An innovative company is poised for the future

1'O MANY IN the wholesale ! lumber business. the orocess is locating lumber. purchasi'ng it and finding a buyer. Or, trying to find the lumber for a buyer with a specific request. Pretty routine and often mundane.

Yet, there are people in the industry who always find it exciting because they are constantly looking for new products, developing new methods of production, finding new ways to produce a better product for less. It's these basic traits which have helped build this country, and are becoming harder to find every day.

Ed Fountain, president of Ed Fountain Lumber Cb. is -one of these visionaries. Even after almost 50 years at the head of his own company, the quest for the innovative goes on.

From Day One in 1937, when he started by purchasing lots at the dock. and convinced dealers that his personal selection of only superior lumber was worth 500 per thousand profit, Ed has pursued better ways to serve his customers. Fountain pioneered the production of laminated timbers in the Los

Angeles, Ca., area, and conducted special training schools for dealer salesmen to help them better serve their customers. Pecky cedar, once a waste product, was turned into a useful, profitable item by a patented process developed at the Fountain facility. Special promotions were initiated, including a traveling display, to help pre-sell architects, builders and interior desieners.

Story at a Glance

Not content to rest on past successes, this western wholesaler is gearing for future market directions special training programs, cargo shipments and decking products were all pioneering areas for the company.

Harbor, providing better grades and lower shipping expense. The company has also pioneered pressure treated siding in the area to help reduce construction costs. Innumerable improvements in handling techniques and lumber processing have also marked the drive for improved products at the lowest possible price. The company is currently installing a new automated stacker to provide faster air drying, straighter lumber and reduced labor.

"Although we have done a lot of different things over the years, I must admit that not all of them were successlul," Fountain reports. "l have a corner in the yard where I keep some of the mistakes just to remind me that we have been up that road."

A variety of sizes and species of decking was produced to meet new building standards and to speed up construction. Barge shipments were inaugurated to bring Canadian cedar and hem-fir into Los Aneeles

"Perhaps the most important thing of all that characterizes our company is the people. We have been fortunate to keep dedicated employees who have been with us many years, and I am particularly enthusiastic about the young people who will keep our organization headed in the right direction. Our industrial division is a good example. While launched only recently, the younger members of our team have made it successful already and are constantly offering suggestions on ways to make it better. Although we can't compete directly with many of the giants in the industry, our ability to think of new and better ways to accomplish goals and then implement them is the key to our future."

Door Plant Modernization

Simpson Timber Company's McCleary, Wa., door plant is undergoing a rehabilitation program to better utilize stock and improve the quality of the doors manufactured there. The $2.5 million investment was announced recently by Del Orren, production manager for panel doors.

Most improvements are being made in the drying and cutting phase of panel door production, Two inactive dry kilns are being revitalized with computer equipment to monitor and control air flow. This remodeling will give the McCleary plant a total of nine kilns with which to dry stock.

To allow for the increased scarcity of large pieces of shop lumber, Simpson has installed new edgegluing machines which bond smaller pieces together into usable dimensions.

A panel laminator was installed, helping Simpson in another way to insure quality. The machine will glue together the two halves of a panel with a sheet ofveneer bonded cross-grain and sandwiched between them. This is said to prevent the panels from splitting.

To house new equipment and provide more storage area, Simp- son is building two new structures totaling 17,500 sq. ft.

Machines have also been added to treat and wrap doors before shipment. First, the doors are given a water-repellent treatment to protect them from the elements. Then they are machine-wrapped individually in polyethelene sheeting. "We're ahead ofthe industry on this," exp- lains Fred Blum, planning and control superintendent at McCleary Door. "The point is to protect the doors on the jobsite where they can easily be damaged."

The McCleary plant, built in 1912, is the oldest operating door plant in the industry. Since buying it 38 years ago, Simpson has worked to upgrade the facility without compromising the hand-made excellence which has always characterized the company's panel doors. This newest remodeling program is scheduled to be completed in April.

The Merchant Magazine gia State University, and Dr. William Wolman. senior editor, Business lMeek magazine. James Roberts, Management Planning, Inc., Cleveland, Oh., will lead a seminar on management planning. Another session. "PAR". will be conducted by Dr. Peter Mullins, Management Foresight, Inc., Columbus. Oh.. and F.C. "Bud" Rebedeau, Kielty-Rebedeau & Assoc., Chicago, Il., will direct "Sales Training for Sales Managers." The fourth seminar will be a transportation panel.

Seminars are scheduled to run concurrently so that members may attend at least three. Manufacturer wholesale contact sessions are set for two days.

The social side includes several dinners with professional entertainment, golf, tennis and bridge tournaments.

NAWLA Moves to Chicago

NAWLA in Az., May 5-8

North American Wholesale Lumber Association members will gather for the annual meeting on May 5-8 at the Marriott Camelback Inn. Scottsdale. Az.

Keynote speakers will be Dr. Noel Langdale, president of Geor- r (Palo Alto) (Santa Ana) (Fair Oaks) Palo Alto, Ga. $anta Ana, Ca. Fair Oaks, Ca. and in Oregon (415) 327-4380 (213) 625-8133 5330 Primrose Dr. Eugene, Or. (714) 547-8086 Suite 220 (503) 342-6579 (916) 966-9000 Headquarters