrasting wood species—maple and walnut, while Contour ($194) is constructed from wenge and maple.

Miniot also offers covers for Apple’s iPads and iPad Minis. The hinged cover snaps firmly to the tablet and can be rolled up into an angled stand.

Choices include five wood species and six lining colors for $92, which includes custom engraving of a personal message, art or logo.

December 2013

Baltz Fine Writing Instruments (www.baltzpens.com) creates one-ofa-kind pens in its workshop in Raleigh, N.C., using rare burled woods and decorative metals. The writing point is a rollerball/ballpoint hybrid for smooth writing without feathering or smearing. Prices range from $175 to $280.

BURLED WOOD PENS from Baltz Building-Products.com

COMPETITIVE Intelligence

By Carla Waldemar

All SKU’ed up to grow market share North Main Lumber has exploded today.

Three years later, in 1991, he bought out his uncles— “strictly HEP, plus a kitchen and bath showroom—solely mechanical, no sticks or insulation.” It wasn’t until 1999 that he acquired a lumberyard, North Main, the first of many to come (current store count: 16) “To be honest, I wasn’t interested in lumber; I simply wanted the location, in the southern tier of New York.”

So, welcome to a whole new industry. Big learning curve? He chuckles. “I’m supposed to say yes. But in actu-

Rally ’Round the Roundtable NEW YORK’S HEP Sales/North Main Lumber are known for their range of building products.

J

OHN KRUEGER DID NOT grow up in a lumberyard. And that’s probably a very good thing. He never acquired that “way we’ve always done it” mindset. Instead, he brought a business degree and a self-fueled inner drive that egged him on to expand, acquire, diversify—and succeed.

HEP Sales (which stands for heating, electrical and plumbing) was launched in upstate New York by his uncles in 1953, the year John was born. Upon graduating from college, the uncles offered him a job. Well, why not?

“I didn’t know anything about building materials, but it seemed like a good opportunity,” he decided—until the first afternoon. “There I was, in 90˚ heat, working on a steel pole barn and thinking, ‘I got a business degree for this?’”

But he stuck it out, laboring through the ranks until, five years later, he was made operations manager of the outfit—a promotion he downplays by demurring, “We were small—only eight locations, 45 employees, revenues of $6 to $7 million”—not so small in my book, but… whatever.

Maybe puny only in comparison to the way HEP Sales/

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December 2013

As a member of NRLA, John Krueger swears by their roundtables. “They had a big impact on me. I learned how other people do things so I’ll never have to re-invent the wheel. I learned the obvious, like, “Labor costs are 10%: Is that a good number? I could find out their norms.

“I’ve been pretty heavily involved in roundtables with a lot of executives on the Eastern Seaboard (so they’re no competition). These guys were leading the building boom of the U.S. They were just cranking, beating each year by 20%—till 2003. Then, heads were hanging; they were off 40, 50%. But I’m coming in with, ‘I’m off 7% and I’m bummed. It sucks.’ But I’d never experienced their double-digit growth, which had made me wonder, ‘Oh my God, how do you do it?’ Two totally different markets. We never saw even 20% growth, but then when I was off, it was only 7%.

“The roundtables taught me to keep my eye on the ball. They motivated me to sit down and think about numbers. But the best part was looking at other people’s yards as they shared their successes. I’d think, ‘This will work: It’s how they solved a real-life problem.’ I could latch onto a bright idea.”

Building-Products.com

DEALER’S push to attract female customers included a Ladies Day, based in its stores’ kitchen showrooms.

ality, I acquired really, really good people who did what I couldn’t. At that time, Wickes was on a slide, closing stores around us, so I picked up management people with 30 years experience. They knew what I didn’t—things like product mix—so I relied on the expertise of the people who worked for me. I knew how to manage people, how to run a business.”

So, forget the traditional yard. “I had six full-service lumberyards, but different from the usual yards. I melded them with HEP stores. HEPs carried 17,000 SKUs and a traditional lumberyard had 18,000, so, combined, we had 38,000 SKUs: very diverse offerings.”

And a customer base just as diverse. “At first, it was a 50/50 mix of pros and walk-ins. Now, it’s 75/25, drawing more builders because of our deeper inventory—things the trades want, like furnaces and AC.” Plus service. “I spend a lot of time, effort and money on training. Our staff is very knowledgeable, and all full-time—no college kids.

And I have 15 outside salesmen on the road, holding the builders’ hands—plus boom trucks, forklifts….”

Then along came Builders Bargain Outlets (now four locations). Diversify again, to capture the d-i-y market as yet-another slice of the pie (contractors are its good customers, too). For John, it solved the problem of “What do you do with your mistakes?” he says. “Before that, we had stores of 8,000 to 10,000 sq. ft., but 2,000 of it, in the back, was filled with culls. It used to drive me crazy. Now, management has 60 days to get rid of them or they get sent to the outlets. It keeps the places from looking like junkyards.

And I’ve hired an employee as a buyer, whose sole job is looking for closeouts, discontinued, and some distressed product. We just bought six, seven carloads of discontinued windows that had sold for $150; we can offer them at $70 to $90. It’s a great outlet for windows and doors.”

Oh, by the way, John also makes his own doors—another of those diversification-by-accident projects. “When our supplier went out of business, I went to the auction and ended up buying the business, which is a great benefit for our contractors. They used to have to wait two, three weeks for an order. Now, we can do specialty doors in a Building-Products.com

day. We also do our own trusses,” he tosses in—“serving contractors in a way our competitors can’t.”

To facilitate this growing empire, John opened a distribution center in Waterloo—lumberyard, offices, an outlet store, the door and truss plants all in one location that services every yard once a week. (Between times, nearby yards help each other out.)

Then in 2000, John got another bright idea and added one more slice of the pie to his plate. How about a lighting store? He calls it Bright Ideas, and the well-heeled folks up there in the Finger Lakes love it. (“The Canandaugua is the second-most affluent lake in the country, after Tahoe,” John reports.) He doesn’t choose to go after the custom builder, who may require coddling, or aim at the remodeling market. “Our customers are very, very rural, so when we open a new store, we’re looking for a demographic of 30,000 people in a 10- to 15-mile radius. Not urban,” he emphasizes. “We had eight locations in the early ’90s when I started growing the business, so in expanding I wanted to try something different, outside my comfort zone” of 20 to 30 miles between existing stores. “So I went an hour-and-a-half away as a kind of trial, to see if it could work, where nobody knew us. Wegman (the supermarket magnate) owned a chain of yards, but they weren’t making enough money, so he closed the brand. I thought, ‘I’ll get into those existing markets,’ so I bought his sheds, the machinery, and hired his employees—a huge investment in equipment, staff and SKUs. We went from their five or six people per store to 20, but the opportunity was a no-brainer. They’d been making $10 to $12 million a yard, so I started pumping things up.”

And that’s the part of the operation John loves best.

“I’m a marketing guy, to be honest with you. If there’s anything I enjoy, it’s that. I write all our radio spots, and we’re using digital a lot more, too—Facebook, cool stuff on our website.” And promos involving customers. North Main offers classes at each location—everything from window clinics to plumbing (“The ladies are very interested, and women are a growing market.”) to floor heating in a pole barn. At sessions, as an extra lure, “we give away an overhead door or entrance door.” Bottom line: Does it drive sales? “Absolutely! No doubt about it. It’s been very beneficial for us.” So have the zany Ugly Bathroom and Ugly Kitchen contests, where homeowners submit photos in order to win a makeover.

Of course, the recession dampened the flames a bit, necessitating “some layoffs, some firing—people I should have fired earlier, but labor is so hard to get here.” But the outlook is becoming bright. “In 2009, what I did was managing my company, and I know how to do that. With a $36-million business, I could do a lot. I always know what I’ll do in sales the next year, but I got a whole lot sharper.”

So—more expansion? John responds with a firm no. “I have 200 employees, and that’s a lot.” But, never say never. Son Max, age 24, has worked here since a kid of 14. “He’s now an assistant manager—my hope for the future.” Another bright idea.

Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net December 2013

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15

OLSEN On Sales

By James Olsen

Contagious confidence

T

Have you ever seen a homely man with a beautiful woman, or vice-versa?

Money is not the answer. That’s just a cop-out for people with no money and no confidence. There are lots of lonely, rich and good-looking people.

Confidence is the answer. The Bold First Step is one of the characteristics of master sellers. The feeling of confidence radiates. It transfers to others. Why do you like hanging out with your confident friends?

Confident sellers make their customers feel confident, which is one of the best feelings in the world.

confuse agreeability with likeability, to their own detriment.

So what’s the difference? Confidence. Sure, Bob sounds great, but he has the confidence and nerve to act on his convictions and sell those convictions (which are usually correct) to his customers and suppliers. A great broker is a money-making asset to any company’s buying strategy, and Bob is that.

Honesty, hard work, personal beliefs, hobbies/passions, and a myriad of other values are important to people. Sharing these values with our potential customers will strengthen our business together, but by itself, is not enough.

Sharing values with confidence wins the day in the sales contest.

Con idence B S and ruth

Why

HINGS THAT MAKE others feel good sell. So, what makes us feel good?

Con idence s 1

Animals, of which we are purportedly the most intelligent (as reported by us), can feel the difference between B.S. and the truth, which is where true confidence comes from. Weak sellers let themselves off the hook by saying, “I could be a great salesperson, but I don’t want to be like John, he’s such a B.S.’er.” Who’s B.S.’ing whom?

Any businessperson who has survived the last 60 months absolutely can smell B.S. a mile away. More importantly for us as salespeople, they can smell a lack of confidence from five miles away. And just as our customers want to be around confident people, they don’t want to be around a lack of confidence—which also radiates.

Many hard-working but struggling, plateaued and underperforming sellers think they can get away with only telling the truth. We must tell and sell the truth in a compelling and confident way.

I know a lumber broker, alias Bob Wreckman, who has one of the best sales voices I have ever heard. I call him Zeus, because that’s what he sounds like. How can you not buy from this guy? But Bob is not a B.S.’er. He is as serious as your first date’s father. He is a professional. He is in the market, on the market, and making markets daily. He is good for his customers, suppliers and the traders around him. Radiation, it creates profit.

Are others as intelligent as Bob? Yes. Do they know their markets and their customer’s needs as well? Some do.

Do they care about their customers as much? Some care more and some care too much. Do they make more calls?

Some do. Is Bob more likable? Bob is very likeable, but there are those who are more likeable—but most of them

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ot Con ident

Salespeople are uncomfortable and afraid of being too pushy or being perceived as a liar or a B.S. artist. These are prejudices that are taught at the dinner table across America every day. Many of us are raised by people who are prejudiced against salespeople. It is deep in our psyche.

Confidence comes from learning, practice and preparation.

• Our product and market. Learn as much about what we are selling as we can. Seems obvious, but isn’t. Many sellers leave product and market knowledge to someone around them. This is a mistake—and does not breed confidence.

• Our customers. Make learning about human interaction a lifetime pursuit.

• Ourselves. As salespeople we must ask and answer the difficult question: How do I affect others? A treacherous journey, but more treacherous for us is not working on this important question.

Hard Work s Con ident and Se y

Sixty calls a day breeds a positive, confident momentum that 30 calls a day never will. Hard work breeds confidence. Make the calls.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503) 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com Building-Products.com

DEALER Briefs Bartlett's Lumber & Hardware, Canadian, Tx., opened its 10th

home center in Spearman, Tx. Managed by Bryan Bartlett, the 7,500-sq. ft. store currently employs four, with plans for additional hires.

Carter Lumber purchased Athens Building Supply, Athens,

Ga.—its first location in the state (Russell Kozlowski, general mgr.).

Von Tobel Lumber & Hardware closed its only store outside of Indiana—in Stevensville, Mi.—Nov. 27.

Hendricks Farmers Lumber

Carter Slashes Store Count by 15% Carter Lumber, Kent, Oh., last month shuttered 26 stores in 23 smaller markets, to focus on areas expected to experience greater growth. It now operates 144 stores in 11 states.

Closing were stores in Akron, Ashland, Bucyrus, Celina, Clyde,

Coshocton, Eaton, Fredericktown, Hillsboro, Huntsville, Kenton, Reno and Van Wert, Oh.; Bad Axe and Sturgis, Mi.; Elizabethtown, Ky.; Laurinburg, N.C.; Mercer, Pa., and New Castle, Rochester, Rockport, Shelbyville and Warsaw, In.

Chain Buys Minnesota Assets

equipment and inventory were moved to Arrow. Four OCLM employees also transferred to Arrow, including manager Kim Enerson, who is now general manager of the Kasson operation.

Consolidated operates 14 Arrows in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Consolidated Lumber, Stillwater, Mn., has acquired Olmsted County Lumber Mart, Byron, Mn., and consolidated operations at its Arrow Building Center in Kasson, Mn. OCLM closed Oct. 14 and its

held a Nov. 1 grand opening for its newly expanded facility in Hendricks, Mn.

Fogle True Value & Hardware is the new name of True Value Hardware, Centerville, Ia., after its

purchase by Steve and Leona Fogle from Jim and Dave Stephens.

Stewart Brothers Hardware

is closing its 80-year-old midtown Memphis, Tn., location this month, but hopes to be back at four locations as soon as it finds a suitable site.

It also has a Stewart Brothers in Bartlett, Tn., and Ace Hardwares in Memphis and Cordova, Tn., which will both be rebranded as Stewart Brothers.

Glenn’s True Value opened a third Lincoln, Ne., store Nov. 11.

Ace Hardware , Hastings, Mi., relocated last month after 51 years.

Robertson Ace , Wauwatosa, Wi., closed Nov. 23 after 93 years.

J.L. Hayes & Co., Auburn, Me., is closing this spring after 145 years, with the retirement of owner Robert Hayes and the sale of the 4-acre property to a developer.

Cerbo Lumber & Hardware, Parsippany, N.J., recently held its second contractor show of the year to mark its 65th anniversary.

Anniversaries: Woodson Lumber, Caldwell, Tx., 100th … DavisHawn Lumber, Dallas, Tx., 90th …

Tom Scott Lumber Yard, Mount Vernon, Tx., 90th … Gulf State Lumber, Tyler, Tx., 85th … Guadalupe Lumber, San Antonio, Tx., 80th … Dixie Lumber, Easley, S.C., 70th … Tucker Lumber, Hillsboro, Tx., 60th … Stark Truss Co., Canton, Oh., 50th … Real Deal Building Supply, Westminster, Tx., 20th.

Building-Products.com

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Former Kansas Yard Reopens as Ace

The former Seacat Lumber, Marion, Ks., will reopen Feb. 1 as an Ace Hardware.

New owners Kent and Sandra Carmichael, who also operate hardware stores in Ulysses, Larned and Scott City, Ks., are currently adding 2,500 sq. ft. to the 10,000-sq. ft. building.

Decking Distributors Add Lines

Several more TimberTech decking distributors have added sister AZEK lines (see Nov., p. 37).

Also supplying AZEK are Palmer-Donavin Manufacturing Co., Columbus, Oh., from its four branches in Ohio, to Oh., In., western Pa., northern Ky., and western W.V.; Diamond Hill Plywood, Knoxville, Tn., to Tn. and Ky.; Central Lumber Sales, Lincoln, Ne., to Ne., western Ia., and southern S.D.; Wausau Supply, Schofield, Wi., from its 13 Midwest locations to Mi., Wi., Il., Mn., Ia., Mo., N.D., S.D., Ne., Ks., Ok., eastern Mt., and Wy., and 15-location Great Southern Wood Preserving, to eastern Ks., eastern Ok., eastern Tx., Mo., Ar., La., Tn., Ms., Al., Ga., Fl., southern Ky., western N.C., and S.C. In addition, Azek distributors Gaiennie Lumber Co., Opelousas, La., and Stark, Ms., and Snavely Forest Products, Dallas, Tx., have added TimberTech.

Sears Hardware Shrinks Stores

Sears Appliance & Hardware has opened in Dallas, Tx., one of the first following the company’s new smaller, neighborhood footprint. Similar stores have been opened in Big Rapids, Mi., and Cedar City, Ut. “When we heard that Sears was interested in rolling out a smaller, neighborhood model, we knew this smaller format would fill a void in the Northwest Dallas area,” said Dave Maggio, who co-owns the new store with Michael Donohoe. “Our new store embraces the feel and customer service of a neighborhood hardware store, without compromising on the reach of our merchandise assortment.”

He said the smaller models are 16,000 to 18,000 sq. ft.—vs. 22,000-25,000 sq. ft. for the larger stores—yet still offer the same size and quality of inventory. Additionally, any item unavailable in store can be ordered and delivered straight to the door of the consumer.

SUPPLIER Briefs Southern Parallel Forest Products, Albertville, Al., signed a five-year deal for Canfor Southern Pine, Myrtle Beach, S.C., to serve as exclusive sales and marketing agent for its lumber production.

Glen Oak Lumber & Milling has cut 18 jobs and could close its Mill 4 in Montello, Wi., eliminating 25 more positions beginning Jan. 5, if new business is not found to replace a major customer.

Rich Hardwoods is accepting sealed bids until Dec. 10 for its 10-acre hardwood dimension plant and dry kiln operation in Beardstown, Il. Sherwood Lumber, Long Island, N.Y., now ships nationwide a wide range of cedar products from Missoula, Mt. OMG Inc., Agawam, Ma., acquired PAM Fastening Technology, Charlotte, N.C., in a stock purchase.

Boise Cascade Building Materials Distribution is now distributing Tapco’s Kleer PVC trimboard, sheets, mouldings and cortex fasteners in the East from its DCs in Westfield, Ma.; Greenland, N.H.; Baltimore, Md., and Greenboro, N.C. Shelter Products, New Ulm, Mn., is now distributing Fiberon composite decking and railing products in Mn., east-

ern N.D., eastern S.D., northern Ia., and western Wi.

Weyerhaeuser Distribution is now distributing Ply Gem cellular PVC trim and mouldings, initially in nine

Weyerhaeuser markets—Baltimore, Md.; Easton and Pittsburgh; Richmond, Va.; Charlotte, N.C; St. Paul, Mn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Gulfport, Ms., and Chicago, Il.—then expanding to the rest of East Coast and Central markets.

Bentley Sales & Marketing, Oshkosh, Wi., is now repping Integrity Composites’ DuraLife decking and railing in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Parksite, Bolingbrook, Il., now stocks Versatex trimboard products for northern Il., northwest In., and southeast Wi. Snavely Forest Products now distributes Versatex trimboard and Eastman Chemical’s Perennial Wood modified decking, porch flooring, and railing from its DCs in Baltimore, Md.; Pittsburgh, Pa., and Greensboro, N.C. Princeton Forest Products , Orange, Ma., and Snavely Forest Products, Greensboro, N.C., now distribute products from Tiger Deck, Wilsonville, Or. DeWalt began producing its first line of American-built cordless power tools at a revamped 75,000-sq. ft. facility in Charlotte, N.C. Wahoo Decks, Gainesville, Ga., offers a new AridDek

color—artisan clay.

CUSTOMER APPRECIATION: South Bay Ace Hardware & Lumber, Santa Rosa Beach, Fl., cooked up 350 hamburgers and 150 hotdogs during its Nov. 7 customer appreciation day. Pictured are (l-r) Johnny Morris, from vendor Everwood Treatment Co., Spanish Fort, Al.; South Bay owners Jay and John Pugh, and Everwood’s Steve Cheatham.

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December 2013

ClarkDietrich Building Systems, West Chester, Vinyl Corp. division,

Oh., launched a new website for its www.vinylcorp.com.

Building-Products.com

MOVERS & Shakers Erick Forholt, general mgr., Dixie Plywood, Orlando, Fl., is retiring at the end of the year after 25 years with the company. He will be succeeded by Dan Hall.

John Gerlach, ex-BlueLinx, is a new product mgr. with Weekes Forest Products, St. Paul, Mn. Dina Fuller has been promoted to sales mgr. for McShan Lumber, McShan, Al. Jon Forsyth has joined Snavely Forest Products, Greensboro, N.C., as engineered wood products mgr.

Rob Roundy, ex-Truth Hardware, has been named western regional sales mgr. for Deceuninck North America, Monroe, Oh. Cassie Holt, United Lumber & Reman, Muscle Shoals, Al., has been promoted to lumber sales & purchasing.

Chuck Mailloux has been promoted to chief operations officer at Short & Paulk Supply Co., Tifton, Ga. Marvin Combs, ex-Woodgrain Millwork, is now in outside sales with Huttig Building Products, Farmers Branch, Tx.

Building-Products.com

Mike Sessinger was promoted to executive v.p.-sales at Wolf, York, Pa. Ed O’Brien’s responsibilities as v.p.-operations were expanded, to make him responsible for operational and logistical activity.

Brian Massie joined Carter Lumber, Kent, Oh., as district mgr. for the Atlanta, Ga., market, with J.R. Whitfield new as sales mgr.

Chad Ploof has rejoined Lyman Lumber Co., Chanhassen, Mn., as account coordinator.

Bob Chamberlain, ex-Nisbet Brower, has been named Oklahoma City, Ok., market sales mgr. for Mill Creek Lumber.

David Bloodgood, ex-Somerville Lumber Center, is new to sales at Northeastern Building Supply, Jamesburg, N.J. Keith Foxx, ex-BlueLinx, is now business development mgr. with BlueTarp Financial, Atlanta, Ga. Dawn Boyle is new to outside sales at Guido Lumber, San Antonio, Tx. Tim Boyd has joined the outside sales team at Boland Maloney Lumber, Louisville, Ky.

December 2013

Jack Fox, ex-84 Lumber, has joined Well Done Building Products, Point Pleasant, N.J., as mgr.

Will Craig has been promoted to operations mgr. at New England Building Supply, Nashua, N.H. John Reagan, ex-MaxiTile, is now DFW regional mgr. at Overhead Door Corp., Lewisville, Tx. Tim Skrip, ex-Rochester Lumber, is now in inside sales at Allied Building Products, Fairport, N.Y. Barrie Shineton, president and c.e.o., Norbord, will retire at the end of January, to be succeeded Peter Wijnbergen, currently senior v.p. and chief operating officer.

Joseph Strohbusch has been named district mgr. for Norandex Building Materials, Raleigh, N.C. Angela Braly, ex-Wellpoint, has been elected to the board of directors of Lowe’s, Mooresville, N.C. Mac Fitch, president, Fitch Lumber & Hardware, Carrboro, N.C., was elected to the local Chamber of Commerce’s Business Hall of Fame.

Doug and Phil Hoals are new fencing installers at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.

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APA ANNUAL MEETING Photos by BPD

APA-THE ENGINEERED Wood Association hosted its annual meeting Nov. 2-5 at Hyatt Regency, Huntington Beach, Ca. 1 Dotti & Ted Schultz. 2 Mike Nielly, Tom Liberator. 3 Clancy Redmond, Dave Rupp.

Ed & Jan Elias. Chris Degnan, Geoff Crandlemire.

Jim Enright, Doug Calvert.

Charlie Smith,

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Scott Ashpole. Mike Lobbett, Mike Dawson.

Katy Tomasulo, Jim Walsh, Heather Crunchie, Brenda Collins. 10 Fred Kurpiel, Rich Donnell, Jon Anderson. 11 Darcy & Denny Huston, Talley Dunn. 12 Jim Pattillo, Cathy Rudinsky, Monty Woods. 13 Ryan Stanton, Mary Jo Nyblad. 1 Bart Bender, December 2013

Chris Wischmann, Robert Fouquet. 1 Angie Harrison, Pam Green. 1 Jennifer Cover, Kerlin Drake, Marilyn Thompson. 1 Tim Fisher, Tracy Trogden, Emmanouel Piliaris.

1 Cheryl Kuchar, Kim Sivertsen. 1 Kathy & Mike Wacker. 20 Dan & Margie Semsak.

(Mor hoto on n t a ) Building-Products.com

APA wished farewell to retiring president Dennis Hardman during its annual meeting ( ontin ro r io a ). 1 Kathy & Dennis Hardman. 2 Steve Killgore, Allyn Ford. 3 Pat Lynch, Mike McCollum.

Liz Churchill, Donna Meade.

Chuck Casey, Ken Caylor. Ken Dunham, Gina Rodriquez.

Building-Products.com

December 2013

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NAWLA TRADERS MARKET Photos by BPD

NAWLA TRADERS MARKET stormed Las Vegas’ Mirage Resort & Casino Oct. 23-25. 1 Wade Mosby, Cami Waner. 2 Julie & Dillon Forbes. 3 Max & Jann Jones.

Kevin Henley, Amy Vitek, Bob Handegard. Bryan Lundstrom, Al Fortune. Karen Stephens, James Robbins, Claudia & Hank Mullins.

Bill Artigliere, Curtis Walker.

Shawn Church, Rick Palmiter, Mike Gruenke, Regina Minish, Michael Pratt, James Lambert.

Jacques Vaillancourt, Lula Chance. 10 Mac

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December 2013

MacDonald, Theo Vallas. 11 Bob Bratton, Suzanne Hearn, Lillian & Rick Ekstein. 12 Chuck Gaede, Tonia Tibbetts, Alex Darrah, Jeff Haley.

13 Chris Wischmann, Alan Oakes, Marv Askey. 1 Steve Killgore, Susan Fitzsimmons, Mike Mordell. 1 Brett Anderson, Doug Chiasson.

1 Tom Taylor, Jessica Navascues. 1 Mark Pickering, John Pasqualetto, Rob Marusic. 1 Steven Hudson, Jim Tittle, Matt Pedrone.

(Mor hoto on n t i a ) Building-Products.com

NAWLA TRADERS MARKET Photos by BPD

NAWLA IN VEGAS ( ontin ro r io a ) 1 Leslie Southwick, Chuck Casey, Kris Lewis. 2 Barry Schneider, Jim Hand, Linda Schneider, Dusty Hammack. 3 Kevin Paldino, Erol Deren. Pat Thorp, Kathy Klassen, Tony & Darlene Wiens.

Chris Boyd, Jason Mann, Todd Kion, Rod McKay. Mike Gerstenberger, Bob Hafner.

Chris Hedlund, John Pace, Rick Kapres.

Pat Mawhinney, Gwen Webster, Alan Mawhinney.

Mark Challinor, Kevin Demars, Bob Building-Products.com

Gibson. 10 Scott Jarrett, Larry Boyts. 11 Ken Caylor. 12 Dave Durst, Martin Oakes. 13 Chris Hedlund, John Pace, Rick Kapres. 1 Dan Blenk, Ken Tennefoss. 1 Keith Mullins, Shane Elder. 1 John Georgelis, Greg Haupt, Matt Weaber. 1 Bobby & Lori Byrd, Wayne Miller. 1 Dennis Wight, Tyson Palmer.

(Mor hoto on n t o r a ) December 2013

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NAWLA TRADERS MARKET Photos by BPD

TRADERS MARKET IN VEGAS ( ontin ro r io t o a ): 1 Blake Hutchison, Buck Hutchison. 2 Richard Mergel, Chris Mergel, Rick Palmiter. 3 Beth Banks, Kris Lamke, Kristie McCurdy.

James Robbins, Alden Robbins, Tonia Tibbetts, Kaycee Hallstrom, Karl Hallstrom.

Patrick

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Taleghani.

Adam Russin, David Jaffee.

John Smith, Steve Firko.

Rick Rokoczy, Geoff Berwick, Duane Schantz.

John Cooper, Joe Albert. 10 Ken Smith. 11 Tim Hummel, Brendan Hexberg, Doug Willis. 12 Mark Thomas, May Forsyth, Andy Williams.

13 Jouni Hakkarainen, Olli Mannisto, Chris December 2013

MacFarlane. 1 Jeff Haley, Liz Ritz, Alex Darrah. 1 Jason Niemi, Anthony Muck. 1 Robin Dudrey, Kim Pohl, Billie Hesselgrave, Lisa Martin. 1 Christoper Webb, Mark Corso. 1 Russell Coulter, Jack Bowen.

(Mor hoto on n t thr a ) Building-Products.com

NAWLA TRADERS MARKET Photos by BPD

MORE TRADERS MARKET ( ontin ro r io thr a ): 1 K.K. Sangara, Carlos Furtado. 2 Kris Owen, Taryn Olivieri, Tom Kyzer, J.R. Virnich. 3 Brian Oberg, Michelle Burbank. Larry Crossley, Gary Maulin, Scott Nowatzki.

Larry Schmedding, Steve Sprenger, Chuck Dotson.

Rick & Susan Benton.

Patrick Power, Jenny Burroughs, David Jeffers, Craig Combs, Patrick Hanulak.

Corey Scott, Mike Phillips, Ken Kalesnikoff.

Bruce Jones, Greg Carter, Jim Walsh, Building-Products.com

David Smith. 10 Tony Fleischman, Josh Fleischman. 11 Sam Satosono, Archie Rafter. 12 Albert Renaud, Doug Coulson, Tony Saad, Todd Lindsey, Chad Miller. 13 Cristen Chambers, Thomas Mende, Ray Barbee. 1 Larry Stonum, Ray Barbee, Dan Kepon, Peter Stuart, Jim Haas. 1 Ken Munyon, Sam Howard, Brian Johnson.

(Mor hoto on n t t o a ) December 2013

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NAWLA TRADERS MARKET Photos by BPD

NAWLA IN LAS VEGAS ( ontin ro r io o r a ) 1 Gary Vitale, Alan Oakes. 2 Bill Sullivan, Jeff Wolgemuth. 3 Mike Lermer, Bill Griffith.

David Whitlow, Kevin Simard.

Rick Ekstein, Michelle Ekstein, Sandy Mills.

Jeff Cook, Dave Cochenour.

Mary & Mike McInnes.

Josh Storm, Chuck Smith.

Brad Flitton, Matthew Burke, Patrick Miller, Ben Meachen. 10 Greg Bates, Blair Magnuson, Chris Wischmann. 11 Jim Brady, Mike Boone. 12 John Burgesser, Jeff

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Miller. 13 Leo Colantuono, Shana Gonda, Ali Jojo. 1 Brad Shaigec, Roxanne Poggemoeller. 1 Doug O’Rourke, Craig Little. 1 Rob Tam, Robert Sandve. 1 Todd Nodine, Mark Richardson. 1 Hunter McShan, Dina Fuller, Bob Bell. 1 Jeff Easterling. 20 Kathi Orlowski, Mark Erickson. 21 Frank Stewart, Russ Taylor.

(Mor hoto on n t a ) Building-Products.com

NAWLA TRADERS MARKET Photos by BPD

TRADERS MARKET ( ontin ro r io i a ): 1 Marshall Lauch, James O’Grady, Scott Gascho, Pete Henningfeld, Mark Mitchell. 2 Betsy Bendix. 3 Mark Tittler, Konrad Tittler.

Eric Schooler, Grant Phillips, Cami Waner, Josh Dean, Phil Hawkins, Kevin Dodds, Max Jones, Joe LaBerge.

Michael Pompeo.

Tim Gabriel, Bob Loew.

Matt Kelly, Bill Nocerino, Barbara Hart, Bob Mai, Mike Flynn.

Rick Renshaw, Bob Owens, Clark Spitzer.

Mike Moran, J.D. Dombek, Tawn Simons, Dan Semsak. 10 Gerry Gluscic, Carl Lamb. 11 Clint Darnell. 12 Sheri Roberts, Kevin Smith, Gary Pittman, Pat Lynch, Ed Langley, John Assman, Marty Thomson.

Building-Products.com

13 Michael Harris, Paul McRae, Jennifer Raworth, Jim Chambers, Donna Whitaker.

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CLASSIFIED Marketplace Rates: $1.20 per word (25 word min.). Phone number counts as 1 word, address as 6. Centered copy or 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 949-852-0231 or dkoenig@building-products.com. For more info, call (949) 8521990. Checks payable to Cutler Publishing. Deadline: 18th of previous month.

To reply to ads with private box numbers, send correspondence to box number shown, c/o BPD, 4500 Campus Dr. 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660. Names of advertisers using box number cannot be released.

HELP WA

ED

HELP WA

JOI O R WI

ED

I G TEAM

isit t e Building Products co

ore ne s ser riendlier l out re uent u d tes e er d rt one t let ccessi le ro ed se rc e tures ent otos ideos ur e s Building roducts stoc tic er

PR D C S F R SALE

CEDAR CREEK is looking for a few good men and women. We believe that our great

people are the key to our company’s success. Aggressive growth has created Sales, Operations and General Management opportunities across Cedar Creek’s expanding footprint.

Consequently, we’re looking for the very best people in our industry to help staff and grow our new and existing distribution centers across the country. Please contact us if you: • Have a successful track record • Can relocate for the right opportunity • Desire earnings and responsibility commensurate with your ambition • Are experienced in lumber and/or building products sales or operations For more information about Cedar Creek, please go to www.cedarcreek.com. If you’re interested in learning more about how you may become a key player on our winning team, please email your resume to abostic cedarcreek.com for a confidential review of your qualifications.

HELP WA

ED

WEST COAST I D STRIAL L MBER is currently seeking experienced lumber broker/ salespeople for domestic sales. The candidate will become part of a team with responsibility for purchasing and sales. Would like qualifications to include: Existing network of business relationships and following among customers and/or sawmills. Please send resume in confidence to lana@wcilumber.com. Please reference “MERCHANT AD” in the subject line. Or mail to West Coast Industrial Lumber Inc., 1795 Willamette Falls Dr. 200, West Linn, Or. 97068.

WA

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B Y

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

WA WE B

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A D SELL PA EL STRIPS

Plywood, OSB, particleboard and MDF by the truckloads. Lumber Source, Phone (800) 8741953, Fax 888-576-8723, email LumberSource@hotmail.com.

Building-Products.com

DATE Book at

i tin ar o t n b itt onth in a an l ay an lo ation ith on or b or a in lan to att n

ri y

Lumbermens Association of Texas Dec. 1 -1 , estimating workshop, Austin, Tx.; (512) 472-1194; www.lat.org.

Pittsburgh Remodeling Expo Jan. 3- , Pittsburgh, Pa.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Charleston Build, Remodel & Landscape Show Jan. - , Charleston, S.C.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Mid-America Lumbermens Association Jan. -10, Missouri winter meeting, St. Louis, Mo.; (800) 747-6529; www.themla.com.

Charlotte Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo Jan. 10-12, Charlotte, N.C.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Tulsa Remodel & Landscape Show Jan. 10-12, Tulsa, Ok.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

United Hardware Distributing Co. Jan. 10-12, market, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minnneapolis, Mn.; (763) 559-1800; www.unitedhardware.com.

Greater Cincinnati Remodeling Expo Jan. 1 -1 , Sharonville, Oh.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Greenville Remodeling Expo Jan. 1 -1 , Greenville, S.C.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Buttery Co. Jan. 1 -1 , dealer market, Bell County Exposition Center, Belton, Tx.; (800) 880-1515; www.butterycompany.com.

Do it Best Corp. Jan. 20-22, winter conference, Swan Resort, Orlando, Fl.; (260) 748-5300; www.doitbestcorp.

Rhode Island Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association Jan. 23, meeting, Augusta, Me.; (800) 292-6752; www.nrla.org.

Mid-America Lumbermens Association Jan. 23-2 , Kansas winter meeting, Wichita, Ks.; (800) 747-6529; www.themla.org.

Atlanta Build, Remodel & Landscape Show Jan. 2 -2 , Expo Center, Atlanta, Ga.; (800) 374-6463; homeshowcenter.com.

Baltimore Remodeling Expo Jan. 2 -2 , Convention Center, Baltimore, Md.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Columbia Home Building & Remodeling Expo Jan. 2 -2 , Columbia, S.C.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Northwestern Lumber Assn. Jan. 13-1 , expo, Rivers Edge Convention Center, St. Cloud, Mi.; (763) 544-6822; www.nlassn.org.

HDW Inc. Jan. 2 -2 , dealer market, Little Rock Convention Center, Little Rock, Ar.; (800) 256-8527; www.hdwinc.com.

New Jersey Building Materials Dealers Assn. Jan. 1 , regional meeting, Kenilworth, N.J.; (609) 802-0238; www.njbmda.org.

Northeast Window & Door Association Jan. 2 -2 , winter meeting, Foxwoods Resort & Casino, Mashantucket, Ct.; (609) 7994900; www.nwda.net.

Lumbermens Association of Texas Jan. 1 -1 , estimating workshop, Baton Rouge, La.; (512) 472-1194; www.lat.org.

Lake States Lumber Assn. Jan. 1 -1 , winter meeting, Radisson, Green Bay, Wi.; (888) 213-2398; www.lsla.com.

House-Hasson Hardware Co. Jan. 1 -1 , market, Opryland Resort, Nashville, Tn.; (800) 333-0520; www.househasson.com.

Columbus Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo Jan. 1 -1 , Columbus, Oh.; (800) 374-6463; www.homeshowcenter.com.

Surfaces Jan. 2 -30, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nv.; (972) 536-6358; www.surfaces.com.

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors Jan. 2 -30, executive summit, Fairmont, Washington, D.C.; (202) 872-0885; www.naw.org.

New Jersey Building Materials Dealers Association Jan. 2 , regional meeting, Rams Head Inn, Galloway, N.J.; (609) 8020238; www.njbmda.org.

Size does matter.

Douglas Fir up to 20” x 20” x up to 40’ Cedar 16” x 16” x up to 32’

Richardson Timbers is a leader in custom millwork & manufacturing of customized timbers, with capabilities of delivering products throughout the U.S. Serving the construction industry for over 60 years, by taking the spirit of the old and combining it with the leading technology of today, Richardson Timbers is able to offer wholesale products with unparallelled service and quality.

Richardson Timbers

toll free (877)

318-5261

phone (214)

358-2314

fax (214)

www.richardsontimbers.com Building-Products.com

December 2013

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358-2383

Since 1949

Building Products Digest

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IN Memoriam

IDEA File

Lloyd E. Rhodes, 85, owner of Bellingham Lumber, Bellingham, Ma.; Hopkinton Lumber, Hopkinton, Ma., and Chocorua Valley Lumber, Tamworth, N.H., died Nov. 9.

After serving in the U.S. Army in 1946 in Japan, he graduated from Boston’s Northeastern University.

Bundling Up for Charity

Darrell Duke Clagg, 74, longtime owner of Clagg Lumber Co., Milton, W.V., died Nov. 10.

Walter Horn Jr., 89, retired manager of J.S. Collins, Riverton, N.J., died Oct. 20 from pneumonia.

A Navy veteran of World War II, he co-owned Marianne Lumber, Marianna, Pa., in the 1950s and managed J.S. Collins from 1960 to 1970.

Paul Tyrone Lewis, age 74, owner of Lewis Lumber Co., Cove, Ar., died after a lengthy illness Oct. 28 in Cove.

ADVERTISERS Index

TRI-CREEK LUMBER’S ANNUAL COAT DRIVE

Remembering that it is better to give than to receive, a Midwestern dealer brings warmth and goodwill to a community—and itself.

Tri-Creek Lumber & Hardware, Lowell, In., has sponsored a winter coat drive every December for the past six years. As of last year, more than 2,300 new and gently worn winter coats—plus a large number of new hats, gloves and scarves—have been donated. The items are distributed to local churches and a nearby shelter that works to alleviate family violence.

Coats of all sizes are welcomed, but ones for schoolage children are especially needed. “Donations for these sizes can be very low, but requests for them are very high,” says employee Nancy Panozzo, who organizes the annual drives. She says that one customer of the store comes in every year to ask what’s needed— and then goes out and buys the requested items.

According to Panozzo, it’s one way for that customer— and many others who participate in the drive—to give back to the community and honor help they once received themselves.

Tri-Creek requests that donated items are clean and in good repair, because many recipients have no way to do that themselves. If good quality items that need repair are donated, store employees pitch in to help.

Panozzo says that the idea for the first coat drive came from an employee. Advertising takes the form of free public service announcements in local newspapers and on local radio programs. She also hangs information flyers in the showroom, although, after six years, it’s mostly word of mouth.

Since donated items are collected in the back of the kitchen and bath design center, customers who never venture outside the hardware area get a tour of this side of the store. Some have expressed surprise that TriCreek has such a large, well-stocked showroom.

“We think it’s wonderful that people take the time and money to shop for new coats, hats and scarves,” says Panozzo. “It’s a great way to celebrate the spirit of the season.”

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For more information on advertisers, call them directly or visit their websites [in brackets].

AERT www.moistureshield.com ....................................Calendar 1 Anthony Forest Products www.anthonyforest.com .........Cover I Arch/Lon a www.wolmani edwood.com ........................Calendar Crumpler Plastic Pipe www.cpp-pipe.com ................................1 C.T. Darnell Construction www.ct-darnell.com ......1 , Calendar 20 Diacon Technologies www.diacon.com ..........................Calendar Do it Best Corp. www. www.independentdoitbest.com ..............

Everwood Treatment Co. www.everwoodtreatment.com ...........

Forest2Market www.forest2market.com .......................Calendar 2 Great Southern Wood Preserving yellawood.com .......Calendar 12 Hoover Treated Wood Products www.frtw.com .............Cover IV KOMA Trimboards www.komatrimboards.com ..........................3 Lumbermens Association of Texas www.lat.org ......................13 North American Wholesale Lumber Assn. nawla.org ..Calendar 22 NyloBoard www.nyloboard.com ......................................Calendar Plycem USA www.plycemtrim.com ...............................Calendar 1 PrimeSource Building Products www.primesourcebp.com ....1 Probyn Group www.prbynlog.com ...............................................

Redwood Empire www.redwoodemp.com ....................Calendar 2 Richardson Timbers www.richardsontimbers.com ..................2 RoyOMartin www.royomartin.com ....................................Cover II Siskiyou Forest Products siskiyouforestproducts.com ...........21 Southern Forest Products Assn. www.sfpa.org ...........Calendar 1 Swanson Group Sales Co. swansongroupinc.com ........Cover III Westbury Aluminum Railing westburyrailing.com ......Calendar 10 Building-Products.com

Building-Products.com

December 2013

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Building Products Digest

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BPD

Building Products Digest

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