How product knowledge gives glulam sales a lift

I S YOUR sales staff up to speed orr the I berrefits of slued larnirr:rted tirrrbers?

Most designers, builders and con tractors have come to appreciate the endless sizes, spans and shapes. They want the product for its load carrying capability and near elimirration of checking, twisting, warping and shrinking which plague solid sawrr titnbers. Is your company ready to provide the product atrd service they need?

Tom Willianrsoll. executive vice president of the 40 year old Anrerican lnstitute of Tinrber Construction (AITC) which clainrs to have fathered the developrnent of engineering and quality control standards for structural glued larninated timbers, believes in knowing what you're selling. "To provide customers with the best solutions for their building projects, Iumberyard personnel must have a working knowl edge of glued laminated tirnber," he emphasizes.

The next key to sales, he says, after yard personnel have developed corn prehensive product knowledge, is de veloping a relationship with manufacturers and wholesalers that allows deiivery of glulams on a relatively short three to five day schedule. One or two day deliveries rnay be possible with high volurne operations, but most glulam custolners realize that they're buying a specialty engineered wood product and plan for longer delivery periods, he adds.

Witlr rnany sizes (lengths up to 60 feet down to quick-delivery small stock bearns for window and garage door headers) and shapes plus three appearance grades avaiiable, even the best stocked lumberyards can't inventory all the glulams available. However, Williams points out, on-site samples can satisfy the theory that "rrothing sells wood better than its actual look and feel."

Virtually all glued larninated beams made in the U.S. cotrfonn to the manufacturing and quality control specifica tions of the Americarr National Standards lnstitute standard ANSI A190.1-1983. The AITC quality marks starnped on a glulanr assure conformance with all ANSI quality requirements. Williarnson stresses.

Story at a Glance

How a yard can get ready for predicted increased glulam demand. an informed staff and a good supplier are needed...AITC can help with literature and a software program.

A recent study by George Carter and Affiliates predicted that glulam sales will more than double by 2000, compared to 1990 levels. To help dealers prepare for this, AITC has ready a large stock ofdescriptive glulam product literature. They also have given lumberyard service a big boost with the developnrent of the GL Sizer computer software.

Sponsored by AITC, this program designed for IBM and IBM clones helps lumberyard personnel quickly and accurately determine the correct size of glulam beams for virtually any job. Using the customer's description of spans, loads, slopes, etc., the program determines sizes step-by-step for each individual member with applicable stress combinations for the optional beam sizes generated. It catr provide a complete engineering analysis with all of the necessary information for engineering review.

The user friendly program has a detailed user manual as well as an 800 assistance telephone number. Convinced that the program's performance will heip dealers expand glulam sales, AITC has priced it under $50, Williamson says.

Ilotlr glulan Iiteratu.re and cornpu.ter softu,ore are available from AITC headquarters in Vancouver, Wa., phone: (206) 254-9232-editor.