Cedar sellers new quality push

AUALITY and service are buzzwords of the back-toldbasics '90s and Western Red Cedar Lumber lsfociation is trying to be right on ttre mark.

"That's what all of our programs, including tlose for retail dealers, are all about," says Ken McClelland, WRCLA executive director in the association's Vancouver, B.C., head office.

"Our members are committed to producing quality cedar products and standing behind them with service. To spread this message nationwide we have opened a national advisory service, Super Cedar Service," he says. "We want to communicate and share infonnation about cedar with the people who need ir."

WRCL A cedar advisors iue stationed in three regions across the United States (Midwest, and Southeast) to answer questions and offer free literature on how to specify, install and finish westem red cedar lumber products for exterior and interior applications. Since communication means listening as well as speaking, they are doing plenty of both. McClelland says the association is gening useful feedback from its new open door policy. "It helps to keep us upto-date," he explains.

Lectures, staff training seminars, banners, statement stuffers, ad mats, videos, colorful brochures and posters are targeted specifically to the retail dealers. "we want to raise our profile at the dealer level and provide as nuch support as we can," he adds. "Our field staff is on the road much of the time traveling to trade shows and speaking engagements. We offer train- ing programs for sales staffs to familiarize them with cedar grades so they can give customers their own brand of Super Cedar Servi@."

A handy three ring reference book, 'TVRCLA Specifier Guide," provides infomration about western red cedar, its properties and uses for the retail dealer. This will be updated on a regular basis as new WRCLA titles are published. A new eight minute video, "It's a Natural," explaining why cedar is an environmentally ftiendly building material plus giving an informative updating on cedar grades and uses, has been nhed with the retailer and his cedar customen in mind. A poster and point of purchase information for new patio deck grades (see story p. 10) are being designed.

A quarterly newsletter is another component of the association's service driven program. Reviewed as "interesting, innovative and relevant on a wide variety of cedar related issues," it is free to retailers along with a specifiers guide and complete list of WRCLA literature and videos from Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, 4290 Bells Ferry Rd., Ste. 106-581, Kennesaw, Ga. 30144, (404) 9283318, FAX 405-5918593.

Story at a Glance

Super Cedar Service offers tree materials and services designed to help retailers sell mot€ cedar ... regional offices provide training programs for sales, product knowledge reference guides, videos, advertising and promotion help.

A LTHOUGH cedar producing .{amembers of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association see no immediate end to the tight cedar log supply, they expect 1993 production levels to remain about the same as last year's 900 million board feet.

Much of the western red cedar lumber in the U.S. market comes from British Columbia which faces a fiber supply crunch on several fronts, including a heavy winter snow pack and planned reductions in the allowable cut announced by the B.C. provincial government. U.S. cedar producers, who supply aboltZi%o of the cedar used in this country, are experiencing their own environmental demands and shortfalls.

Statistics prepared by the B.C. Council of Forest Industries and the Western Wood Products Association, Portland, Or., project cedar log volumes remaining steady, but lower, through 2005. U.S. coastal production is expected to &op from a 198690 level ot 2.91million cubic meters to 2.50 by 1995 and hold through 2005. For the same period, U.S. inland production is anticipated to decline ftom .93 million cubic meters to .77. British Columbia coastal production will fall ftom 1986-90's 6.85 million cubic meters to 6.30 in 1995, 6.15, 2000, and 6.00, 2005, while interior production of 1.74 (19861990) will hold at 1.65 until2005.

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