NRLDA Board Launches Home lmprovemenf Program

The Board of Directors of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association gave unanimous approval to a program to put the retail lumber and building materials dealer in the forefront of the home improvement business at their meeting held in May in Washington, D.C.

Immediately following NRLDA adoption of a nation wide program to send teams of expert instructors into the field to provide courses for local dealers on how to completely service the home improvement market, Winfield B. Oldham, president, and Paul R. Ely, chairman of the Market Der.elopment and Education Committee, outlined the plan to Federal Housing Commissioner Neal J. Hardy, who gave his personal commendation.

The FHA chief in his interview with Mr. Oldham said he feels that for the next six or seven years the construction industry must look to improvement of existing housing for real stimulus. He termed the building materials dealers as a key group whose new program could provide substantial backing to the Administration's efforts to bolster this lagging segment of the economy.

Mr. Hardy hopes soon for Congressional approval of greatly expanded FHA insuring activity in home improvement loans, and he was anxious to have an efficieut, reliable home improvement industry functioning to service this market.

Before submissior-r of the program to the Board for approval, H. R. Northup, executive vice president of NRLDA, told the g-roup there was great urgency for this lype of. action. "The home builders association is.showing increasing interest in stepping up activities in home modernization, the department stores are pushing forward in this field, and some building products manufacturing companies are now setting up their own horne improvement centers. This is our market, however, and we must do something about keeping it. We have got to do an intelligent job of training our people to get in this market to develop a profit. The program we are presenting to you is for those who are in and for those who are not in but plan to get in the home improvement business," he said.

Paul R. Ely, chairman of the NRLDA Committee on Market Development and Education, which initially developed the program, explained that it was basically a three-phase program consisting first of an iuformational phase to be handled largely by the NRLDA Public llelations Department. In tl-ris phase, the National's staff is charged with continually reporting to the dealers on the rnarket, its potential, unusual procedures, new proclttcts and systems.

The seconcl phase is educational. Tl-rrough the joint sponsorship of the National and Federated Associations, an education course will be made available to member dealers throughout the United States. This course will be presented as enrollments are developed in all parts of the country. The purpose of this procedure, Mr. Ely said, is to take instruction in home improvement to the fielcl and minimize travel expenditures on the part of the participants. The tuition fees for the course will be nominal in light of the program itself, which involves six full days of instruction, plus evening study and idea interchange sessions._

The final phase, merchandising, will be more fully develooed as dealers complete the eclucatioual courses, IlIr. Ely'said. It will be divlded into two segmellts-the first being the development of a merchandise package -by NRI-DA four timel each year, which rvill be made available (Continueil on Page 77 )

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NRLDA Lounches Home lmprovement Progrom

(Conti.nueil trom Page 74) to dealer members. The second part will be to coordinate home improvement activities of manufacturers and other interested parties so as to include the retail lumber dealer.

Exposition

Reporting to the Board on progress of the 8th Annual NRLDA Building Materials Exposition to be held in Chicago, November 4-7, Robert J. I\4cCutchan, Exposition Chairman, said he was confident that this year's show will be the greatest ever presented. Space sales this year are ahead of last year and are going forward at a fast pace. Because of the ideal central location and excellent facilities, Mr. McCutchan expects attendance at the show to reach new peaks.

Membership Drive

Oertell Collins, NRLDA lVlembership Committee chairman, stated that the goal of the COUNTDOWN program which NRLDA and the Federated Associations are conducting to bring in new members is moving ahead rapidly. "Thus far," he said, "26 of our Federated Associations are actively participating in the program and have placed orders for 30,000 copies of the COUNTDOWN brochure."

The brochure, Mr. Collins explained, is tailored to fit each individual association and lists all of the benefits that dealers receive from their combined membership in both the national and the state and regional associations.

Freight Rates

The freight rate reduction on Transcontinental shipments of lumber, which the NRLDA Committee on Transportation has so actively sought for the past several years, has been delayed for several months, James C. O'Malley, Transportation Committee chairman reported. He said the railroads announced the reductions would become effective last April 1, but because of objections from the Water Shippers and the Southern Pine Association, the LC.C. had, temporarily at least, suspended them. He called southern dealers to urge southern pine producers to withdraw their objections, saying they were doing a disservice to the whole industry. He said that lumber dealers had been unfairly penalized by recent freight increases because of the specially high weight and bulk of lumber shipments and that a reduction in freight rates for lumber was urgently needed. He added that the southern pine producers needed a reduction also and the best argument for them to get it was to first have the Transcontinental rates reduced.

Materials Handling

Stuart S. Caves, chairman of the NRLDA Materials Handling Committee, reported on the excellent progress being made in the program which NRLDA is conducting to reduce the cost of handling materials. He said he was particularly gratified at the reception given to the NRLDA effort to have more mills unitize shipments of lumber in the NRLDA recommended packets, units and packages. He said that 500 mills are now unitizing shipments and certain Southwestern producers are unitizing all of their shipments. "While some mills are adding a surcharge for unitizing," he said, "we think this up-charging will disappear in time."

Representolives of NRIDA Districts No, 5 & 7 held o ioint meeiing in Woshington reconfly prior fo lhe opening of fhe NRIDA Boord of Direclors meeling. Above, left to right, ore Jock Pomeroy, executive vice president, Lumber Merchonls Associotion of Norlhern Colifornio, Son Froncisco; Edword M. Chouner, Gollqtin lumber Co., Bozemon, Monfono; W. W. McCreody, W. J. McCreody Lumber Co., Forest Grove, Oregon; R. Bourke MocDonold, choirmon of thc group, Lorgcy Lumber Co., Bulle, lilontono; Elmer. Rou, lvtqdero Lumber ond Hordwore Compony, Modero, Colifornio; Rosr G. Kincoid, executive vicc president, Wsstern Retoil tumbermens Associolion, Seotfle, Woshington; W. [. Johnson, NRTDA first vice presidenl, Boise Coscode Corporolion, Boise, ldoho; ond Fronk Heord, Motroni-Heord Lumber Co., Woodlond, Colifornio.

James V. Wright, NRLDA director of materials handling, reported on the program to ship lumber via flatcar by the so-called "floating loads" method. This method of shipment was recently approved by the American Association of Railroads, he said, and can now be used in any part of the country. He cited dramatic savings in unloading lumber shipped on stakeless fatcars, saying that while it costs approximately $1.65 per thousand to unload a single door boxcar by hand, a flatcar could be unloaded with a fork lift truck for around 5c oer thousand.

Legislation

Reporting on the housing bill now before Congress John H. Else, NRLDA legislative counsel, called it a S7-page "legislative monstrosity" with something for everyone, and the price tag on the bill to the taxpayers is estimated at somewhere between $4 billion and $8 billion.

"Those who proposed this bill and those who drafted its provisions are past masters at disguising some of the new programs to make them more palatable and less controversial," he added.

"For instance, there is a new FHA program of 40-year loans with no downpayment for the lower middle-income families and FNMA is to buy these mortgages from private lenders. So what we have is nothing more than a program of direct government loans for housing in the price area of $9,000-$15,000 in which the owner will have no equity in the property until the 21st year. He is merely paying rent during that period and he can walk out leaving the government holding the bag," Mr. Else said.

"Another new program in the bill would provide loans at approximately 3.5 percent through FHA and FNMA for 100 percent loans for rental and cooperative housing for middle-income families.

(Continued, on Page 58)