AT BOYLE HEIGHTS LUMBER IT'5, iSE HABLA ESPANOL!

f OS AJ'{GELES has the largest Spanish u speaking population outside of lVlexico City, Mexico, a major part of the approximately 800,000 Mexican-Americans living in southern California.

Set in the center of the biggest MexicanAmerican community, L. A.'s east side, is Boyle Heights Lumber Co., Allan Taylor, helmsman and vice-president.

Taylor, a real individualist, has surrounded himself with a fine stafi of locals which "habla Espanol." Boyle Heights hires largely by word of mouth. Their lowest seniority is seven years and the highest is 16 years. As Taylor said, "we've had two quits and two dies." Stafi totals six, including Taylor: one truck driver, two yard men, one office man, one yard and office man and a bookkeeper.

While Taylor finds suppliers good people, lumber mills are a o'bunch of bandits." He said that Los Angeles hasn't accepted

Sfory qI q Glqnce

Located where most retail purchases are small, yard sells services to downtown Los Angeles businesses, commercia l-industria I accounts and apartment owners . no contractors.

Boyle Heights has many department store and shop customers in nearby downtown Los Angeles. Patio sales and con. tractor business are seasonal. Boyle Heights lacks the personnel for doing pre-fab work, although they do odd jobs once and awhile. No remodeling packages are sold. They charge $B per hour to cut lumber with a 75p minimum. Delivery charge is based on material, distance and labor, averaging $2 (free to regular customers) with no minimum purchase required. Boyle Heights does no co-op buying. There are "three or four of us that do buy together once and awhile," Taylor allowed.

He said his success is due to "good help and a good tax attorney." He noted his yard had no the{t or vandalism, just "ordinary" pilferage. He believes log "export

DECEiABER, I 968

should be curtailed rcal, real tightly," to keep prices down.

Boyle Heights grosses approximately $450,000 yearly with accounting not broken down into lumber and non-lumber. "that's just a guestimate," he admitted.

Retail sales accrue the most profit, being 50 percent of the business mix, with commercial-industrial at 40 percent and contractor at l0 percent. Industrial-commercial business has increased rect:ntly because oowe've gone out and looked for it," he said. Boyle Heights isn't interested in contractor busines. Slanted for retail and industrial, they carry all kiln dry stock. Taylor believes in "damn little advertising," spendin{ l,/2 percent of his gross. No newspaper or flier advertising is used: area residents are mostly renters and spend little on remodelinpl projects. Ads are usually placed in the classificd phone directory.

A depression in housing starts, he said, "won't bother me in the least. However, an end to the war in Vietnam would cut my business down." Plumbing and electrical sales are "infinitesimal"; no specialty items are sold.

Retailing within a six mile radius, he finds "no close completion." the nearest retail yards being fir-e to seven miles away.

o'Our diop-in trade isn't very flush," explains Taylor. Customers usually are looking for low priced, economy materials. Customers have a 30 x 35' showroom and a 50,000 sq. ft. yard, including parking and sheds, to scan for bargains. Taylor finds trouble in selling "fancy knicknacks for remodeling," like filagree hardboard, house shutters, fancy plastics, high priced hardboard wall panels and plumbing fixtltres.

Royle Heights has no revolving or extended charge, finding that their customer's BankAmericard or Mastercharge covers credit purchases. Manufacturer, industrial and commercial accounts are usually cleared with agencies like BMDCA.

He took over in 1946. when his father. who owned the business, was ailing. Since 1940, Taylor had worked at Lockheed Aircra{t Co. as an aviation mechanic. Taylor finds "too many four flushers" in service organizations and politics. He is an active member of Hoo-Hoo and an inactivc member of the local Mexican Chamber of Commerce, a service organization for local Merican-American people and businesses. He is 46, married, and has two children.

The 55.000 sq. {t., completely paved plant is open 8 am.-S pm., weekdays, 8 am. to noon. Saturday.

McBrien Resigns os LMA Veep

J. R. "Bob" McBrien has resigned Ers exec. vp. of t}e Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California, according to Les Iey, LMA president. No successor has yet been named. The resignation is efiective Dec. 3I.

Joining as a field man in 1963, McBrien assumed his present post in 1964, during the presidency of Clair Hicks. Since then he has guided LMA's many educational, promotional and other activities.

Les Ley joined others in saluting the energetic and effective job McBrien has done in improving LMA's efiectiveness. Ley said in part, ooBob has earned the support and respect of the membership while doing a good job for us."

McBrien is going to work for Better Ideas Communications, a Los Angeles firm that plans and promotes how-to-do-it television sets that with NLBMDA cooperation, they hope to sell to dealers for use as a sales aid.

Nofionol Holds lts Annuol Meeting

The 1968 annual meeting of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association-held recently in New Orleans, La., reafrrmed that legislation and government affairs are considered the primary function of NLBMDA.

It urged that all federated associations establish separate marketing committees to permit maximum coordination of marketing programs and activities of both the national and its Federateds. Also approved was a dealer profile study.

NLBMDA endorsed a concept and program for merchandising building materials through an in-store, visual aid instructional system. All members of NLBMDA and the federated will be ofiered the complete package following completion of details.

They will support a recent proposal for a new softwood lumber standard to be submitted to the American Lumber Standards Committee, and which contained compromise revisions agreed to by the three rules-writing agencies. But they deferred action on linear measurement until there is agreement on nely lumber sizes.

NLBMDA will pursue the desirability of having lumber and other forest products billed at actual weights; also that an investigation be made on the liability of ownership during shipment.

Clarence A. Thompson, president of Thompson Lumber Co., Champaigrr, Ill., was elected president, succeeding D. C. Dawkins, Jr., Jasksonville, Fla. No westerners were elected officers.

Vonplyns Grqnts Poss Joins APA

Vancouver Plywood Co. has announced that its Grants Pass, Oregon manufacturing operations have joined the American Plywood Association.

SMATL TO LARGE IN IESS THAN TEN YEARS