How to hook the small remodeling contractor

ware. Lomita. Ca.

Last year was Lomita Lumber's best ever in its 68 year history and they just came off their third best month ever. They've outlasted a slew of other independents and chains such as Western Lumber, Angel's, Ole's and National Lumber. A HomeClub is under construction two miles away.

Aflluent areas are also more apt to hire a small remodeling contractor. Remodeling is more than basic maintenance. lt's additions and alterations, and it takes money.

Spanish, the handymen usually speak Spanish," says Clauss. "l've got two Spanish speaking guys in the back and I wish I had one more up front. "

Special service must be given to them to keep them returning. Contractors don't have time to wade through a big warehouse for a half dozen studs, wait in line and load their own truck. "They can't wait around," says Clauss. "l tell the contractor l'll have him out of here in l5 minutes. lt's the old pullthrough lumber yard here. My guys throw the stuff in the back of his truck, he signs a receipt and he's out of here."

manager of

Lumber & Hard-

remodeling specialist Lomita

Story ataGlance

Ways to share in the grcwing re modeling market affluent, built up areas have more small remodeing contractons, bwer di-yers. attract them with spec* ial services, houns, advertising.

Build Rapport

Company-sponsored seminars offering selling tips to remodeling contractors can strengthen relationships between dealer and customer.

Dealer Builder Way recently co-sponsored with Owens-Corning Fiberglas five seminars at a local hotel, offering tips on how to educate and sell homeowners on

Clauss' trading area includes Rancho Palos Verdes (home prices start at $400,000) and Rolling Hills Estates (homes up to $4 million). "lt's an area that requires two people in the house to work," he says. "They don't have time to do-ityourself. They're too busy working to make the house payment."

They usually hire a professional for additions or changes in the bedroom, den or bathroom.

Working the contractor's hours are a must for a store. They need their materials early in the morning, before they start their work day, and often drop by in the afternoon to shop for the next day's job. Clauss stays open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In many areas, speaking Spanish makes things easier. "Even if the contractor speaks both English and

With Remodelers

roofing and insulation upgrades as part of remodeling projects. Attendance ranged from 20 to 80 contractors per session.

"The program allows contractors to feel good about our company and helps get our name out," said Builder Way marketing director Jim O'Brien. "They know who we are as a result."

Advertising is necessary not only to attract professional remodelers but also to interest the homeowners who hire them. Clauss' top mover is 2x6 redwood decking. The small yard sells about seven truck and trailer loads each year. "l keep the price down and advertise the hell out of it," he says. "My advertising budget will get up to 506 of gross."

But ads don't promote the boards. To interest the homeowner in remodeling, they advertise the concept. "l sell the view," explains Clauss. "l say put this deck on and you can have the ocean. Think about the barbecues you can have on it."

Standard 2x6 decking is priced low, but he also makes a larger margin on underpinnings, deck screws, sealers, finishes, pilings, cement bags and other extras.

His current advertising program showcases beautiful seascapes, professionally photographed from local homeowners' decks. A banner across his Yellow Pages ad announces, "We'll plan decks!"

They will often come into the store to select the decking themselves, to be installed by the contractor. Remodeling sales come from building a relationship with homeowner and contractor.

b,er at niill'Ha rd wa re is l_o-oking for a new location for a fifth store in Monroe, Burlington and Mount Vernon. Wa.. Lumber City Corp. opened its isi*tk, Prto''Warld location in San Jose,Ca....

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Firma /ncr:;r.rtr.D env,qi.;tr., Coacquired Hughes Wood Products, including a sawmill in Bon Wier, Tx., and a treating plant in Houston, Tx....

. t.,,,llr,,,r t,,,:11,,::ii'lllll';'''.,. .: l'.'", i,r:lk(ry Lu*iber's 14th store oi0ftd in Saugus, Ca.o Skip McDonald mgr. . . Howg.,,',.Depot'|,:,.',, opened new stores in Chino and Moreno Valley, Ca.... ,rtiltii:liirtutl a. ..r.:rt,:rr'. .,

Coast to Coast Corp.,Denver, Co., will make lumbei.,,tnd build:l ing materials available to its franchised dealers this month.

Redding Roofing Suppty, Redding, Ca., opened a third branch, R d S Supply in Eureka, Ca.; Alan Shufelberger owns the company which also has a Sacramento, Ca., location

Penberrhy Lumber Co., Los Angeles, Ca., is now the exclu,,r,,,,,,9iv0 So;'.,Ca; distributor for Ferche Millwork. Gregory Forest hod" ""u,cts, Glendale, Or., celebratedt.i$ unttivg{sary rlrlli:

California Millworks is moving from Pacoima, Ca., to a new office and warehouseri&ation ini Valencia, Ca., this sum- m*i:rr. Eagle ll'indow and Door Center is a new distri&,utor in Fresno,Ca....

:" Precis'fon Pine :& Timber ,In,e.. Heber, Az., has acquired Reidhead Lumber in Showlow, Az.... Duke City Lumber Co.'s Winslow, Az., mill will be back in full operation this its Garden Grove, Ca., store to 12832 Knott work has begun ]i],rr,]:ttr,:on Bui&n Discount shoppiag center in Saugus, Ca., dui to open in '92...-

'r' '.li.l"l'r : Burney Forest Products, Burney, Ca., was closed in. mid.Jun0,'.,..t.r11, by owner Delmarva Power & Light Co., Wilmington, De. . . San Dimas Lumber, San Dimas,

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Ca.;.l'is uP for sale as down operations... it'winds ..i,li:ll,i:ll,l::i',

,,' Ma:,il;iille Cor$.','Denver, Co., consolidated its fiberglass-based building and engineered products businesses into Manville Sales Corp., Richard- 4, Kql-h:rlrnotu, senior v.p. of Manville, I ,. pfgs.

,t,:.; :,,,1:,,1,111;ll1llll,,l.1,.. .,..i.,. ,,.;.,.;,;;.,1;,,,.;;..,,,.,: , , ,:.:.',11.i.1,1,,111:r. ''..)'. ..,:....:':.::'::,:.hl[Af W":::.,tr4OOrOrn*::haSmOVgd its West Coast Donner Moulding & Millwork distribution center from Harfi$burg, Orit1'''1tb Saiit;''l'i l!!g{!.to, CAir;rirlrr,io be cl6Ser to its $imary customer baseo lea5iig, warehouse space from OrePac Building hoducts...

,'Gborgia-Pacific Corp. sold 49,000 acres of t'tnn"11un6 in::,,.. Washington to Trillium Corp. for about $48 million Manville Forest Products has changed its name to Riverwood Inremational' ',' :r1,,:, , .l".'tl'.,''.l'''l," r'rr, i Rosbburg Forest Products Co., Roseburg, Or., will plant 5,000

Fueled by a l4Va leap in the west, housing slarls inched up 0.lolo in May (latest figs.) as analysts predicted a slower than normal housing recovery single family home starts were up 3.lYo in the first consecutive rise since June and July 1989 and the third upward move this year building permits rose 7.20h.

Lumber Prices Thru The Roof

Recent lumber prices reached new highs and promise to have a dramatic impact on the cost of new housing construction and renovations in the months ahead, a forest industry spokesman predicted.

The lumber price hikes stem from decisions by federal agencies and courts and lawsuits by preservationists to stop timber harvesting on national forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest and California, said Alberto Goetzl, an economist with the American Forest Resource Alliance.

He noted that the Random Lengths framing composite, a frequently-watched price index, reached a record $31 I per thousand board feet recently. "This is a 500/o increase since January and the highest price since August 1979, when housing demand sent the index to $300 per thousand board feet," Goetzl said.

For every 200lo increase in the price of lumber, 65,000 prospective buyers of new homes are priced out of the market, according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders and AFRA.

Goetzl said lumber markets were responding to federal actions. In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a federal court order, proposed that 11.6 million acres of prime forestland in Washington, Oregon and Northern California be set aside as critical habitat for the northern spotted owl.

Later that month, a federaljudge in Seattle ordered a halt to all 1991 timber sales off federal forests in the tri-state region.

"Right now the timber supply pipeline is suffering from arterial sclerosis, so there's a tremendous amount of uncertainty," said Geotzl. "Lumber buyers are trying to secure supplies for delivery later in the year when the pipeline from the region may be totally blocked."

Lumber markets respond to changes in demand as well as supply. Today, demand has improved from a few months ago, Goetzl said, but mostly as a result of anticipated needs, rather than of more construction. Housing starts are still only moderately higher than a few months ago.

When demand picks up signifi-

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Whatever happened to . . .?

8y Matt Moulder

Whatever happened to the Kesterson Family?

Ceorge Kesterson founded Swede Basin Lumber Co. in 1922 with the building of a sawmill in Crants Pass, Or. Dorris, Ca., was the site of a second mill, acquired a few years later. Eventually, the family's activities were expanded to include a sawmill in Klamath Falls, Or., and cattle ranching. Thousands of acres of grazing land were owned in Southeastern Oregon and near Red Bluff, Ca. The cattle were based in Oregon in the summer months and then moved to California in the winter.

Ceorge Kesterson passed away in 1952. The sawmill in Crants Pass was looked after by his daughter, Mrs. Henry Croisant. Her son-in-law, Larry White Sr., was the general manager.

In 1958 the firm was sold. Lariy White 5r. moved to Phoenir Az., where he was active in the retail lumber business until his death in 1988. There is only one member of the Kesterson family still involved in the lumber business. His name is Larry White Jr. and he just happens to work for a frim called Pacific Southeast Forest Products. Larry White Jr. moved from Arizona back to Southern Oregon where he became sales manager of Oregon Cutstock Coro. From there he returned to Arizona to serve as general sales manager for Soufhwest Forest Industries' moulding division. Wh"en the moulding "mill at McNary, Az., burned down in 1979, Larry signed on as general manager at Howrey Lumber Co. in El Paso, Tx. Howrey Lumber was sold in 1982, at which time White came back to the West Coast to lend a helping hand at Pacific Southeast. We aren't much on titles at PSEF, but Larry is known as the RHM (Right Hand Man) hereabouts.

Owl Droppings

Handicapped persons in Arizona who can operate a motor vehicle have license plates with a picture of a wheel chair on them. This makes it easier for police to spot a car belonging to an able bodied driver parked in a spot reserved for the handicapped. One Arizona car owner that we observed took the matter one step beyond this. His personalized license plate reads "ONE LEC".

As many of you know, we are in the fifth consecutive drought year here in California. While listening to a talk show on a popular Bay Area radio station recently, I learned the reason for our plight. The cause of the drought, according to a caller from Chico, Ca., is, would you believe it - logging in the Sierra's.

I am happy to report that the Chico caller was straightened out on this matter.

Perhaps that San Francisco newspaper columnist knew something when, several ybars.ago, he poked fun at Chico residents by printing that "people from Chico look for Velveeta Cheese in the qourmet section of the supermarket."

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