Western Softwoods, Moufdingls & Millwork

Agficultural Wood ProduGts, Pl5nrood, Particleboard

Space Age Products Seen At Show

It was "full speed ahead" at the 80th NHMA International Housewares Exposition, in a recovered economy that is setting new records for America's $45 billion-atretail housewares industry, according to Ronald A. Fippinger, managing director of the National Housewares Manufacturers Association, which staged the semi-annual industrywide marketing event, Oct. 9-12.

"Retailers came off a strong first half and are eagerly looking ahead to ending up 1984 with record sales," Fippinger noted. "And because of the economic recovery' manufacturers are doing more research and development of better quality new products to tempt consumer spending in the coming months, especially among those homemakers seeking'professional-use' housewares.

"The Housewares Show offered resellers and the final consumers more innovative new products in these and other home-use areas than have been on the market in many years," he continued.

Bill Hanrahan, Jim Haas. Bob Glatt, division mgr.

We are also Pleased to be a West Coast area distributor for CF&I steel products as well.

BERGER & COMPANY IS AN

International Commodities Trading Organization With Offices

IN:

San Francisco, Ca. (headquarters); Chicago' Il.; Colfax, Wa.; Fargo, N.D.: Filer, Id.: Grand Cayman, British West Indies; Santiago' Chile; London, England; Geneva, Switzerland: Nicosia, Cyprus; Buenos Aires' Argentina: Moose Jaw, Canada; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Taipei, Taiwan.

The Housewares Show is not open to the public, but a survey of exhibitors in what is truly a "houserwife's paradise" indicated greater use of electronics in small housewares appliances, to give greater durability in timing devices because there are no moving parts. There also are increased numbers of microwave and other food preparation accessories, under-the+abinet appliances and healthcare products which reflect consumers'greater concern for their health and well-being, as well as time-saving convenience. Here's a sampling of some of the newsmakers at the Show: o Undercabinet combination blender/can opener mounts underneath the cabinet as a fully automatic can opener and pulls down to give way to a l0-speed "Vortex" action blender, which when folded up, disappears as easily as it appears. o Mini-food processor does virtually all the gourmet tasks a conventional processor does, as well as commonplace jobs more easily; the compact unit has no onloff switch, and can only be turned on and operated when the cover is in place. o A battery-operated "speaking scale with memory" announces weight in pounds or kilograms, stores it in memory bank, tells variation in weight and indicates gain or loss on the next weigh-in, as well as offers five memory numbers for family household use. o Electronic espresso coffeemaker from Italy has an electronic "sonarmatic" system that sounds when the coffee is ready, and the two-cup model operates off a car battery when the cord is inserted into the dashboard cigarette lighter. o Personal activity computer is a lightweight, credit card-sized computer worn on a belt or in a pocket, which automatically monitors a person's physical activity and displays the calories used up. o Non+lectric, water-operated oral cleansing appliance fits all faucets and has a metering attachment to provide mixtures of mouthwash, fluoride, etc.

(Please turn to page 44) lf you're going to specialize in specialty lumber, there's no going halfway about it. You've got to carry the best.

And at Disdero Lumber Company, we do. We carry top quality Western Red Cedar, Redwood, Douglas Fir, Hemlock and Pine. And we have them in kiln-dried, vertical and mixed grain finish, pattern and siding. In standard sizes or milled to your specifications.

We're also a leading supplier of Laminated Beams. As well as Lock Deck@ Laminated Deckinq.

So before you settle for any" thing less than the best, get one thing perfectly clear: For top quality lumber, call Disdero.

A specialty lumber distributor for over 30 years.

In Oregon, calltoll-free (800) 452-5737. West of the Rockies (except Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico and Colorado), calltollfree (800) 547-4209.

Disdero Lumber Co.

PO. Box 42247 1504 S.E. Woodward Portland, Oregon97242 (503) 239-8888

Hechinger

(Continued from Page 10) sary to maintain a competitive stance.

Home improvement retailers will ultimately recognize that there is a huge market potential of senior ci\izens among our population. This heretofore relatively untapped segment of over-55 consumers today numbers fairly close to 50 million people. Think of it! In the years ahead, the number of people in my age category will increase to the point where one out of every four people will be over 55 years of age. Do we want cater to this group? You bet your life we do!

Look at the statistics. Senior citizens control 28v/o of the discretionary income in this country of ours; their combined personal household annual income is over $575 billion dollars. Seventy percent own their own homes and most have already paid off their mortgages. I'm a do-it-yourselfer and I've seen 80-year-olds in our Hechinger stores who would put me to shame. We, as retailers, must cultivate this group by educating them. They can and should be an important, vital part of our industry's consumer mix.

As many in our industry know, the Hechinger Company is in the midst of a two-year expansion program which should result in 20 new stores. We, as home center retailers, are upbeat about 1985 and beyond. Along with our expansion, we know that finetuning our market approach is vital to our future. We are prepared and confident that our decision making skills and new awareness will result in 1985 being a growth year of opportunity.

Lanning

(Continued from page 10) sales opportunity, the amenities of decks, patios, pool areas and saunas are an excellent market for other redwood products.

Affordable smaller houses, smaller lots and zero lot-line site plans are also indicated. They are made more salable with quality amenities like privacy fences, screens and trellised outdoor living areas.

Remodeling, another good redwood market, should continue strong especially where there is availability of equity mortgages and shorter-term variable rates.

The redwood industry itself will continue to produce a large amount of young-growth lumber-knot grades well suited to the remodeling,

Niebling

(Continued from page 14) distribution? There is a cost to performing the wholesale function. outdoor living and add-on projects that are indicated by the affordability crunch. In an industry move to address the affordable siding market, young-growth redwood is being dried and cut to pattern, creating lowerpriced redwood sidings that have sold well and should continue strong.

Can the large retailer rely solely on buyrng direct or utilizing buying cooperatives for his supply needs? Will these suppliers have the financing and the professionalism to increase their impact in such a changed environment?

In the past decade, the independent wholesaler has found that he cannot be all things to all people. He has also found' that he can be more than competitive when he specializes in doing something better than anybody else. The large nation-wide wholesaler of commodity dimension is just as specialized as the small industrial wholesaler.

At retail level, the two-income family trend indicates more shoulder trade and d-i-y purchases by knowledgeable, qualityconscious male and female shoppers encouraged by industry advertising and public television instructional programming.

In the custom home market and for low-rise commercial/institutional uses where affordability is not a major concern, continued sales of fine quality redwood siding and interior paneling are indicated.

We think it's goingto be ahell of a year. . .sometime in 1985.

Less Softwood Demand Seen

Less demand for softwood in 1985 was predicted by both exporting and importing countries attending the recent European Softwood Conference.

A drop of 4-50/o from the 1984 volume is expected. The strength of the U.S. dollar is constraining the market need, according to H.A. Roberts, president of the Western Wood Products Association and a delegate to the conference.

A Canadian export forecast for 1985, which U.S. delegates termed "unrealistic," showed exports to the U.S. of ll.l billion board feet, compared to 12.8 billion b.f. in 1984.