LASC: Alive & Well, Lean & Mean

At their September meeting, the board of directors of the Lumber Association of Southern California was struck with the full realization that the association was under financed.

Yard closings, mergers and acquisitions and reduced sales volune on the part of the nembers had drastically diminished the association's membership and anticipated revenue. LASC, unlike other associations in many respects, but very much like building material associations in major metropolitan areas, depends almost entirely on dues for its income, explains Wayne Gardner, executive vice president.

A planning comnittee deternined the possibilities: (1) close; (2) merge; (3) down scale and continue to operate. A second meeting of the group rejected the options of closing or merging. Support was for downsizing and maintaining an association, he adds.

The feeling of the board of directors is "We want the association alive," and alive it is, he stresses. A strong effort will continue to be made to offer services to the remaining members.

Bulletins will go out on a monthly basis along with other communications. Two educational meetings aimed at employees will be held in each area annually. Second Growth will be maintained and encouraged to expand. The annual fall management conference will be held as usual.

The general feeling is that because the association is primarily a vehicle for communication, memberships should be maintained in National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association; the Building Industry Credit and Supply Coalition, a state legislation lobbying group in Sacramento, Ca., and the Intemational Conference of Building Officials. Infonnation from these souroes is felt to be valuable and useful to members.

The association's new address is P.O. Box ll22,LaQuinta A.92253. Telephone numbers: (619) 5&-3312 and (800) 26F.434r'.. Fax: 619-564&33.

No Blue Diesel Fuel On Road

Companies using both low-sulfur and high-sulfur diesel fuel must be vigilant that the No. 2 grade fuel is used only in off-road vehicles.

Now dyed blue, high-sulfur diesel fuel use is legal only for off-road applications and home heating. Designed to meet clean air requirements, low-sulfur diesel fuel is required in all diesel-burning trucks and autos used on the highway.

EPA fines for using the blue-dyed high-sulfur fuel in highway vehicles can be as high as $25,000 per day. The ruling went into effect Oct. L

Ochoco Expands ln Lithuania

Ochoco Lumber, Prineville, Or., has acquired a site in Lithuania to plane and dry pine, spruce and cedar lnotty moulding and millwork for European, Mediterranean and possibly Japanese markets.

Ochoco plans to add a planing mill and dry kilns at the site of an abandoned brick factory in Kupiskis and hopes to begin production this summer. A sawmill may be built later. The timber will come from Lithuania and perhaps Russia.

Manufacturers of Quality Glulam Beams since 1977

SpottedOwlRestrictions On Private Land Eased

A plan to ease logging restrictions near spofted owl habitat will hopefully be completed and presented at the same time as President Clinton's comprehensive owl and old growth forest protection plan in March.

The proposed plan will ease protective guidelines for the supposedly threatened owl on state and private lands while focusing recovery efforts on national forests and other federal lands. "The vast majority of suitable owl habitat that remains in the region (Northwest) is on federal land," assistant interior secretary George Frampton, Jr., claims.

The regulation will coordinate with the forest summit plan announced in July. Federal regulation of private forest land is expecoed to be minimized while timber harvests on fede,ral lands in the Northwest are cut approxinately 807o.

"Relief for state and private landowners in the region is vital to avoid a worsening of the severe social and economic effects already occufring," said Mark Rey, American Forest & Paper Association.

Large landowners such as Weyerhaeuser Co. and Boise Cascade Corp., will be affected as well as individual landowners. Frampton said a "significant amount" of land would be freed up for logging under the plan which aims at using private lands o connect federal lands where the owl would be protected. There will be 10 protected areas, about half the number in existence. Restrictions may be relaxed more if landowners develop their own cqrservation strategies.

"As the Northwest's largest private landowner, Weyerhaeuser is pleased with Ois development," said Weyer- haeuser president Charley Bingham.

"we are ready to cooperate with the administration in developing habitat conservation plans for nnnaging specific sensitive forest lands for wildlife, including owls and salmon."

While those in the timber industry found the plan acceptable, environmentalists said it would push the owl toward extinction. "If the federal lands look like a mangy dog, a lot of the private lands look like a skinned ghihuahua," commented Frances Hunt, National Wildlife Federation.

There Really ls A Free Lunch

Knoll Lumber & Hardware, Woodinville, Wa, offers voluntary employee training with afree lunch during the noon hour at its various stores. Recent Lunch-N-karn topics were insulation and air-powered nailing.

The progran, which started in June, had covered 11 topics in 92 classes as of Dec. 10, with employees investing 588 horns in the training.

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An untic oneofa-kind wnil. kautiftl" Dumbb fusistant to demy anil water. Uniform in cohr. $nnth. I'mmatic And rcw stuily in wpply for a wriety of ww: Bmt planking and timhrs, Tanh ilock, Flume shch, Patio ihcking, Flning, Stadium gmdcs, Parcling, Dimensian, Cban and Sll'c,p,IS & Better Lam sbck fur Glulam bams ltlso proihters of a widc runge of W*tern fud Cedar prodacts,

LMA Sponsor Profit Seminar

Lumber Merchants Association of Northern Califania will sponsor "Get Serious About Profit," a profit planning seminar for owners, managers and controllers, March 2,9 am. to 4 pm.at the Holiday Inn, Fairfield, ca-

John MacKay, Profit Planning Group, who designed and compiled the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association's "Cost of Doing Business" survey will be the speaker. Using survey results to focus on major revenue and cost factors determining profitability, he will t€ach what to do and what to expect when a business takes control of the bottom line instead of being controlled. He will lead participants stepby-step to bottom line profitability, association executive vice president Les Sanders explains.

Tbe seminar will identify areas for improvement, differences between profit planning and cash flow planning, how to develop a profit plan, set profit and gross margin targets, develop realistic invesEnent levels for inventory and accounts receivables, use forecasting and expense control techniques, target appropriate growth rates, examine financing sources, adjust inventory and accounts receivable to fund growth, make a profit plan the central focus of management, use monthly control procedures to stay on plan and increase sales without increasing expense.

The seminar will be limited t0 50. Cost including materials and lunch is $150 for members and $200 for nonmembers.

Ernst Helps The Hungry

Ernst Home and Nursery, Seattle, Wa., participated in the annual Tackle Hunger Food Drive, contributing donations, advertising and volunteers to the effort aimed at helping the area's less fortunate. customefs were encouraged to leave canned or non-perishable food at collection centers located at most of Emst's 43 western Washington locations. The company matched each item donated with a $1 contribution up to $25,0fl). It dso contributed newspaper, radio and in-store advertising.

Building Material Donations

During 1993 more than $5 million in building materials, supplies and tools were contributed to provide affordable housing for low income families.

Working through Housing America, a prograrn developed by Gifts In Kind America and the Home Improvement Industry Affordable Housing Coalition, more than 30 companies donated paint, windows, power tools, ladders, plumbing fixtures, flooring, drywall corners and trim, ceramic tile and wall board. Distributed to thousands of nonprofit organizations, community development agencies and community action agencies, the materials were used to construct new homes for low-income Americans, refurbish affordable housing and repair neighborhoods after flooding, hurricanes and fire.

HomeBase Targets Hispanics

HomeBase, Irvine, Ca., has contracted Anita Santiago Advertising, Inc., Santa Monica, Ca., to develop an advertising and marketing program for the Hispanic market.

Slated to premiere in February, the progftrm will include media geared to the Hispanic home improvement customer.

Certain locations already offer some bilingual signage and how-to bookles in Spanish. The company is currently working on credit card applications and signage in Spanish.

Place The Studs

The Stud Spacer, a new accessory designed for quick and accurate spacing of studs and joists on 16" cenlers, has been introduced by Senco Products.