Redwood wholesaler expands into manufacturing

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redwood products and services is an accuratedescription, " says president John Gaskin, of Capital Lumber Co.'s present role.

Specialization has been Capital's basic operating philosophy for over a quarter of a century. The firm in 1948, founded by George Gaskin, John's father, started as a retail yard in Phoenix, Az. In the early 1960s the company started wholesaling redwood and cedar. That same species specialization still exists, complemented by the recent addition of fir finish.

Lumber wholesaling haschanged drastically from the days of Capital's debut. At that time wholesale lumber marketing was dominated by nonstocking office wholesalers who brokered rail cars in transit to a retail dealer without seeing or handling the lumber.

In the post World War II era, the price of redwood escalated with inflation. The dealer was forced to reduce the cash outlay required in buying straight cars of redwood by drawing on redwood stock carried bv the wholesaler, who gradually assumed the role of stocking distributor. While specialization in redwood product and service became an economic essential, the transition from old growth redwood to a younger growth tree shifted production atthe mills from semi-custom to a high volume dictated by the smaller log size and grade mix. Mills were less able to accommodate special items and shorter runs. Dealers were less inclined to tie up high interest money in carload inventories, and the Japanese concept of 'Just in time" delivery began to apply to redwood inventories.

Capital started putting together an integrated stocking distribution network strategically positioned in Albuquerque, N.M., Chino, Ca., and Lubbock, Tx. "Then during this past year," Gaskin points out, "we added a centralized hub to the existingservice network with a new fromthe-ground-up 50,000 sq. ft. dis-

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Story at a Glarice

Arizona-based firm shifts from retailing to wholesaling to manufacturing distributor. 50,000 sq. ft. production facility added in Northern California. company positions itself for the Japanese "just-in-time" delivery concept.