Hardwood plywood annual

The Hardwood Plywood Manufacturers Association's annual fall meeting at the Doubletree Inn, Monterey, Ca., was attended by more members and their wives than any previous HPMA meeting, more than 262 people present. Guests came from as far away as Australia.

Gail Overgard, v.p. of States Veneer Co., Eugene, Or., was elected president to succeed J. Tait Hardaway of Memphis Plywood Corp., Memphis, Tn.; lst v.p. is Jim Lester, Eggers Plywood Co., Two Rivers, Wi.; Jim Hickey, Vicply Inc., is Canadian director and John M. Prince, Georgia-

Pacific, is director-at-large. Robert Renfro, Weyerhauser Co., was elected director-at-large to complete the term of Jim LeRoux.

The building committee noted that due to delays in consturction, HPMA will not be in its new office and laboratory until February 1979. The new address: HPMA, P.O. Box 2789.1825 Michael Faraday Dr., Reston, Ya.22090.

The Mobile Home Life Safety Task Force noted its brochure "Fire Sqlety in Mobile Homes" has been distributed to mobile home manufacturers and dealersl 11,000 copies distributed in just one month preceeding the fall meeting.

Bob McCormick, National Plywood, Long Beach, Ca., was elected prefinish div. director. George Hagman, Vicply, Inc., (Please turn to page 71) tilABKETll{G opportunities of prefinished hardwood products get rapt attenti0n during this convention meeting.

Flintkote Supply Co., a division of Flintkote Co., with divisional offices in Dallas, Tx., and regionaloffices in Monterey Park, Ca., is in the throes of expansion in the Southern California and Nevada areas under the supervision of Earl Woodward. western region manager.

The company, generally associated with gypsum, roofing, flooring and other manufactured products, Irur recently broadened its base inventory to encompass plywood, (both domestic and import), particleboard, hardboard and. more recently, lumber.

Some of the current activities include a new location in Oceanside, Ca., which opened last month. It replaces the one located in San Diego which is now a shipping point. The new center is managed by Hugh Leonard, a veteran of the building materialgame. Some of his staff include Mac Scallorn, asst. mgr.; Cindy Pariseau, adm. asst.l Lois Matz, credit mgr.; and Gordon Wininger, warehouse supt.

Sales include Howard Yoder, Dave Rothgeb, "T.J." Vidaurri and Bill Blue with the inside sales handled by Vickie Rothgeb.

Growth patterns in San Diego indicated the northern part of the county and led to selection of the present site where construction began in June, 1978, with four pole-construction covered warehouses totaling about 28,000 sq. ft. and a 3,000 sq. ft. office facility. The builder was Mike Esposito of San Antonio Rigid Pole Construction Co.

The Palm Springs, Ca., satellite is set to open February 15. On two acres of ground will be warehouse facilities encompassing 7000 sq. ft. and office space of 500 sq. ft. Under the direction of Phil Booth, the Riverside branch manager, the yard will service the Palm Springs region. Jack Schelbie will supervise this operation.

Also under Booth's "wing", managed by Judy Gruey, will be a satellite opening about March lst in Hesperia, Ca. This center will service the High Desert area, including Victorville and Barstow. The warehouse and office areas will be the same as that in Palm Springs on l% acres.

Bob Croy, formerly with Georgia-Pacific and recent new- comer to the managerial position at the Los Angeles branch, plans a mid-year opening of a shipping facility in Bakersfield, Ca. Bill Seeley, formerly national marketing manager, industrial sales, for G-P, Portland, is slated to coordinate construction and ultimately will manage the branch.

Last, but not least, the City of High Rollers, Las \/egas, unveiled Flintkote's new supply center February 1. Servicing Southern Utah, Mo.iave County in Arizona and Southern Nevada. the center is located on five acres with 25.000 sq. ft. of warehousing and 2500 sq. ft. of office and shortly to be serviced bv rail. It is a full-service operation handling wallboard, roofing, sacked goods, plywood and lumber.

Flintkote Supply's Las \/egas manager is Bill Max. His staff includes Kay Godbe. assistant manager; Marily Walstrom, creditl and Richard Thomas. warehouse superi ntendent.

This will introduce Don Madera Roja. The Don, or Rojo, as he is known to his new friends at Fallbrook Lumber, Fallbrook, Ca., was "born" several centuries ago in the redwood forests of California's Mendocino County.

He arrived in Fallbrook recentlv having stood up the entire 674 miles from Fort Bragg, Ca., to Fallbrook behind the cab of a truck and trailer of rough 2x6 and 2x8 Douglas fir.

Around 1880, this solid hand hewn 18"x20" redwood timber was part of a narrow gauge railway trestle over Hare Creek, near Fort Bragg. The railroad was used to feed logs to the old Caspar Lumber Co., which operated until the mid 1950s. The railroad was abandoned some years earlier.

The artist, Charles White, found the trestle in a log jam in Hare Creek last year, and was able to buck offand yard offenough sound material to create Don Rojo and other figures.

Bob Sutton, who purchased

"Don Rojo" for Fallbrook Lumber, with the help of Bill Niesen, Niesen-Ward Forest Products, Fort Bragg, notes that the heart center of the redwood log is in the base of the statue. This is known as "boxed heart". Normally rings near the heart are very easy to count. Several have tried to count the rings to determine the "Don's" true age, but they are virtually so fine and dense that the task is literally impossible.

Rojo's "first cousin", "Olaf ', a Norse Warrior, carved of madrone, a West Coast hardwood, resides at Buena Park Lumber Co., Buena Park, Ca. (see The Merchant, Sept. p. 25) and would be only too happy to meet any of "Rojo's" Fallbrook friends.

Specialists in

Western Red Cedar

Channel sdg. or lx1,2SLS2E

(Clear Tight Knot & Standard A Btr.)

Rough and Surfaced Dimension

Fencing and Shakes

Rail or truck shipments

North Hwy 99W 45151 N.E. Elliott, Corvallis, Or. 97330 (so3) 7s2-0218 . (s03) 7s2-0L22

FRANK CLEMMONS O BOB AVERY

8 Northern California Manufacturing Centers

MOULDINGS: Chico Division. Ron Hoppe, Al Ryan (91 6) 343-4451

LUMBER: Redding Sales Division. (916) 275-8812

Sawmills located at Arcata, Hayfork, Loyalton, Quincy, Redding,sloat and Susanville, Ca.

Producing in excess of 400 million feet yearly: Douglas Fir, Incense Cedar, Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine, and White Fir. Green & Kiln Dried.

SALES: George Rogers, George Sharp, Paul Trueb, Bill Wessner and Sam Witzel.

(Continued from page 13) labor costs, retailers can no longer rely completely on the sales stafffor this kind of customer assistance. It is imperative that manufacturers' product packaging be self-informatrve.

Tie advertising in with other decorative products. Your ads should focus on a general theme such as bathroom redecorating. Then you would not only be listing surface decorative hardware. but also such related items as vanity pieces, shower curtain rods, faucets, wallpaper, new tiles, etc. Concentrate on the most popular items in the hardware category such as 18" and 24" towel bars and consider advertising these products at discount to generate additional sales at full price on items like towel rings, tissue holders and soap dishes.

We offer a new co-op ad slick program through which we reimburse the retailer for ads run on our products. Stores should make use of circulars and even test the value of increased sales by stuffing them in Sunday supplements of their newspapers.

The retailer, manufacturer and distributor all have major responsibilities in presenting an effective merchandising program to the consumer. Durable merchandisers organized to highlight fastest-moving items in an attractive manner will enable customers to make easy buying decisions and then move to add-on items as well.

Don't measure success by initial dollars placed per square foot in a store. A better yardstick is dollar sales per square foot. Too much emphasis is placed on cramming as much merchandise in as small a space as possible on the initial order. This does not necessarily mean added sales. Attractive, well laid-out displays will result in greater dollar sales per square foot than displays whose main purpose is to place as much hardware into as little space as possible.

The Scovill Manufacturing Co.'s purchase of the worldwide security products business of Eaton Corp. has been completed. The price, is approximately $56 million in cash.

The Eaton's business includes locks, builders hardware and door closers marketed under the trade names of Yale, Norton, BKS and FAS. Sales were about $125 million in 1978. Operations worldwide employ 4,300 persons..

Scovill Chairman Malcolm Baldridge said, "Yale, Norton, BKS and FAS locks and security hardware are very well established brand names in domestic and world markets and fit in well with Scovill's overall objective of expanding its brand name leadership in the consumer, housing and capital goods supply markets. Such Scovill products as Hamilton Beach appliances, NuTone built-in housing products, Schrader tire valves, Schrader-Bellows fluid power products and Nyguard zippers all occupy leadership positions in their markets," he noted. Scovill sales for 1978 are estimated at $750 million.

There are many reasons to have an "open house"-and all of them good!

Customers get a closer look at your variety of products as well as your ability to supply them. With the informality of a party atmosphere that open houses generate, your products can be better displayed and demonstrated in a more relaxed way.

Executives can mingle with customers they would not meet otherwise, hearing their products praised or criticized directly "from the horses'mouths".

Planning for an open house is relatively easy, but many details must be solved. Inside, planning includes the buffet table. bar. door prizes, decorations, and the possibility of music and dancing.

Outside, the problems of parking can include extra night lighting and extra help for parking cars,

Finally, but very important, is the realization that there are two kinds of open houses and the selection of which one you want must be decided first. If you plan your open house to actually sell, be sure and say so on your invitation. There are many persons who will come to an open house that sells but who will stay home if they think the evening is to be strictly social.

Solicit supplier participation and plan exhibits well in advance. Issue personal invitations to customers and prospects early and include reply cards.

And, remember, your open house is of interest to others. Get as much trade and local publicity as you can by sending out news releases about the event, and have press kits available for the invited press.