onference

Inland's impressive record of customer service, including doubling their fleet of trucks and adding milling equipment that allows them to do more to manufacture a finished product.

'oTim" Timmerman of Orange Coast Lumber Co., Tustin, Ca., sees the "future of the retailer as never brighter." Flexibility in being able to ship from their yard, as well as direct bulk ship, gives Orange Coast an advantage.over t'non-stocking retailers" in coordinating shipments, unloading, receiving, security and lien problems.

Retailers should make the builder aware of the services the retailer alone offers in addition to telling the builder of the pitfalls of direct mill shipmentso counseled Al Newkirk, Chandler Lumber, Van Nuys. "Fly- by-night brokers can't do the job the builder needs done and we should use that as a selling point," Newkirk stressed.

John Weston, Far West Fir Sales, Huntington Beach, Ca., told how his firm had successfully become a full service wholesaler, changing with a shifting market so that they now sell traditional customers plus mobile home manufacturers, modulars, mass merchandisers and the like.

Being a distribution yard, Far West Fir Sales can inventory lumber as back up in case of possible late shipments, thus providing a service to the retailers that will help them sell more. "We must all tell our customers," Weston said, "that this service, and others. are for sale."

During a question and answer period, both Weston and Sharp noted that their product mix change was small and that both firms were basically selling the same customers they

Story dI d Glonce

Good attendance and bad weather ma rk Management Conference panels discussed progress vs. wilderness and selling service Gordon Woolard elected new president, Frank Purcell new vp. . . . finance, insurance, OSHA and banking also were discussed.

had three years ago. They also pro vide little or no material to direct shippers. Bill Sharp observed that though direct shippers' practices are disruptive, their percent of tle market is small.

Leading off a panel on "Can Progress and Wilderness Co-Exist?" Pete Speek, Fremont Forest Products, (Continu,ed on Poge 48)