Meet the force behind the pressure

By Paul Boyle, Chairman Consumer Education Committee Western Wood Preservers Institute

ITHROUGH the pages of The I Merchant Magazine for the past few years, you have been reading "The Pressure's On," "Pressure Treated Lumber Sales Are LJp," and other advertising messages sponsored by the Western Wood Preservers Institute. These ads and articles are designed to catch the eye of lumber dealers and home center operators, and communicate the message that pressure treated lumber is a product that offers many advantages to builders and consumers in extending the life of wood by protecting it from decay and insect attack.

The Western Wood Preservers Institute has expounded on the variety of chemicals and carriers used to impregnate the cellular structure of wood and render it impervious to decay or insect attack. The pressure treating process has been used for years in industrial applications for railroad and utility companies and now members of WWPI have brought that technology to the commercial and residential building and do-it-yourself markets.

Our program has not been aimed at attacking the virtues of redwood or cedar, but instead we have made it a point to define the differences in grades and then make comparisons of the durability of pressure treated white woods, versus their counterparts in the all heart grades of redwood and cedar. These naturally durable species have held an exclusive position in the market for years.

That position is now changing, however. as a national trend has begun to develop towards using treated lumber and timbers for exterior, ground contact and other decay prone situations.

The educational assistance WWPI offers is broad in scope. It is designed to provide more information about our products, so that you can in turn educate your customers about them. In many markets, pressure treated lumber is still a relatively new product; therefore, to sell it successfully, you need to go the extra step and tell the consumer what he is getting for the money. The member companies who make up WWPI all have highly trained personnel to assist you in answering questions for virtually any specific situation that might arise.

Our marketing concept is simple-you are experts in wood, we are experts in pressure treating wood. The resulting benefit is that we, through the use of our wood processing, can increase the uses, longevity and profitability of the products of your industry.

Besides the trade press advertising already mentioned, we have attempted to create consumer pull for pressure treated wood by promoting it through such vehicles as press releases to magazines and newspapers, direct mailings to professional landscapers and producing question and answer brochures, just

Story at a Glance

Advertising & promotion create consumer desire for pressure treated wood . Institute backs dealers answers questions.

to name a few. The point of this promotion is to create awareness, so that consumers will take the next step and go to their local retail lumber yard asking for more specific information.

With the exception of a slow 1982, we have experienced great gains from our promotions. The market is now past its infancy stage, yet we still have years to go before demand for this product peaks. As the trend toward smaller homes continues, homeowners will find economical ways to expand their livable space with the addition of amenities such as patios, decks and gazebos. The WWPI intends to continue its promotional ef forts through the 80s and beyond, providing, through various means, whatever assistance the industry requires.

We are willing to work hard for you, but it is hard to work without you. As pressure treated wood sales continue to grow the WWPI would expect it to be to the mutual satisfaction of both treating companies and dealers alike.