IHPA Annual Convenfion ls Outstanding Success

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mented one veteran of dozens of conventions. Tl-ris r.vas the feeling of most who attended the 3-day annual Im- ported Hardr.vood Plywood Association meeting held February 7-9 at Palm Springs. Small by most national association standards, the group is nevertheless effective and has played all important role in the orderly distribution of imported plywood, whose rapid growth in the past ten years could otherwise have been chaotic. l'lernbers range from Small C-1's to multimillion clollar giants. They are frorn all segments of the businessimporters, users, distributors, steamship cornpanies ancl various service organizations. As cliverse as they are, they are bour.rd together by their interest in imported plywood.

In an agenda patterned to emphasize world tracle and plvwood marketing the meeting prouided a continrlal change of pace from informal group <liscussions to ir.rformed speakers. So broad conclensed were the range of tl-rat one attendee comwas a tl-rree-week graduate seminar concentrated into three clays. We had one of these one-a-day pills every 35 or 45 minutes, but vi'e rnust have liked it; nobody missed the business meetings."

The address of outgoing President Tom Parker, of X{. S. Cowen Co., San Francisco. lvas a well-done convention keyrrote speech tlsing facts and figrlres and individual oats-on-the-back to build a convention spirit. Parker called the group's attention to the fact that those preserlt represerlted over 5,000 Americans whose jobs depended on Import/Export Trade. He clearly summed up the solid growth of the association in the past six years, and in his closing statements urged members to set two goals in the coming years: 1)to see that the facts concerning imports and imported ply-

\\'()()(l :rrc tol<1.'l'o rLr othern'ise \\'ot1ld lir, :r f11rfr:it r.rf .r seri()11,i ga1l1e. 2 ) I'oirrtirre' out that the grotlp re1)resc'rrtctl sonre of tlrer nrost krrou'ledge:Ll>lt'citizcns irr the heid of i)racticrll [,,r'rigrr tracle. he cleclare<1 that it u'as tlreir inclividual a1ld associati()ll rrl sporrsibilitv to stucil. the '\rlnrinistra- t()n's Tracie I"xPansorr. Progr:rrn,. t.o ()llcr constrtlctl\'e criticisnr fronr their irractical experiencc lLtrrl lerr<l thcir sul)l)()rt to the 1)rogrinlr. Irt closirtg hc rlut.rtecl Secretarl' of Strrtc I )ciLrr ltusk

-" ln 'I'r:r<1c. :rs in rrr:Ltt,r' othct- nlattcrs, lerLrlcrship has becn pl:tcecl trpon 1rs lr,r' our r-",i rr caP:Lcities arrcl accompli-lrrrrt'rrt.. \'rr \\ ( nl:r._\' t'rerr'i.e it rr i.t'lr' ,,r' lr:t,ll_r . lrttt cxrrt'ise it u'e nlust ; :rrrrl. grntlcnr('lr, on 1-our s1-rorrlrlr:rs f:Lll-r :r. g'rcat cleal of the rcsponsibilit,r' ior extrcising that responsibility."

'l-lrr 9rt.,u1r thetr heartl iI \\'el1-Prc part'rl rlie'est of thc Tracle Jixp:rrtsiorr Itrogr:rrn b,r- .\-[t'rcin Solter, c-,f the lirni of Sh:rrp & Bogan, c.rne oi \\'ashington's leacling ial- llrnr,s c-,tt trader :rtttl custoilrs nr:rtters, u'ho rclrrt'sclrtctl tlre: I.ll.l'.-\. irr past tiLrilf nr;ttturs. Solter, u-hose iorte is transl:itirig corultlicatc<l legal anrl political n]:Ittcrs irrto brrsillcssnlen s l:nq'lislr, clc:rrlr- nraplrctl tltc .\rlrninistr:rtiorr's battlc pl:rtr for tracle as l'ell :rs olrpositiott's rlt:plo,r'r-nettt rrrrrl rrrost lil<c1_r'courtcr strategr-. He rcnrirrrlt'rl tlrt' gr()rll) tlr:Lt the isola tiorrists h:r<1 lristoric:rllr- been better lirurrrt'crl rrtt,l nr,r'( r,,.'al tltart ilrrlrortrrs. 'l'hcrefore lre n'arttecl thenr rrotto urrrlerestiruate t1-re oppcisition.

Meeiings of the lmported Hqrdwood Plywood Associqtion ore olwoys morked by their hospitolity ond oir of good fellowship, os fhese Pictures, token ot the Februory Polm 5prings gothering, well illustrote. Top row, left, seoted (from left): Morion 5ond, Morgo Hunt, Bill Bock, Mrs. Jomes Borron, Mrnique Bock, Seiichi Nobe, Penny Holey qnd Cqmille Tognetti; stonding (from lefr): Bill Hunt, Horold Sond, Hons Rqiner, Frqncis Holey, Jim Borron, Jock Tognetti, Mory Anne ond John Osgood. Top row, right, seoted (from lefr): Moxine Wolloce, Bob Wolloce, Helgo de Mortini, 5eiichi Nobe, Annette Penlqnd ond Giselq Roiner; stonding (from lefr) Mons Sillemon, Hons Roiner, Chorlie Schmitt qnd Gole de Mortini.

Middle row, left: Froncisco Costelozo, Phyllis ond Bruce Keller, Anito ond Roy Horlow qnd Leonqrd Webster. Middle row, right:9eiichi Nobe, Tom Porker, Mohlon Munson, Merv Cowen, Jim Shorp ond Gordon Ingrohom. Bottom row, left, seoted (from lefr): Al Struyvenberg, Audrey Zwort, Dick ond 5ue Dovis; stonding (from lefr): Honk Zwort, Lorno qnd John Vonguord ond Gordon Ingrohom. Bollom row, right, seoted (from left): lourie Byrd, Gory ond Miriom Christensen, Horold 5ond, Potty Borum qnd Moricn Sond; stonding (from left): Mrs. Jomes Borron, Dove Borum, Bob Byrd, Froncis ond Penny Holey, Judy Lombordi ond Emily Shorp.

Tracing the changes of the past ten years, Jack Davidson, of Pacific Wood Products, called it a "dynamic decade for hardwood plywood." Davidson stated that hardwood plywood, as it was known ten years ago. was raoidlv pricing itself out of tf,e' market du'e to diminishing raw materials and the resultant rise in costs. The domestic industry was failing to keep pace with the rest of the wood products industry. Changes were inevitable.

. Imported hardwood plywood utilizing the vast sources oi iow cost raw materials. (Principally from the philippines) which offset even the hieh cost of thousands of miles of tran"sporta- tion started to move into the - price vacuum between paint and wallpaoer and expensive hardwood plywood. fmported plywood enabled- panelins to move out of the "board rooh', and-into the inexpensive home, creating greater interest and greater demand* Tor all plywood, including the domestic prod_ uct.

Low Prices Utilized

American ingenuity utilized low prlced lmports to create the flush door.rngustry, which uses about 50/o or alt the rmports, and emplovs thou_ sands of people. Again uiiliiing the row cost lmport. *o-od.. graining, start_9d in Forf Wayne, rnorana, grew rapldly into what is called the .,p-rint_ ing industry." No domestic *oJa ,"_ gardless of price has been found suit_ able tor this use. Domestic producers meeting the challeng.e, as will as the new demands for hardwood, devel_ oped V-grooving to simulate the pat_ terns of- Jumber, breaking up the ob_ jectionable large, flat surJaces of olv_ w.ood, and simplifying the matchins ot.panels on the wall. Factory pre-_ finishing,_ once extremely .*p6r.'ir,., has- rapidly g.rown as volume .ut .ort.. It rs. no.t .only cheaper than finishing on the job; it also gives " -or. urri_ form product. Finisfiers use both dome-stic and imported Plywood. This industry is stillin its infancv. New finishes are developed almosi everv day, which are tougher and more suiiable.

Using the giant of the plywood inclustry as another example of growth in wooj! products, Davidson i'ointed lql!. Do_uglas Fir Industry, which in 1952 produced 2.8 billion ?eet. Nlanv thought the upper limits of produi- tion were being reached. A miior research institute predicted in 1954 that production would level off at 7 billion feet in 1970. Yet by the end of the decade, production -had reached 8.5 billion feet, primarily because new uses and new markets were developed.

William Hunt, Vice President^ for Plywood and Specialty Sales for Georgia-Pacific, stated,'''America can now overproduce for almost every existing product demand, including ply- wood." He added that the davs-whin filling existing needs through produc- tion alone, as Henry Ford had done, have passed, and called for new emphasis on creative selling, as opposed to, displacement selling. Displa-ement sales, where one seller displaces another with the same product for the same use, does not create new demand. Only the creation of new uses can stimulate growth in demand. Hunt pointed to imported plywood as an example of creative selling in filline a basic desire for wood at a prici which was competitive. Wood is highly desirable for decorative purposes 1nd he noted that wood grains are copied on paper, steel, aluminum and plastic.

He llsoemphasized that proper channels of trade were important. These channels are the proven methods of distribution. A service exists at each level. While no one can tell another how to conduct his business. the short-circuiting of such channels can cause disruption and is detrimental to the orderly flow of material.

Speaking for the Industry Committee, comprised of door manufacturers. users, and distributors was Bob Weston, of the Bellwood Division of packard-association on its accomplishments. Speaking of the doorskin su.vey which was initiated by the associaiion, he stated that the group felt it should be made monthly_rather than quarterly as at present. The committee strongly felt that market surveys of other -aio, hardwood plywood items *.r. "i.o necessary to determine demand. Such surveys should be made regularly enough to supply adequate in-formilign for planningin -the industry, Weston stated. A[ present such information is lacking.

In order to keep abreast of the trends, he felt that the group should work cooperatively to develop fire retardant materials, new products and new uses.

"Openings in Vt/alls"

Francis Haley, of Haley Bros., Santa N{onica, door manufacturers, declared that producing doors was not a business where new uses could be created. Doors are essentially limited to filling "openings in walls.'t As such they arE tied very closely to housing. lfowever, styles can change, just ai the flush door replaced the panel door. He urged doorskin producers to therefore recog- nize that a great deal of their succeis was due to high quality. While the majority of doorskins are still excellent, there have been a growing number of complaints on low grades. He noted in particular that excessive putty repairs and veneer fills were being used by some producers. It was his understanding that this was partly caused by an effort to maintain onepiece face veneers, which is compligated by the fac! that quality of logs is diminishing. Haley therefore sug- gested that if this reason is correct, it would be his preference that the manufacturers produce doorskins with wellmatched joints whichwould enable them to minimize those defects which require excessive repairs.

As a manufacturer, he recognized that doorskin producers required a certain lead time for orders but deplored the unreasonable lead time that forced manufacturers to commit themselves to amounts which were excessive. This also contributed to the "Yo-Yo" prices the industry had experienced.

- Continuing the board range of subjects, T. Nishiwaki, Consul of the San Francisco Japanese Consulate General's offrce, spoke on Japanese wages. While in terms of th6 American dol- lar Japanese wages are substantially Iess than tvages here, there are a nutnber of factors that level this off. he said.

Japanese Workers

- Fringe benefits and productivity are large factors in the Japanese wage picture. Usually the Japanese workir gets three substantial bonuses a year. As President Kennedy remarked. U. S. coal miners' wages-are eight times those of Japanese i-riners-bit American productivity is 14 times that of Japanese miners. The Japanese miner rents housing for from 50c to $1.00 per month; coal is provided at negligible cost; with free movies and other services, insurance and medical care plans. Nishiwaki cited a steel mill where fringe benefits alone amount to 40 percent of the company's total wage costs.

Advanced labor standards lawsthe most advanced in the world. iob security due to paternalism, the foreign exchange rate, and high interest charges were cited as factors leveling off the wage differential between Japan and the U. S.

Added to these additional "labor" costs is the fact that almost all raw materials must be imported, adding to production costs. These are factori -among others Nishiwaki said, which must be considered in comparing wage costs.

"Last year," he concluded, "We imported $2-billion worth of goods from the United States while exporting to you only half that amount. We have to export to live-to buy the raw materials and goods from Americans and our other free world friends."

Eric Wagner, Chairman of the I.H.P.A.'s Ocean Freight Committee, reported favorable progress in I.H.P.A.'s recommendation to the Japan Trans-Pacific Freight Conference that the freight on plywood be based on a surface-measure basis.

Bob Reid, Chairman of the Grading Committee, proposed a Philippine Simplified Grading Rules booklet-similar to the earlier, successful Japanese Simplified Grading Rules, which Reid (Continued, on Page 70) o A "natural" for the remodeling market.

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