IU]IIBEN BUTEBS: WEWTYI|UN BUSIilES$

American Forest Products Company

Guy Bennett LumberCompany

Bennett Lumber Products, Inc.

Big Valley Lumber Company

Boise Cascade Corooration

Brandt & Wicklund Forest Products

Frank Brooks Manufacturing Co.

Broughton Lumber Company

Cambria Forest lndustries, Inc.

Canyon Lumber Company, Inc.

Champion International Corporation

Channel Lumber Company

Collins Pine Company

Columbia Pacific Structural Components, Inc.

Crane Mills

Custer Lumber Companv

Davidson Industries, Inc.

Denver Wood Products Company

Diamond International Corporation

Dickson Forest Products, Inc.

Double Dee Lumber Co.

Duke City Lumber Company, Inc.

Edgerton Lumber

Ellingson Lumber Company

Fort Apache Timber Company

Fremont Sawmill Company

Georgia-Pacif ic Corporation

Gilchrist Timber Company

Giustina Bros. Lumber & Plvwood Co ldaho Forest Industries, lnc.

Hanel Lumber Company, Inb.

H-O Lumber Products Inc.

International Paper Company

Kaibab Industries Inc.

Kamas Valley Lumber Company

Kinzua Corooration

Layman Lumber Company

R. E. Linde Sawmills, lnc.

Louisrana-Pacif ic Corooration

Medford Corporation

Michigan-California Lumber Company

Navajo Forest Products Industries

Neiman Sawmill, Inc.

Ochoco Lumber Company

Paul Bunyan Lumber Company

Peacock Lumber Company

Pooe & Talbot, Inc,

Poilatch Corporation

Reed Mill & Lumber Company

Reidhead Lumber Company

Roseburg Lumber Company

RSG Forest Products, Inc.

Setzer Forest Products, Inc.

Shearer Lumber Products, Inc.

Sierra Mountain Mills

Simper Lumber Company

Simpson Timber Company

Snider Lumber Products Company

Spalding & Son, Inc.

Stimson Lumber Company

Vaaoen Brothers Lumber. Inc.

Warin Springs Forest Products Industries

Weyerhaeuser Company

Wickes Forest Industries

Willamette Industries, Inc.

Willamina Lumber Company

Zosel Lumber Company

The Member Companies ot Western Wood Products Association

Yeon Building, Portland, OR 97204

Bill Fishman

Bill Fishman & Afliliates '| 1650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.92128

OME of my most frustrating moments in retailing have come while listening to the killing of great sales producing ideas because they bend some company procedure. Like you, I've sat around the conference table at a planning meeting where a sure-fire idea was presented that would bring in more traffic than the stores had seen in a long, long time. Then, as we went clockwise around the room, members of the planning committee offered their vote of confidence to the idea. Each extolled the virtues of the concept until the last executive reminded everyone of a company policy that could be violated.

Now, as we returned counterclockwise, each chair was able to find a reason for not violating company policy. And, another great sales getting presentation bit the dust.

The proliferation of word processors and duplicators has created a sea of paperwork that blankets retail organizations. Memos, bulletins, ad letters, count sheets, product knowledge information, and more and more words are being processed and distributed.

The glut is burying the managers and sales staff. Procedures, policies and directives are being created to control inventory, protect cash, prevent pilferage and reduce shrink. They're all necessary but the procedures should not be more costly than the potential loss.

When loss prevention systems interfere with, or prevent logical, easy shopping they're wrong. And, when companies are so inflexible that a system can't be altered to safely accommodate a good sales producing program they're wrong.

Watch carefully the store wars of 1983-84. The survivors will not be those with the largest advertising budget or the lowest prices, and it won't be that organization that is operotrons oriented, It will be those who are sales oriented. The winners will be the retailers whose controllers and operations managers are willing to say "I don't know how we'll do it, but if it means more sales, if it means protecting our market share, then we'll hnd a way." care whether Mr. Phillips orsomeone else mqde it. Ijust want to buy a screw driver."

At one point in my retailing career I faced daily a sign above the general manager's desk that read, "Nothing would ever be accomplished if we must first overcome every obstacle." Think on that for a while.

"I

Hardware Forecast

The l65th semi-annual convention of the American Hardware Manufacturers Association opened in Chicago in October to renewed optimism. Over 1400 attended.

The long-range outlook for wholesaling in general was presented by James W. Norris, Director of the Wholesaling/ Distributor Distribution Industry program for Arthur Andersen & Co.

Among the points he made:

(l) The wholesale industry can anticipate continued enormous change.

The industry will continue to experience growth.

Overall, wholesaling's market share will increase through 1990. There will be a continued trend toward growth and consolidation of larger wholesalers, with fewer small firms.

Factors contributing to growth will include productivity improvement; increased need for services; and a trend toward merger and acquisition.

Major advances can be expected in applying nery technology to improved productivity at the warehouse level.

(7) There will be a major need for new skills for personnel at the distribution level that will require substantial retraining.

Norris also observed that the DREF study predicts greater penetration of foreign goods into theU.S. wholesale distribution system. He urged hardware manufacturers to strengthen their partnership with the hardline distribution pipeline as the best defense against import penetration, noting that price and quality are the easiest things for foreign manufacturers to copy, while the valueadded services provided by a U.S. manufacturer, working with his distributor, are the most difficult to copy.

Walter Corp. Names C.E.O.

Jim Walter Corp., Tampa, Fl., manufacturer of building products including moulding, marble, pipe, hardware, concrete and door and window systems, has named Joe B. Cordell, pres. and c.o.o., as chief executive replacing James W. Walter, founder of the original homebuilding firm, who continues as chairman.

Avoiding Insurance Problems

Fierce rate competition in insurance underwriting may be signaling a potential problem in the building materials industry. Although substantially reduced premiums appear to be beneficial, the extreme competition is beginning to take its toll. Not all insurance companies are well managed and more than a few are now facing serious financial and cash flow problems, experts warn. Some won't survive and that could spell trouble for policyholders.

Insurance policies represent a promise to pay by the company issuing them, but they are good only if the issuer of the policy has the ability to pay when called upon. One way to check out the stability of an insurance company is by asking the

New Stud Framing Regs

Industry representatives are reported concerned about the possible cost of retooling and question the availabitty of logs to produce the additional 2x6 studs which will be required if the Northwest Power company or its agent for a copy of its current Best's Insurance Report. This report published by the A. M. Best Company, Inc. rates an insrrrance company by '.rsing industry averages. It is available for the asking and is normally free of charge.

R. L. Baker of Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance, the nation's largest exclusive insurer of lumber properties, operating out of Boca Raton, Fl., gives the following suggestions of what to look for in the Best's report.

(l)If the company has an A+ rating you can feel secure. Less than an A + rating means that you should check the narrative section of the report to see if the rating has recently changed. If it has changed upward (say from B + to A) that's a good sign and indicates that the company is on

Planning Council (NPPC) energy performance standards are enacted on Jan. I, 1986.

Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Western Montana state and local governments must adopt the standards before the target date on all an upward trend. If the rating has recently changed downward (from A+ to A, A to B+, etc.) it can bean indicator of a bad trend and a need for you to check further.

(2) Check the ratio of Policyholders Surplus to Written Premiums. Most well managed insurance companies try to maintain at least a ratio of $l of surplus for every $3 of written premiums.

(3) Next check the ratio of Unpaid Loss Reserves to Policyholders surplus. A well managed company normally will have enough surplus to offset loss reserves. Be aware that these loss reserves could be understated. If they are, this causes a larger than expected demand on cash flow at the time the claims are closed.

(4) Check the combined loss and (Continued on next page i new electrically heated construction or face possible utility surcharges. Several industry related associations have filed a lawsuit against NPPC to restrain adoption of the standards until the test results of 400 demonstration homes are available. expense ratio. Ifit is 10090 or higher, that tells you that the insurance company is paying out more in losses and expenses than it is taking in in earned premiums. By following these guidelines and being aware that exceptionally good rates may mask a serious loss potential, a retailer or wholesaler should be able to purchase insurance with confidence.

WoodBook's Lucky Seven

Distribution of the seventh annual edition of The WoodBook is set for March, 1984.

The publication is distributed to over 64,000 professionals involved in residental and low-rise commercial construction including building supply retailers, wholesalers and home centers.

It is useful as a training reference for countermen as well as a sales aid for customers. Detailed information is provided on deck and fencing, siding, paneling, shingles and shakes, plywood, lumber and finishes with four color illustra- tions. Nailing instructions and span tables are included.

Since most of the book is printed in four colors, the photographs serve as excellent showcases for design ideas.

The WoodBook has been the featured reference at industry sponsored seminars throughout the country. More than 15,m0 copies have been distributed to graduating architectural and engineering students over the past five years.

W.O.O.D., Inc., the Denverbased association of retail and wholesale building material dealers in Colorado and Wyoming, has sponsored "An Evening of Education with TheWoodBook" three times. Hundreds of marketing personnel from its member firms and hundreds of invited architects and builders have enjoyed a page-bypage review of product and specification information by industry panels of experts.

Now going into its seventh year, TheWoodBook has been distributed to almost 400,000 industry professionals.

Retail Sales to Hit New High

Annual retail sales for the building materials industry are expected to surpass $159.2 billion by 1986, with $577.7 billion for the four-year period from 1983 to 1986.

This increase represents a sales gain of more than 2690 over the previous four-year period from 1979 to 1982, according to a study conducted by Dun & Bradstreet.

Dun & Bradstreet used its Dun's Financial Profiles database with spread-sheet information on more than I million American businesses for its comprehensive analysis of 29,747 privately and publicly held retailers in the building materials industry.

The study is designed to assist marketing and purchasing executives, financial and strategic planners, company officers, entrepreneurs, risk and investment managers and other decision makers involved in the building materials industry, according to product manager Joseph O. Miles, who headed the study.

executive director

LTHOUGH on April 7, 1983, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, La., overturned the ban by the Consumer Product Safety Commission of urea formaldehyde foam insulation, the uncertainties of potential future liabilities in connection with the sale of products containing formaldehyde or asbestos, or perhaps other products which might surface in the future, still stare dealers in the face. For example, several manufacturers of particleboard, plywood and other similar products have sent some dealers notices that the products contain formaldehyde and some products contain warning labels.

Your National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association is exploring this multi-faceted problem and is expected to issue a recommended course of action in the near future. In the meantime, we recommend that if you do not have product liability insurance, you might investigate its value to you in areas such as this formaldehyde problem potential as well as the relatively inexpensive cost of such insurance. In addition, some dealers are turning to alternate productswhich do not contain formaldehyde.

There are several guidelines to consider in using your probationary period for new employees most effectively:

(1) The probationary or provisional period for new employment is an opportunity for the new employee and the employer to carefully examine whether either wants to establish a continuing employment relationship.

(2) If the employer detects any problems during the trial period, a quick decision to terminate is often advisable. Most new employees have figured out that they are on probation and try to be on their best behavior, Performance, relationships, tardiness and attendance problems that occur early are warning signals which require action.

(3) Most probationary periods range from 30 to 90 days. EmploYee evaluations must be made early in the period, not just before the Probationary period expires, so that corrective or terminal action can be taken. Ideally, the employee should experience some kind of evaluation after the first week, particularly in a 30-day probationary period.

( 4 )Assuming your orientation program does a proper job and the employee successfully goes beyond the probationary period, the term "permanent" employee should be avoided. The successful employee is now a regular fulltime emploYee, not permanent. Recent court cases on the "At Will Doctrine" suggest that employees not be informed that they are permanent-meaning forever.