rograms are key to sales success

One of the interesting discoveries that came out of the recent building slump was that promotional ideas generated during the bad times were equally successful during good times.

Sales successes were documented in many ways. Several dealers put together deck contests, complete with prizes (Hawaii trips, etc.), professional judging and finally publicity. The contests, in all cases, generated more entries than were anticipated, consequently selling more redwood to both the do-it-yourself homeowner and the builder who elected to add decks.

One distributor used live radio to talk on air with prospective customers, doing so from the dealer's location. Questions were all answered, culminating in an invitation to come down to the store. It was a traffic builder.

One of the best customer attractions was the Simpson Redwood Book of Wood/Book of Could (cur- rently retailing for $3.95 per copy) offered free with a coupon that appeared in newspaper advertising. Sales were registered at the grass roots level through this innovative book of plans, detailed with material requirements and instructions on how to build.

A Complete Redwood Guide

More innovative and informative than its predecessor, Simpson Timber's second edition of the Redwood Book of Wood/Could II is just off the press.

Featured are 23 projects in redwood created by three professionals in fine woodworking. Careful instructions and plans are included for each to assist the do-it-yourself homeowner as well as the builder to construct a wide range of projects ranging from chairs to cabinetry and outdoor amenities. Plans are detailed with the materials re- quired listed in addition to construction information. A valuable section of tips for working with wood is included in the new edition as well as a special section on the story of redwood.

The four pages that comprise the Book of Wood tell the history of the redwoods, the inherent properties and characteristics that make this remarkable wood an outstanding performer for a wide range of exterior, interior, yard and garden uses.

limber Contract Litigation

Eleven publicly held timber companies were excluded from an injunction temporarily halting enforcement of an estimated $1.5 billion of U.S. Forest Service timber-harvesting contracts.

Basis given for the exclusion by U.S. District Judge James M. Burns was that they had failed to show danger of irreparable financial harm from carrfng out their contracts. Under the order 109 independent

Oregon Safety Conlerence

The 49th annual Forest Products Safety Conference kicks off April 26 when Oregon Governor Victor Atiyeh greets conferees at the Jantzen Beach Red Lion Motor Inn in Portland, Or. The two-day conference, geared to middle management and first line supervisors, is sponsored by forest industry companies headquartered in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.

The conference theme, "Focusing Responsibility and Persuasive Measures for Results,l' will include companies will not be forced to file harvesting schedules pending a trial of a petition for declaratory judgment that the contracts should be nullified as "commercially impracticable."

Companies excluded include Publishers Paper Co., Bohemia Inc., Boise Cascade Corp., Crown Zellerbach Corp., Champion International Corp., Georgia-Pacific Corp., Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Medford Corp., Pope & Talbot Inc., Southwest Forest Industries Inc. and Willamette Industries Inc.

Table Wood Choices Change

New introductions in occasional tables at the San Francisco furniture market may indicate a return to closegrain woods. The change from l29o of the market showings to 16.590 is important because that includes all table groups, says Dave McCullam, vice president of Northwest Hardwoods, Inc., Portland, Or., whose staff makes the twice yearly survey.

The close-grain woods include maple, birch, cherry and Northwest alder.

Oak, still the leader, dropped from 34.60/o of the showroom presentations to 30.4s/o in one year.

four sessions for management, supervisory and safety personnel, according to chairman Ken Patrick, Western Wood Products Association.

Keynoting the conference will be William Moshofsky, former vice president for government affairs for Georgia-Pacific Corp., and a newly announced candidate for the United States House of Representatives.

A number of safety awards will be presented during the conference which will include an exhibit of safety products and services.

The total open grain woods of oak, ash, elm, and pine accounted for 37.6V0 of the showing compared to 42.5r'o a year ago. Mahogany showed gro',r th from 6.20/o to 6.4v/o and walnut increased to 4.5V0 followed by its sister wood of pecan-hickory at 4.40/0.

Burls dominated 8.590 of the showroom presentations with olive, ash, mappa, Carpateum elm, Oregon myrtle, maple, walnut and redwood burls being widely used. Other woods at 4.00/o included teak, rosewood, yew, prima vera, ebony, black bean, hackberry, ramin, and meranti.