Building Materials Software

Flr IBIW @mputerc

Designed for building materials retailers and wholesalers, this complete system includes point of sale, order processlng, billing, sophisticated pricing (markup, markdown, contrbct, quanAty bredks, -etc.) accounts receivable and credit, inventory control, purchase order control, sales analysis, accounts pavabl6. general ledser.

Easy to use, co-mpletely integrlteda-sing;le tran-saction updateb all relevant itata. Call oir write:

Mass Systcms Co., Inc.

363 Mass. Ave., I-edngfon, MA O2173-4OI8 617 674-LO55

LrcalSupprf Atntloble surance executive specializing in family business transfers.

Department of Agriculture. Radiata pine from Chile is almost impossible to bring into the U.S. (see Ifte Merchant, July, p. 41). Fortunately, the New Znaland wood is superior to that from Chile although the amount available is small and plywood producers must share with moulding and millwork producers who have long used radiata pine, Randon I*ngths concludes.

Registration through the WMMPA office in Portland, Or., costs $325 per person for members and $500 for nonmembers.

New Fire Retardant Roof Law

California legislation signed by Gov. Pete Wilson requiring fire retardant roofs on new or reroofed homes has the full support of the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau.

"As an industry, we have fecognized the need for fire retardant roofing requirements to ensure the safety of homeowners in high fire hazard areas of the state of California formany years," said Michael Westfall, president of the bureau. "This is precisely why we developed the pressure-impregnated, pennanently fire retardant cedar shakes and shingles that meet all state and local fire safety codes."

The new law provides a minimum statewide standard of Class C roofing in California. Shakes and shingles that meet these stringent test standafds are identified by the Certi-Guard label and

September 1992 are the only wood materials permitted on new roofs in many coilrmunities throughout California, Westfall said. The Certi-Guard label is proof to the consumer that the shakes and shingles meet all local, state and national standards for fire retardancy.

Dataline 1 993 Conference

Dataline will team with its Southern Users Group to host a users conference at Disney World, Feb. 15-16, i993. The conference will be open to the industry.

"The agenda is taking shape," said Daraline president Bill Simmeth. "We have increased the number of roundtables in order to include a variety of operator and management level topics."

Emory Austin will open the conference with "How To Delight Your Customers." Roundtable topics include sales and prospecting, collection practices, forecasting and replenishment concepts, improving customer services, industry trends and a builder's perspective. Leaders will be Dataline customers, employees and outside industry consultants.

1991 Distributor Profit SurveY

Smaller distributors were hit particularly hard in 1991, while industrY leaders produced a return on assets far exceeding a l07o tat get lev el.

Results of a recent survey of National Building Material Distributors Association memben indicate the g/pical distributor earned a return on net worth of 8.4Vo comPared to 6.8Vo in 1990. One of every four distributors surveyed earned 3l.7%o compared to Zl.lVo last year. Improved employee productivity leading to lower operating expenses and better inventory control were responsible for improved results, according to Profit Planning GrouP, which prepared the report.

New Cedar Biz Offices

All Western Red Cedar Lumber Association business will be handled by the new Vancouver, B.C., office after Aug. 1. Ken McClelland is executive director with field offices manned by Ken Myers in Kennesaw, Ga., and Arnie Nebelsick, Naperville, Il.

PACIFIC FOKEST PKODUCTS, INC.

SINCE