way to compete is with hard work

sistance with newspaper ads only. Co-op ads deliberately blend the yard's image into the company's. We want it to be our program."

Story at d Glqnce

Shunning the dramatic, yard has ,notched steady growth prefers industrials, has gotten out of selling contractors . . . consumer has bebn a growing part of the business over past five years... service, not price, used to cope with local competition.

Business is evenly divided between retail. contractor and industrial.'oContractors are having a tough time paying their bills," Red remarked. "Since we're out of selling contractor business, business in general has leveled ofi."

Accounting is divided into lumber, sash and door, miscellaneous building materials, retail store items, wall board, clear lumber, sales tax and cartage. The heavy work and shipping is done at Betts-Sine rather than Palms, as the former is on a railroad spur.

Situated in a prime industrial location, Red finds plenty of competition. A & G, Slater, Mar Vista, Sawtelle, Anawalt and Anderson are major competitors. o'The best way to compete is with plenty of hard work. One man's 2x4 is the same as the next. Those who go broke fight it on a price situation."

Both Betts-Sine and Palms employ an average of 25 people along with four or five part time college students. Red is proud of his many "old timers": Bob Davis, 20 years with Betts-Sine; Jesus Macias, 24 years; Bob Clemens aud Hugo C,oleman, 13 years; Ken C.ooper, 14 years; f,. J. "Pal" Powery eight years. Manley Rankin and Bob Hoselton have spent 17 years at the Palms location and seven years with BettsSine; and John Nichol, 15 years, Palms, plus seven years with the other.

With this low a turnover, the company only needs to use word of mouth when they have a position to fill.

Warren Betts, a former manager for Patten-Blin, bought out the widow Sine in 1937. Red and Bob came into the business in 1946 and.'47 after finishing the service.

The company carries its own credit along with Bank Americard and Mastercharge. They use 30 day accounts since the Truth in Lending Act became law. Industrial and contractor business is also on a 3O day account basis.

At present the company has no further expansion plans, but that depends on the opportunity, they add.

"We have an excellent group of suppliers," notes Red. 'oWe've done business with some of them for 20 years or more. We stopped worrying about certain wholesalers' practices a long time ago-life is too short. Anyway, we're able to compete when it's necessary to. Those who complain usually couldn't sell the account anyway."

Betts-Sine has cut its power tool inven- tory due to slow sales. Some items that have been dropped entirely: plastic mold' ingo I" tile squares on sheets and decorator items. In the area of plumbing supplies they cary "just pickup stufi-nipples and ballcocks," Red stated. The Betts-Sine location carries Benjamin Moore paints, while Palms stocks Dutch Boy. They also have vinyl cove and hinges for industrial cus' tomers,

Bob is a member of the Exchange Club, is married with no children. Red is in Rotary, on the Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA board of directors and is a past president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. He has four children.

Lumber cutting price is based on the sq. ft. price for plywood with a $I.00 minimum. On other stock it's based on length: over 6 ft. is 5C a cut. Odd types of cutting and mill work (i.".- boxes and work benches) costs $9 per hour.

Betts-Sine draws most of its customers from a seven to l0 mile radius, though some are from as far away as Las Vegas, Nev.