Hardwood wholesaler extends reach

N7|'ACBEATH Hardwood just IYlmade it easier to find hard-tofind items, with the debut of its new online store. Located on the firm's Web site (www.macbeath.com), the new business offers products that can't be found in an ordinary lumberyard.

After just two months, response has been excellent. "It's a case of getting our name out there," says Alan Ross, asst. mgr. of MacBeath's Berkeley, Ca., branch. "The first orders came from our immediate area in California, but now most of the orders are going back East, to hobbyists and woodworkers looking for furniture squares. glues, veneers."

The venture's potential is "wide open," he says. "We're always looking for new ideas, testing to see what works. We'll be adding informational links and a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page."

Still, the heart of MacBeath's operations continue to be distribution yards in San Francisco, Montebello, Ca., and Salt Lake City, Ut., a retail yard in Berkeley, concentration yard with dry kilns and milling facilities in Edinburgh, In., and corporate offices in Lafayette, Ca. The company carries a full line of domestic and imported hardwoods, hardwood plywood and veneers, including thicker lumber and hard-to-find items.

K.E. MacBeath founded the company in the fall of 1954 in Berkeley. With the help of his son, Bill, Manuel Lavrador and Joe Cortese, the business continued to grow. ln 1962, a wholesale hardwood yard opened in San Francisco. The Salt Lake City yard was purchased in 1966 and the

Montebello branch added in 1976.

MacBeath acquired the Edinburgh operation in 1983, signaling its entrance into the green lumber business. Last May, the firm opened a new concentration yard in Edinburgh, handling a broad range of domestic species in all thicknesses. "Our specialty is mixed loads, so we have to have many items on hand to meet our customers' needs," says president and ceo Carter Rothrock. "We do not carry a large volume of any one species."

The l5-acre facility stocks 3 million bd. ft. Kiln capacity increased from 300,000 to 500,000 bd. ft.

"We negotiated an agreement with the David R. Webb Co. to take over the vacated Bradford Forest Products yard," Rothrock relates. "Webb will be leveling our old property and putting up a domestic veneer showroom and warehouse. This move has siven us some automated lumber han- dling equipment and a sling sorter that will help our efficiency."

Each distribution yard sells to endusers in their own and surrounding states, with more distant sales primarily to other distribution yards. The yards ship lumber in their immediate areas on company trucks. Edinburgh ships across the U.S. on contract carriers. About a third of all lumber shipped from Edinburgh goes to the company's yards.

"We pride ourselves on our ability to ship mixed containers and truckloads on a day's notice," Rothrock says. "All of our lumber is re-inspected after kiln drying and sold on a net tally. With the acquisition of the new property, we have the capability to keep all our lumber under cover. This reduces the degrade in the air drying process and gives the lumber a much brighter appearance. Packaging is the name of the game."

/HAT constitutes a great leader?

V Y That question is asked of me as often as "What makes a great salesperson?" Here are areas I believe are most important to remember:

Culture - Leaders are the spearhead for the corporation's culture. Fanaticism has its place here. Anything less than a culture that calls for greatness in everything you do won't work.

Planning - Regularly review the sales and marketing plan and the business plan. Focus intently on sales, particular clients and development of your human resources.

Time utilization - How many days a month do you spend with clients, listening to them? And with your group? Now, how many days should you be?

Think - Instead ofjust doing, leaders must make quiet time to think about new ways of doing things. An aircraft parts company has quiet rooms where employees can read selfimprovement books and magazines. Everyone needs to be challenged to more fully utilize their brain, to think creatively.

Feedback - How do your peers think of you? How do your subordinates feel about you? Ask and see if there are any surprises to your selfperception. Get a management personality profile run on you so that you better understand yourself and the image you project.

Failing - We learn more from failures than successes. Yet, most leaders have not encouraged their people to fail more. Failing usually comes from doing new things. Did everyone on your staff do one new thing last week?

Proactive - Leaders rarely have all of the information they need for a decision. When you wait for all the details, your final decision may be too late. Don't worry about being 1OO7o correct 1007o of the time.

Creativity - Encourage everyone to put every creative idea they have on the table. Defend an individual if more than half of his ideas are duds.

Don't worry about

being 100% right 100% of the time.