The A- -NAC

The Auburn Lumber Company at Auburn, Calif., of which Wendell Robie is president, owns one of the few Hi-Lifts operated by lumber dealers in Northern California. Manufactured by Gar \\rood of Richmond, the Hi-Lift unit adds new versatility to a lumber yard's material handling and delivery abilities through its capacity to be used as a standard, flat-bed roller truck, a dump truck or a lift truck.

Gordon Davis of the Auburn Lumber Company explained that the equipment for a full-size trucl< costs only about $2600 and is readily transferred to another chassis when the truck requires replacement.

Its basic feature of lifting the truck bed to a second-story height permits the truck to be loaded or unloaded directly from and into upper storage bins. Considering that most shingles are sold todal'laid on the roof, and Sheetrock is sold placed in the house, the lift feature simplifies this problem at considerable labor savings in the case of one and two-story construction in the former, and in two-story construction in thelatter.

Davis says that the lift bed has made it possible to ofier their customers new' and well-appreciated services without increasing labor and delivery costs. He says that as service is

- really the only difference between most lumber yards, the HiLift, and the conveniences and labor saving it can provide the customer, has been a deciding factor in many sales.

As an example, there have been cases where entire units of lumber have been rolled off at the second-story level by the Auburn Lumber Company truck. The lift unit is converted into a dun-rp bed by a short and simple operation, and here the claim is that lumber which is durnped rather than rolled off is less likely to be damaged, the operation is much quicker, again providing labor savings and elirninating the many accidents which can occur to the driver using the usual roll-off method.

Lumber yards handling bulk gravel and sand may be interested in another idea develope<l from the dump feature of this equipment. A simple bin can be made of metal or wood with its sides constructed to include stakes which fit into the stake holes of the truck bed. This bin is put in place or removed by a standard lift truck or by use of block and tackle. A small turn-buckle clamp or.r either side attached from a rope hook to the bin secures the bin solidly. Marks on the inside of the bin can be used to indicate cubic yard measures when material is not loaded from a hopper. On arrival at delivery site, the driver merely unfastens a l-ringecl door at the rear and raises the dump bed, and in moments a bulk delivery has been completed by a truck which is basically a roller-bed lumber truck.

At the Auburn Lumber Company a similar type bin is also

Main Office

564 Market St.

San francisco 4

2185 Huntingrton Drive SAN MARINO 9, CAIJF.

Pittock Block PORTLAND 5 used for removal of waste and trash and, according to Davis, this equipment has considerably reduced the cost of this profitless operation.

Robie's outfit has also built another unusual truck bed using a smaller size combination lift and dump equipment. This second truck has a stationary bed the width of the trucl< and extending back approximately five feet. Behind this, the bed of approximately ten feet is equipped with the lift and dump feature.

For long lengths of lumber the truck may be used as a conventional roller bed, or loads may be dumped as the point of balance is behind the forward stationary bed.

The prime feature of this conbination bed is tl-rat an order, or several orders, consisting of materials rvhich would be economical to roll or dump off can be combined with fragile items such as sacked material, plyu,ood, mill work and plastic materials. Here the fragile items are placed on the stationary section and the lumber or bulk sand or gravel items, which can be quickly discharged by dumping, are placed on the rear section.

As Gordon Davis pointed out, service is the only commodity that really differs toclay when a customer compares lumber yards, and the Auburn Lumber Company feels that their HiLift trucks and the services they can now inexpensively render have brought them profitable sales u'hich otherwise might not have been made.

In a full-page spread in the Watsonville Register on June 1,

Earle Johnson and Earle Johnson, Jr., owners of Watsonville Lumber Company, announced the 20th anniversary of their lumber and building materials yard at 145 West I-ake Avenue, Watsonville. The full-page spread also carried several photographs of the yard's modern lumber handling methods and spacious showroom, its personnel, and the following message from the entire staff of Watsonville Lumber Company:

"During the past twenty years, the Watsonville Lumber Company has taken pleasure in being part of the expansion of the Pajaro Valley. You, our customers, have been an integral part of this growth. We wish to thank you for your past patronage, and may we continue to 'move forward' together in the future. development of the' Pajaro Valley. Earle Johnson, Earle Johnson, J.., & Employees."

Wcrrehouse for Beqver lumber Co.

The Beaver Lumber Co., Yucaipa, Calif., is starting construction of a 20x80-foot warehouse with docking facilities, parking and offices. F uture plans call for additional warehouses across the rear of the property. A building materials center to house the yard's offices and a display room for the area contractors r,r'ill be incorporated in future building plans.

MqcDonold Moved to Posqdeno

L. W. MacDonald Co., fnc., well-known wholesale lumber firm, moved its ofifices from Beverly Hills to 35 North Raymond Ave. in Pasadena, Calif., July 1.

G-P Dickers for Goos Boy

Portland, Ore.-Georgia-Pacific Corporation is negotiating with Blyth & Co. for the purchase of the $70,617,160 Coos Bay Lumber Company from among the properties recently optioned from the stockholders, principally Dant & Russell, Inc., it was reported in June. This falls into the recent pattern of G-P timber acquisitions to build reserves. The Coos county operations of Dant & Russell include an estimated 3,400,000,000 board feet of prime Douglas fir which Georgia-Pacific would incorporate into its extensive Oregon coast and California holdings.

SCRTA Enrolls Four New Yqrds

During one week in June, the Southern California Retail Lumber Association enrolled four new members in its booming ranks. The yards are Briggs Lumber Co., 6045 Reseda Blvd., Tarzana-Richard D. and Mary B. Briggs, partners; Carter Lumber Sales, 691 Ventnra Blvd., Oxnard -Herbert S. Carter, o\\rner; Ojai Lumber Co., P.O. Box 246, Ojai-Harold and Emily Fay, co-owners, and Warington Lumber Co.,7&l Garden Grove Blvd., Garden GroveDick Srnank, manager.

$Z nnillion Mqy Permits in Sqn Diego

San Diego, Calif.-May 1956 saw 1,483 building permits issued here u'ith a valuation of $7,549,243, of which 483 were for residences at $5,343,781. Home repairs accounted lor 761 permits at $855,888 valuation.

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It tokes one coll lo us lo secure All Stqndord Brond Producls for the Builders in your oreq. Jusl osk the deqler who depends on us-we reolly believe in SATISFIED CUSTOI{ERS.