Lumber Trucking r Custom fttilling Kiln Drying

Jim Overcqst Sfqrts 3lsr Yeqr At Helm of Stroble lumber Co.

_ This is James B. "Jim" Overcast, general manager of Strable Lumber Company in Oakland, pictured here hard at work starting his 31st year with the organization. Strable is currently celebrating its 53rd year of doing business in Oakland-including two years this month in its new $450,000 buildins at 255 Secorld Street. Looking back briefiy. and then forward, General Manager Jim noted at the beginning of his 31st year that "We are continuing to register real growth, thanks to the confidence of the lumber dealers of Northern California. We also feel that our consistent advertising schedule throughout the years in The CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT has greatly helped us to tell the story that we have one of the largest and most complete stocks of Hardwoods, Softwoods and Building Materials this side of the Rockies, and that our 53 years of experience means Better Service to Dealers."

Weyerhoeuser Exponds Field Forces

In a major expansion of marketing and product promotion forces, Weyerhaeuser Sales Co. has created a new market research and sales programming group and is increasing its field promotion stalT, announces Executive Vice-President R. S. Douglas at the company's St. Paul, Minn., headquarters. ^

"These important organizational changes are being made to better serve our customers, our 15 supplying mills and our 10 wholesale distributing yards, arrd to further stimulate creative selling of lumber and allied wood products among specifiers and lumber users," Douglas commented.

He named Arthur Lahey, 2S-year Weyerhaeuser veteran long associated with product development, to head a new market research and sales programming group. Others in the new group include Seymour Kroll, manager of market research; William N. Owen, manag'er of sales programming, and Ortie E. LaVoy as manag'er of product lines, the position formerlv held bv Lahev.

This new coordinating gioup is to bring to Weyerhaeuser greater use of market research, more extensive market and product field testing, and more comprehensive sales programmlng.

Concurrently, the firm is realigning and enlarging its field promotion force under the general supervision of Theo. Smetana, manager of product promotion. The company will soon have product promotion men assigned to each of its nine sales districts to work with the 150 district representatives throughout the nation and to promote its products among specifiers, builders, dealers and users.