A new twist tropical har

D Y NOW. most of us have heard of L)the virtues of tropical hardwood decking-incredibly hard ip6 from Brazil... durable dark red meranti from Southeast Asia... color consistent cambara from Brazil...

The world's tropical forests are full of thousands of different species of trees. There are over 60 different meranti or Philippine mahogany species alone, mostly inthe Shorea genus. In a typical section of Brazilian rainforest, there are over l0 high density hardwood species, and another 20 low density species, only some of which have commercial value.

Remember that tropical logging is done on a selective basis, as mandated by the governments of Brazll, Bolivia, Paraguay, Indonesia and Malaysia. The trend lately has been to log as many species as possible to minimize the area over which harvesting is done, and to maximize the yield from the forest. Because of the selective harvesting, smaller trees are left standing and mature seed trees are left in place. The same section of forest can then be cut again in the next logging cycle in 40 to 60 years.

One of the latest products on the scene is TigerDeck, a naturally durable wood from Brazil with incredible color and grain characteristics. TigerDeck is available exclusively from Timberlake Trading, Ridgefield, Wa. According to Timberlake president Bob Hafner, "We performed extensive studies for many species from both Africa and South America, and TigerWood proved itself as one of the most weather resistant and beautiful species. The reception in the market has been incredible."

HARDWOOD decks of choice include (clockwise from below) ip6, Brazilian redwood, cambara and kayu batu.

Another recent entry is Brazilian redwood, an extremely dense and naturally durable wood. Brazilian redwood is manufactured at OregonCanadian Forest Products' facility in South Carolina.

One of the hardest and most durable species available, "Brazilian redwood has the look of clear all heart California redwood and the durability of ip6," says v.p. Mike Holm.

Indonesia and Malaysia have shipped numerous varieties of meranti into the U.S. for over 50 years. One of the balau species, marketed as batu or Kayu Batu, has risen to the top as a premier decking species from Southeast Asia.

According to Steve Wilson, Kayu International, West Linn, Or.: "We are still having good success with our dark red meranti bukit, or hill meranti, but clearly batu has the best mix of characteristics of any decking material, including composites. The density and durability of our batu is closer to ip6 than dark red meranti, but the beauty is closer to the mahogany look, dark red and uniform. Maybe best of all, batu is as close to a maintenancefree decking material as there is."

New England has always been the hottest area of the country for both meranti and more recently for cambara. And now the rest of the country is beginning to catch on.

According to Steve Getsiv, hardwood manager for Oregon-Canadian, North Plains, Or.: "Cambara is a beautiful product. [t's got consistent color, good durability, competitive pricing and a strong supply."

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THE most successful businesses

I- regularly review the quality of their professional relationships.

"But this is so obvious," people say. "We understand what we have to do to be successful." Even though the basics may be obvious, how many of us are 1007o successful? Are you reviewing the basics to ensure your success?

Let's see if your business is sweating the basics. If you purchase products for your business, it's a good idea to regularly review the quality of the relationships with your suppliers, making certain that they are closely aligned to your needs. In the quest for more business, you need to state the obvious to your vendors, telling them specifically what you expect from them. It doesn't hurt to emphasize how you plan on measuring their performance. This means that you should be having regular conversations with your vendors about the basics-are they meeting your requirements and making you happy?

Here is a basic seven-point measuring tool for evaluating a supplier's performance:

1. Quality products. This is a top priority and is the most important component. "Well, that's obvious," many of you will say. However, are we consistently obtaining this objective? If the goods you've purchased break or don't live up to your expectations, you are likely to disappoint your customers or your co-workers. So, you must review the quality of the merchandise your vendors are shipping to you.

2. Ott-ti-e delivery. Vendors must deliver exactly when you need it