Geor ge J. Silbernagel, Ine.

HOilTE MODER"NIZING TERMED I'VIPORTANT PTYWOOD OUTTET

New York-Plywood distributors meeting' here Dec. g were advised to place more emphasis on the replacement, remodeling: and repair areas of the building business, and less on new housing.

"This is a market which will exceed g20 billion in 1961,,; said Monroe W. Pollack, United States plywood sales vice-president, "or more than the combined total for all types of new hou,sing."

The sales executive, in addressing the eastern Fall meeting of the National Plywood Distributors Association, pointed out ihat the modernization market represents ,.area in which ingenuity and salesmanship can pay big dividends.,'

"The facts are that despite an almost 20/o drop in housing starts in 1960 ag'ainst 1959," he said, ,,plywood consumption is actually up several percentage points."

Referring to the industry's overproduction last Summer, result_ i1S from the rapid growth of plSrwood consumption in recent years, Mr. Pollack indicated that adjustment to bring supply in line with demand was being achieved. Earlier last year, ttre miff price for sanded pl5rwood, f(,, equivalent, had been driven to a record low. He pointed out that distributors were not without responsibility in establishing a stable mill price throughout the industry.

"The distributor," he said, ,,must return to those fundamentals of selling where he is willing to pay a fair price for a good prod- uct. Quality and service must be properly equated, and loyaiy to a producer who has conscientiously tried to serve his cultomers must be an important consideration.

"We must get back to marketlng fundamentals," he urged, "broadenlng our field of effort and maklng a determlned efforf to be compensated for the servlce whlch we render."

Price, he said, has come to be almost the only consideration in the marketing of fir plywood, but he added that this is the ..short_ est and surest route to financia-l suicide.,'

DFPA Prospecting New Mqrket Veins

(Continueil lrom page 1g) boom now, will get more attention during 1g61, Difiord said. Shorter work weeks, increased leisure and higher incomes are putting more and more families in the market for leisure dwellings, he said. Nathaniel Rog.g, economist for the National Associati;n of Home Builders, said the second-home market is going to be an important part of the gtowth of housing.

Betlrernent Market Blg

Retirement housing, almost igrrored by private industry until a DFPA program got under way late in 1960, is expected to ac_ count for about 250,000 additional units per year. Difford said the plywood association will be promoting this market heavily.

Engineered trr plywood building components are winning wide acceptance as a result of work done by pl5rwood Fabricatoi Serv_ ice, Inc., a two-year-old aftliate of DF.pA, and Difford said he ex_ pects this market to absorb significant amounts of plywood.

New emphasis is being put on the industrial market, particular$ by DF PA's field-promotion department, and preliminary estimates indicate there is a potential market for one billion sq. ft. of plywood per year in pallets alone.

Difford said current promotions, involving the farm market, building construction, boats and the other normal outlets for plywood, would continue. He said the budget for 1961 would compare with 1960's $5.5 million.