I990u

i1-\ \lr ueru, &nge has acc€lerared at such a breallneck pace thc few fqecaet€rs are willing to speak witr nruch detail or certainty on cfu fu lurnber and building rnaterials i*stry will l,mk lik€ far into the next. millennim.

Yet, two years ago, Tlw Merchant M agazine editor-publisher David Cutler stood alone, bravely forecasting25 years into the future:

"FORECAST #1: The oh-so-fragile Environment, after 7,000 years of betlcring by humans; ju*t nimply dries up and blows away.

FORECAST #2: President of the United States Sonny Bono, using

CAUF0RNIA F0RES? PRODUCTS, nrc, P.O. Box 2292

Gilrog, Ca. 95O21

(4O8) 842-7673 FAX 4O8-847-O126

Redwood Specialists

John Wilton

Ray Ryan

Sheila Goodrich

Jeff Martarano

Apn{l 15,1954, VoL 32, }b. 10: Forty yesrs ago, L.J. Can, gereral managor of LJ. Cdr C0., forecast thal in the year 20(M A.D. numorous Abrnh ASe advancements wqrld improve timber qlality and eliminate forest diseases, inddrq logging beirU perfrymed by gigantic alomic-powered heli$pters wifl electmnic mechanism lo uoft and set tDoks and chokers," accounting techniques learred during his Hollywood days, decrees home mortgage interest rates can't exceed one percent per annum.

FORECAST #3: Earlier shomages of old growth timber are solved when scientists find that Douglas fir and southern yellow pine trees grow !o 100 foot heights in three weeks when fed on a diet of Geritol, Jack Daniels andZantac.

FORECAST #4: The Great American Public, tired of shoppiag af big box warehouses, now only patronize local lumber dealers with three or fewer employees.

FORECAST #5: The Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society, finally exposed as self-serving commercial enterprises with no real interest in Saving The World, have been sold !o a consortium of five big forest products companies. Early reports indicate the two enviro groups will soon begin selling aluminum siding.

FORECAST #6: Treared wood, known for decades as a valuable and safe product, additionally has been discovered to be good to eat and so nutritious and delicious it now comes in chocola0e, vanilla and lennon-linne flavors.

FORECAST #7: Fnrsnated by slow truck and train deliveries, all lumber is now shipped by air freight, with local deliveries exclusively via helicopter."

Then again, our industry in the year 2020 will look a 'little more like today's. All the lumberyards and home centers will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of either Time lParner or the Disney Co., which will take their best salesmen nnd clone them. Whatever the changes, The Merclant Magazine will be there to report them. It has ben an interesting 75 years, so far.

Fire ln The Lumber Yard

Fire is the black shadow that falls across every lumber and wood products operation. It has been the scourge of operators from the earliest times and remains so today despite high-tech efforts to limit its deadly touch.

While relatively rare today, the lumber yard fire was a far more common occurrence in the past. To some oldtimers, it was considered practically inevitable. Today, we know better. Yet even the best run companies can suffer from fire as the adjacent photos show.

In June, 1969, Capital Lumber Co.'s Phoenix, Az., yard was levelled by fire. It was rebuilt and subsequently expanded. At the time, it was the firm's only location' Today, Capital Lumber Co. has other distribution centers in Albuquerque, N.M.; Chino and Healdsburg, Ca'; Lubbock, Tx.; Denver, Co., and Salt Lake City, Ut. In addition, it has wood products manufacturing plants in Healdsburg and Sacramento, Ca.

Sunbelt designs, manufactures and erects rack supported warehouse buildings and freestanding building material storage racks nationally.

Products and services include: l-beam cantilever racks for lumber, LVLs, glulams and l-joist engineered products.

Rack supported drive-thru warehouses and T-sheds.

Pallet racks for sheet goods and palletized products.

Racks for moldings, boards, and millwork.

Complete yard and warehouse planning service.

JULY 1882 WHOLESALE orice list from thenone-vearold Gardiner Batchelder & Welles of Lyon-s, la., reveals a slight degree of inflation during the last 115 years. The pockefsized, 3-1 /2 inch wide by 6-1/4 inch high brochure was supplied by Denny Curran, Evergreen Lumber & Molding, Orange, Ca.