Gonserving Another Resource

THE Department of Housing and Urban

I Development, better known as HUD, has recently been giving increased recognition to what it describes as an idle resource: the abandoned homes, offices, factories and warehouses in America's decaying urban centers.

While they see correction of this problem as a start in their ambitious social engineering plans to lessen the crime and related ills that are part and parcel of a decaying city center, they seem little aware that abandoned buildings exist in our suburbs, little towns and villages as well. It is a rare small town that doesn't have at least a handful of these derelict shelters.

And therein lies an opportunity for those whose business is supplying materials. It also creates a chance to perform a greater service for the town in which you live. Knowing a town as well as a lumber and building materials dealer does, and as he is often a leading citizen as well, the opportunity exists for the dealer to act as a catalyst in bringing together local movers and shakers to begin seeing what can be done to restore and bring back to productivity this existing American resource that lies unused.

Experts average thatupto three-quarters of the abandoned buildings in America could be made useful again with relatively mhor repairs, at a cost far below new construction. The techniques of home improvement the dealer knows so well could also be applied to empty commercial buildings to put them back to work. A related benefit is that no new sewers, utility lines, roads, etc. need be built to return these assets to the community base.

Obviously, fixing up all the junky buildings in town is an ambitious undertaking. But it is not impossible; could be done on an area'by-area basis; and, we strongly suspect, a good deal of community committment could be found for such a demonstrably positive project. That it would be good business, seems a reasonable assumption.

A quick telephone survey of those in your town who would likely become a part of such a campaign will probably give an early indication of success possibilities. It doesn't seem too strong to say that for many, you owe it to yourself, your business and your community to at least test the waters.

Special lssue: Hardwood

Tropical hardwoodsa new veneer source

BY W. D. PAGE Director, Special Services Division Am erican Plywood Association

lt\ ONSIDERABLE attention has !r been focused on timber supply in the United States recently. The plywood industry does indeed face a domestic raw material supply problem for which solutions are needed.

Tropical hardwoods provide a solution as a supplemental source of veneer; particularly the better quality veneers suitable for faces of structural panels with a high appearance requirement, namely sanded plywood grades and sidings.

The big market for sanded plywood is for do-it-yourself and home improvement uses. The homeowner market is the second largest outlet for plywood.

Even so, demand for sanded plywood has eroded rapidly over the past few years. The amount of sanded grades manufactured has decreased from 6 billion square feet in 1968 to 3.5 billion today, accounting for just 22 percent of the plywood industry's total production.

The main reason for the decline of sanded grades is the increasing scarcity and rising cost of domestic veneer that meets appearance requirements. This is where tropical hardwood veneer comes in. If there is a significant increase in the use of tropical veneer, American Plywood Association market analysts believe there could be a 15 percent growth in sanded production during the next five years.

Story at a Glance

Tropical hardwoods are seen as an additional source of raw material for sanded plywood, a big d-i-y item . APA is confident that quality control problems encountered in'7 1- '72 in using the Southeast Asian woods can be averted if past experience and present knowledge are combined.

However, to recapture and maintain markets for sanded grades, the industry must deliver a product that is not only initially attractive, but one that will continue to look good even when exposed to permanent outdoor exposure. The tropical hardwood log, which yields virtually defect-free veneer, can potentially provide this kind of performance.

The plywood industry's interest in tropical hardwoods is primarily due to the law of supply and demand. In the early 1970 s there was a dramatic increase in the use of plywood siding in residential construction, accompanied by a dearth in the supply of suitable face veneers. The situation has been further aggravated by a shortage of available timber from national forests.

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VIBTUAtLY DEFECT-FREE tropicat hardwoods are expected to play an increasingly more important role in the domestic production of appearance plywood grades.