Dea lerlmanufactu rer talks

THE recent gathering of the I Manufacturers Council, convened by the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, is a pace-setting example of dealer/ manufacturer cooperation. The two industry factions have been sitting down to talk over common problems in similar sessions together since 1965.

Composed of an approximately equal number of dealers and manufacturers, the group represents a wide segment of the industry. Participants at the meeting, held at the Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, Az., were from virtually every part of the continental United States.

In one of the initial sessions, a round robin discussion produced some of the following exchanges of information: "some tax relief by July l, coupled with lower interest rates, though not below l2o/o;" "with high interest rates I think this talk of a strong second half is crap;" "investigate whether your state has an agency to sell bonds to raise money for housing and, if so, is the money being applied on a fair basis."

Other opinions: "some people seem to think the 30 year fixed mortgage will return;" "skilled workers are leaving construction due to a lack of jobs, which could hurt in an upturn;" "flat disposable income means less savings and therefore, less money for housing, financial changes must precede major changes, our best hope is for slow growth;" "Canadian lumber can fill any shortages that develop in the U.S. lumber pipeline;"

Story at a Glance

Dealers and wholesalers sit down and discuss common problems and opportunities and what can be done about lhem . where the market is what's likely f or the 1990's.

"d-i-y is the ray of hope;" "we should attack the problem of bureaucratic redtape which adds 3090 to the cost of a house;" "government regulations are our biggest burden;" "meeting of the metric goal for '85 is unlikely."

In a following discussion on instore merchandising, members urged the need to convince the d-i-yer that certain tasks were feasible and that visual aids are good, if used, but are not a substitute for live salesman. An additional benefit of a/v devices is that they can help in employee training.

In another session, some of the manufacturers suggested that dealers take greater advantage of available sales aids. Dealers noted that salesmen and other manufacturer personnel were not as knowledgeable as they might be in helping dealers hold seminars.

A subsequent session on current supply factors produced the opinions that raw timber costs would likely produce higher prices in the third quarter. Demand would be met, but at greater cost.

Manufacturers generally felt that l98l demand across the board for building products could be met. Many are making sizeable investments in plant capacity. A greater emphasis on promotion and advertising is also anticipated.

Talk later turned to planning for the decade of the 1990s. No brand new systems or products were seen on the horizon, but present new developments, such as oriented strand board, waferboard, the allweather wood foundation and the MOD 24 system, were expected to come into more widespread use.

Trucking and railroad deregulation were expected to cause major changes in the distribution patterns of lumber and building products and supplies. Anadequate supplyof wood is foreseen, but it is expected that properties, shapes and sizes will be different from today.

Other anticipated future developments included a gradual dealer change to more market orientation; more specialization; recycling; more in-place work done by dealers; and more employee training.

Despite some Arizona winter

Frrom rain, enthusiasm ran high on the worth of the sessions and the agreement to continue meeting drew quick approval.

Construction Contracts

Construction contracting this year is now expected to total $164.5 billion, some $10 billion less than the level forecast six months ago, but 120io above the actual amount spent in 1980, according to McGraw-Hill Information Systems Co.

EARLY El{Gtl$H transptant, this Tudor building embraces elements of both Gothic and Medieval English architecture; the lmperial Design Center, Sherman 0aks, Ca., took two years to build. Interior ap- pointments reflect the traditional desion with a carved oak spiral staircase, 60 ft. high cathedral ceilings, two working fire- places, custom styled finials, corbels and kneebraces, as well as beveled and etched glass. The shakes and shinoles. while faithful to the ancient design, aie products of modern technology, pressure treated with fire-retardant chemicals produced by Koppers Co., Inc.

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