Davidson's New Plant At San Francisco

The new headquarters of Davidson Plyrvood & Lumber Company in San Francisco have all the physical specifications which u'ould enable efficient operation, and also display, in the office finish, the beauty and advantages of the various grades of plywood the company has for sale. But a modern rvarehouse and facilities, along with a fine presentation of the company's merchandise u''ill not make a business succeed. For trvo years they rvere located in a building with facilities which they deemed entirely inadequate, and yet during that time they made the progress n'hich justified the later improvements. As usual the ans\{'ers to these questions are in management, sales policies and merchandise.

The San Francisco operation of Davidson Plyrvood ct Lumber Cornpany is a branch of the main headquarters in I-os Angeles, and good established lines were made part of the first inventories. But breaking into the u'holesale business in highly competitive lines requires selling and good customer policies which evidently Ralph Mannion, general manager, and Art Gray, sales manager, laid out rvhen they began operation.

To begin u,'ith they classify thernselves as strictly rvholesalers and deal only tl.rrough the conventional channels of distribution. This means that contractors cannot buy through them but must look to dealers for their needs. Policies of distribution in this area are a matter of local control for the San Francisco managernent.

The building of good customer relations rvas also furthered by prompt delivery service, completeness in variety of inventory and quantity for any need. Needless to say a desire to help the customer came before any thoughs of profit.

The next problem was to convey these selling policies through the morale or esprit de corps of the office and the sales force. An effort lvas made to convey a courteous and cheerful spirit, especially over the telephone. The expansion of their business and the progress made in their two years in San Francisco seem to have vindicated these policies.

Ralph \Iannion, the general manager, has been actively engaged in the rvholesale lumber and plyn'ood industry in this area for the past 16 years. Art Gra.v, sales manager, gained his experience in the retail lumber business in the San Joaquin valley. Both men rvere rvith this branch from the start.

There are nou' three men at the order desk and five outside salesmen covering Oakland, Ilarin County, San Francisco, the Peninsula and the Sacramento and Sa4 Joaquin valley. The companv also operates three delivery trucks.

The u'arehouse contains 20,000 and solt driaks being served. and dock loading for trucks. There is an ll-inch drop to the east side of the building with 10,000 sq. ft. of opeir space, street height and easily accessible to inside of building for lift trucks. With the absence of pillars due to continuous span, full efficiency and layout of inventory is possible, which results in a minimum of handling.

There are three beautiful private offices finished in paro_ wall squares of 16-inch Birch, Ash and Mahagony. This pai_ ticular finish is made exclusively for Davicison plywool & Lumber Company. It has a tongue and groove fit. The main office is in Etchwood, the Brushed Douglas Fir plywood pio_ neered by Davidson. The lunchroom, which is also available for sales meetings, has a stove, refrigerator and sink and is paneled in Philippine Mahogany.

The sales counter is covered with an exclusive procluct called Dinolite, a hard-surfaced plastic laminate of r/s-inch thickness. It is also suitable for wall application as well as horizontal installation. There isa Dinolite strip for selfedging which leaves no black line to show.

The inventory includes specialty etched plywoods which the company manufactures, Redwood Etchwall, Douglas Fir ply_ wood, Philippine Mahogany plywood, Harmony Wall, Fir Sketchwood, Redwood Shadow Wo'od, Redwood plyweave.

The door line includes Fir doors, panel and screen doors,

Wcrehouse and the exclusive Daco door, which is available in Gum, Birch, Philippine Mahogany and Prima, also Masonite flush doors. In other words, there are complete stocks in all these lines which the dealer buys to sell to the builder.

In their office they maintain a co{Iee bar in which there are four silex coffee makers in operation all the time. This is just a little extra for customers and friends ; donuts are available in the morning, or a cool drink if it is preferred to coffee.

Insulation In The B<rg

As a result of a year and a half research into the problem of material handling and warehousing (with both dealers and jobbers) as well as a study of product identification, the Wood Conversion Company, St. Paul, has adopted a new type of package for Balsam-Wool Insulation.

The new package, which is actually a bag, is flat and rectangular and is approximately one-half the size and weight of the old ro11 package. Estimates by warehousemen put space savings as high as 25/o, with much faster and more economical handling. Balsam-Wool in the new packages is a cinch to handle on conveyors, simplifies unloading of cars, facilitates truck loading.

Jack Murphy, J. D. Murphy rino, returned last week from Arcata where he had been on

Lumber Company, San MaSan Francisco, Eureka and extended procurement trip.