Lumbermen set a record

A RECORD reeistration of more fil than 1200 pirsons filled the venerable St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco as the Western Wood Products Association staged its annual spring meeting. Including the unregistered who joined the wall-to-wall lumbermen who daily jammed the hotel lobby, total attendance was about 1500, according to estimates.

Unveiled at the gathering was the lumber industry's head-on attack at the concrete slab market.

"The Plen-Wood Program" is an agressive new campaign aimed at lumber retailers to encourage their builder customers to leave the slab and go with the energy-saving PlenWood System.

"The bottom line for the wood products industry and the people working in the retail distribution yards is more sales. And that means more money," Robert Herbst, WWPA's v.p. of marketing said.

The nine-projector slide show program is designed to be shown at retailer conventions in various areas where the concrete slab is the norm. The show takes a lumber retailer through the history of PlenWood, the present situation, and then illustrates how WWPA field representatives will aid in presenting a Plen-Wood seminar for home builders.

The campaign begins this month.

The annual WWPA forecast noted that demand for housing is still here: the market is not over- built: and that the housing downturn that occurred in 1974-75 will not have the same adverse effect it did on the wood products industry this time around.

"Although mortgage markets have tightened and rates are high, funds are still available," H.A. Roberts, exec. v.p. of the Western Wood Products Association noted. "Consumers are seeing housing as an inflation hedge and a good tax shelter," he said.

Roberts' western lumber industry economic outlook is a bit more optimistic than others. WWPA sees a drop in housing starts of 13.50/o (250,000 units) from last year.

"But lumber usage won't suffer anywhere this magnitude of a drop, especially lumber from the West," he said.

The group expects to maintain a reasonably high demand for its products because most of the lumber manufactured in the West stays in the West.

"The West is continuing to experience a population influx and shelter is in short supply. Rental vacancies are also at all-time lows," he said.

The industry is also looking for non-residential building to account for some 6.35 billion board feet of lumber in 1979, 160/o of all predicted lumber consumption uses. He noted that one reason for the higher usage of lumber in non-residential building in the West is, "Building codes in the West are not as restrictive here compared to those in the Midwest and East."

Story at a Glance

More people are also using more wood in home building than ever before. The group's attack on the concrete slab with the so-called plen-wood underfloor heating/ cooling system is adding 2,500 board feet of lumber when it replaces a concrete slab in an average home.

"The reasons plen-wood is enjoying this success are threefold," Roberts said. The system saves energy, is cheaper to build than slab construction, and offers builders the opportunity to continue building in inclement weather.

"ln 1978, 12,500 homes were built using the system," he said.

Demand for lumber exports is expected to climb 100/o in 1979 to a total of 1.5 billion board feet.

The holders of WWPA Master Certificates, an award that recognizes a person's abilities as a lumberman, lumber grader and his service and dedication to the highest principles of quality lumber manufacturing, reached 127 as l0 were added to the prestigeous list.

"Lumbermen qualifying for this honor have learned the lumber business from the ground up and are very knowledgeable of all manufacturing methods, including sawmilling, planing, drying and shipping," WWPA President A.M. "Mickey" Whiting said.

To qualify for this recognition, the recipient must have been a WWPA certified lumber grader for a minimum of 20 years.

Those honored include: James S. Nelson, Coin Products Inc., Susanville, Ca.; Robert Nichols, Boise Cascade Corp., Emmett, Id.; Clive Potter, Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Ukiah, Ca.; Stephen R. "Bob" Baker, Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Beaverton. Or.: Merle E. Boorman. F.H. Stoltie Land & Lumber Co., Columbia Falls, Mt.; Ray Cameron, St. Regis Paper Co., Tacoma, Wa.; ('K" Paul Jacobs, Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Id.; Howard

Russcll, IIoff Companics, Inc., Boise, Id.: Wendell Davis, Bendix Forest Products Corp., Forcsthill, Ca.: and Marion "Norm" Barlett, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Anderson. Ca. (honorcd posthumously).

Three wood products operations with outstancling safetl' records were also honorccl.

(Please tLtnt to pugc l4) ll I I Bon Voeller, Dick Clark. (l2l Harold Manselian, Dixon Sanders, Wade Mosby. ll3l Ron Lewman, Dwight Curran, "Mel" Lewman. ll4l Jim Duart, Dave Damon. Il5l Mike Rogge, Arnold Nutter. Wayne Smith. Il6l Mike Edgar, Dennis Richardson, Steve Burdick, Ben Cassjnerio lli) Bill Duchi, Syl and Jerry Bruce. (l8l Bob Theetge, Rich 0dekirk, Mike Singleton. Il9l Paul Barnett, Mike Steinbach, Ted Hewitt. l20l Hal Webster, C.J. Rawalt.

MEETIt{0 at the meeting were lll Arnold Smith, Frank Hasy, Bill Nelson, Robert F. Nikkel, Loyce Dean. 12l Edward Muller, "Howie" Hunter, John Schick [3] Gary Thomson, Larry Holquin, Robert Klemme, Chris Slaughter. l4l Pat Beiten, Rich Neils l5) Fich Doss, Roy Neilsen. l0l Ted Russell, Jack and Jan Mornarich. l7l Bob Glatt, Bob Eldredge, Dick Learned. l8l Greg Butler, Dick Connell, Ralph Rundle. [9] Bill C0llier, Charles Gardiner, Edward Bateman. (10) Carl Darrow, Keith Wright, Richard Davis.