NNON]IANA NtrWS

By R. Y. PETERSE]I executivo Yice presidcnt

fT OCCURS to us that today's huilding I materials dealer has an exceptional opportunity to practice positive, creatire, beneficial selling.

His customer is daily assaulted from every angle by advertising on productsrboth necessities and luxuries-which fea' ture built-in obsolescence. The dealer can ofier a product of permanent values-values enhanced by the passage of time, un' der today's economic situation. Unlike a car with staggering depreciation the moment it is driven from the dealer's lot, the new home is more likely to increase irt value. No costs of re'tooling for modelchange every year.

.Wh.v not make positive sales ammunition out of these facts? Why not capitalize on the sound investment of home'owning as compared with the dollar-drainin€i exPense of many of today's purchases? If, as has; been suggested, the era of single-familydwelling construction is ending, why not gear today's selling and promotion to that theme and stress the "own'your-own-home, now" angle?

Truth of the matter is, as an industry, we are being out-sold; by the automobile industry, the sporting-goods industries, appliance industries, travel-tours. Just plain out-sold. It's high time we take positive action to develop definite, dramatic sales promotions of our own.

Personalities in the netos: Keith M. Schnurbusch takes over as manager of Georgia-Pacific's Billings branch; Roy Dalrymple is named assistant branch manager for Boise-Cascade at Billings; management changes announced by United Building Centers include George Weaver from Laurel to Helena, Warren Thomas from Red Lodge to Laurel, and Dick Hegge {rom Glendive to Red Lodge.

We are pleased to welcome as associate members, Independent Lumber & Supply Co.. (Oscar Noblitt and Steve Shields), Missoula.

Joseph L. NlcKlveen, Prairie City, Iowa, 3rd vp. of NLBMDA, has been appointed liaison officer between national and MBMDA by president Clarence Thompson.

New Griffin Representolive

Gri{fin Forest Products, specialists in wholesale sales of glue laminated beams and arches exclusively through retail lum' ber dealers, has opened a southern California office.

The new representative is Wesley M. Armstrong, whose previous experience includes seven years with the Boise Cascade Corp. as manager of production and Wes Atmstrong .u"1". fo. the B.C slu. lam plant. Wes also served as vp. and gen' eral manager of Timber Laminators, Ontario, Oregon-recently sold to an Idaho-based lumber company,

"An exceptional feature of our service," stressed Armstrong, "is our ability to do prompt 'take-offs' for retail dealers." The method, explains Armstrong, involves the sc,tx machine located in the Griffin San Nlateo office which receives job plans on microfilm mailed from the Dodge-Scan office in Santa Monica or Emeryville. The film is reviewed for specifications and details and a firm quotation FOB jobsite is submitted to the dealer with a list of job plan holders. Glu-lam jobs not on film are shipped by Greyhound or mailed to either Griffin office for fast take-ofi and quotation.

JIM NORTON executive vice president of lhe Lumber Merchonls Associqlion of Northern Colifornio l5,ltl El Gcnlno lcol, Sulh 0 Lor Affor, Calll.91022 (ar5t rat-t6rt

fr UIDING a trade association is some. V ti-". much like holding public office. You are always subject to the question, "What have you done for me lately?'o The answer, of course, varies according to the individual involved-but a eood answer it better bel

Members of the Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California who attended the recent convention at Yosemite (see special report on page 6 in this issue) learned first-hand about many things done for them this past year. And an Annual Report sent to all members details many of the activities.

However, frequently efforts put lorth in behalf of members are done so on a very businesslike and quiet manner. Take for instance the legislation recently introduced in Sacramento by Senators Coombs and Schmitz. It's termed Senate Bill No. t3l0 and it's aimed at providing individual dealers with inventory tax relief.

LMA officials have been most active in bringing about this action. Paul Butler of Hubbard & Johnson and Dick Cross of Yosemite Lumrber have done an excellent job of explaining our recent bad-weather situation to legislators. Much of their effort has been via the Western Building Material Dealers Association headed by these two men and supported by LMA and other building organizations.

Senate Bill No. 1310 has been referred to the Committee of Revenue and Taxation. I{ enacted, it will exempt from property taxation one-third of the assessed value of any building materials inventory of a dealer in an area proclaimed by the Governor to be in a s ate of disaster if, as a result of such state of disaster, such inventory on the lien date in 1969 exceeded by 25/o in dollar amount the dealer's inventory of the same building materials on the lien date in 1968. This is in addition to such amounts as may be exempted under Section 219 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

Getting back to "doing for you" . . . it now becomes obvious that this legislation can use your backing via letters to your Sen. ator or Assemblyman explaining how your firm was affected. Only you can do this, yet your efiort is certain to be helpful to our entire industry.

I'd be remiss ifI didn't comment on my first convention experience with LMA. It was great and it gave me an opportunity to meet many more members and their wives. Yosemite was perhaps as beautiful as it has ever been and certainly enjoyed by everyone attending the convention. To those who made tlle trip, thanks for coming. To those who couldn't be therg 1ou missed a great meeting. Hopr you can make the next one !

By R0SS KINCAID executive vice president

Here's the first ol a two part seri'es pre' senting Ross Kincaid,'s sound' appraisal ol ways to intprotte lumber's image. It was first deliaereil in lull to tlrc second, annual rneeting ol the West Coast Lumber Inspectinn Bureau.

rftHE LUMBER and building materials r dealer has a vital concern with how to improve the image of lumber. While lumber still repres€nts the largest percentage of material sold, Western members are concerned with adequate return on investment. There is no item that provides the sales volume or sales opportunity that lumber does.

In approaching the problems of improving lumber's image I sought the opinions of 28 managing officers of associations across the country. Several of them went so far as to survey their members with pertinent questions. I'll refer to them pe' riodically.

All across the country, the 6rst choice for improving lumber's image is price stability. There is no need to dwell on the national image this industry is creating with the rapid fluctuation oI price. We've made headlines in every news media. The person who uses no more wood than a toothpick or pencil is well aware of the situation and points the finger at the lumberman.

Theoretically, if a dealer could maintain a markup on cost as the market went up or down, the problem would be minimized. Realistically, even a valiant merchandising efiort coupled with personal sales resistance means declining volume when expenses are constant or increasing. Then there is the

"moment of truth," the declining merketLosses are taken on inventories that never move swiftly enough to catch up.

In addition to constant price book chang' ing, the increased capital requirenrents and high interest rates strain the average deal' er's ability to keep up . and always with the "happy" prospect that the bottom will suddenly drop out. Sources of supply dry up as some manufacturers decline to risk everything on contracts for logs at high coat.

Serious problems develop with customer I '' relationq not just the consumer, but par' ticularly with the contractor. Bidding be' comes a nightmare and many pull out -l until hopefully there is some stabilization. Lu uuler ulJ Lrltrs lD I r,,

Understandable grading rules are im' r portant to everyone from mill to consumer, particularly to employees who should be knowledgeable enough to be able to explain grade latitude and not spend a half'hour sorting through a pile of "D" clear search' ing for a piece that is absolutely devoid of defects.

Although the value of easy to read span tables draws a "ho-hum" from many, those surveyed emphasized that with such tables, improved service could be ofiered to customers.