FIRST CALL HOBBS WALL

Wolter J. Arling Elected New N-AWLA President

Walter J. Arling, Cincinnati, Ohio, has been elected president of the National-American W'holesale Lumber Association. His election was announced by the N-AWLA board of directors after Charles E. Clay, Jr., Inglewood, California, submitted his resig' nation due to the demands of his business.

Arling is president of his own wholesale lumber firm, Arling Lumber Company, Cincinnati. A native of Cincinnati, he started in the lumber business there in 1922 and founded the Arling' Funch Lumber Company in 1925. He has operated under his own name for the past two years. Truly a family organization, Arling has a daughter, Claral and two sons, Roger and Paul, associated with him in the business. The Arlings also have another son and a married daughter.

Upon hearing of his election, Arling said, "It is a sincere pleasure to serve as president of National-American. This organi' zation has made effective contributions to the welfare of the lum' ber industry as a whole and to wholesalers in particular. I am looking forward to working with the other officers and stafi in the coming year."

Arling has been a member of N-AWLA's board of directors since 1936 and last year was chairman of its regional meeting committee.

National-American, now in its Tlst year, is an organization of more than 350 lumber wholesalers in tlle United States. Its pur' pose is to promote more efrcicnt distribution and rnarketing of lumber products.

Lumber Stress-Roled by Mochine Mqkes Bow

One of the big stories of 1963 in the lumber industry was the arrival of mechanical stress-rating.

This brand new process in the nation's oldest industry predetermines stress ratings of lumber for structural uses. It is done by machine on the sawmill production line. As the material passes through the machine and is tested, the machine itself automatically stamps it for the rating in which it belongs.

Machines cannot identify species nor do they judge appearance; their one function is to stress'rate. This will make many more U.S. lumber species available for structural uses of various kinds including the rapidly growing trussed rafter field. Eleven species are commercially produced in the Western Pine region alone, and six or seven of them have been stress-graded heretofore only on a limited basis.

With precision-rated material thus made widely available, archi' tects, specifying engineers and builders will find it easier to pin' point design with greatest accuracy of material performance. Indications are that pre-tested lumber will be available in the larger building markets shortly and on a full-scale basis within a matter of several months. Already some shipments have been made.

Some of the first building standards administrative grouPs to recognize the system include the Southern Building Code Congress, International Conference of Building Officials and City of Los Angeles building department.

Early in May came recognition by the Federal Housing Ad' ministration and the American Lumber Standards Committee. The FHA issued an architectural bulletin No. 1930, dated May l, 1963, including span tables for use of full lumber values as determined by mechanical stress-rating. The span tables and table of allowable stresses are applicable to the species that the Western Pine Association is authorized to grade and mark.

Meanwhile, Western Pine had published and incorporated in its book of Standard Grading Rules a rule covering the new system and announcing it as "an alternative method of stress'rating lumber under current grading rules of this association." Provi' sions of the rule require that lumber stress-rated by machine must be marked by the machine, the stamp to show the Association trade mark, mill number or name, species and stress rating. An accompanying table of allowable stresses has a range of nine levels. The system will be under quality control and supervision of the Western Pine grade inspection service, same as in the past, and checking of machine settings will be done by association inspectors. If and when other lumber associations adopt the system they would assume the same inspection responsibilities.

Art Hood Authors New Text

The Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California has announced publication of a new analytical report and procedure manual for lumber and building products merchants entitled 'oThe Mathematics of Net Profit Control."

Written and compiled by Arthur A. Hood, former Editor, American Lumbermen and currently Director of the Building Industry Educational Institute. this text enables a dealer to establish a satisfactory net profit goal for the fiscal year and keep it under control daily, weekly and monthly throughout the year.

It will aid the dealer who wishes to switch from unprofitable to profit making operation without prolonged and costly experimentation.

The manual is unique in that it deals with dollars primarily and percentage secondarily. It traces each dollar of profit to its varied sources and sets up a series of signals when profits become jeopardized from varied causes.

It is based on case studies of a number of highly profitable operations and includes a facsimile budeet of a dealer who translated a net loss to a handsome profit in a period of less than two years.

Controls are set up in the text for sales dollars, expense dollars, investment dollars and gross profit dollars and step by step procedures are established to facilitate a monthly review of all factors pertaining to the net profit picture.

A factual background is provided for pertinent management decisions and indicated actions are suggested for given sets of circumstances and emergencies.

A gratifying feature of the book is its simplicity. Accounting details may be readily handled by competent lumber yard bookkeepers and all suggested operating procedures are itemized and sequenced for ease of understanding and application.

The profit making procedures suggested are applicable to any type of dealer operation from the exclusively contractor supply yard to the across-the-board dealer who operates a complete building material service center.

The text contains material for the dealer who is plagued by cut-price competition from direct sellers, cash and carry operators, itinerant truckers, etc.

This is the latest intensive study Mr. Hood has prepared for lumber yard management and is considered the most mature and significant of all his efiorts to help dealers.

The manual is available from the Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California, 1255 Post Street" San Francisco. at a price of $20.00 per copy. The price includes mail consultation with the author on its subject matter.

MOBILE HOMES-TRAVEL TRAILERS. In 1962 shipments of mobile homes and Travel Trailers totaled 171,700 represent. ing-or the equivalent of-11.8 per cent of private housing starts, and well up from the 196I mobile home and Travel Trailer starts of 130,700.

Source-U.5. Departm.ent ol Cornnterce, B & DA oConstructinn Reoied February 1963.

I'IOME IA/IPROVEMENT PROJECTS

(Continued, lrom Page 4) said o'I think so" and 23/a were "not sure." Finally, the families were asked: ooln which types of stores selling do-ityoursel{ materials do you prefer to shop?"

They rated the stores according to preference in this sequence: l. Hardware Stores, 2. Lumber Yards, 3. Discount Stores, 4. Variety Stores, 5. Building Supply Stores, 6. Department Stores, 7. Paint and Wallpaper Stores, 8. Auto Supply Stores, 9. Drug Stores, 10. Supermarkets, 11. Hobby Suppiy Stores, 12. Stationery and Office Supply Stores, 13. Landscape and Garden Supply Stores, 14. Gift Shops, 15. Sporting Goods Stores, 16. Furniture Stores.

Abouf Those lnlerviewed

The interviewees were families in all 50 states, including 824 cities and towns, which consisted of a husband, a wife and one or more children. Their family incomes ranged from $4,140 to $10,320 annuafly and approximately 62% were owners o{ their homes while the remainine 38Jb were rentpayers.

The families were interviewed through mail questionnaires and joint husbandwife responses were obtained. A total of 32,613 questionnaires were mailed and only the 23,726 returned and answered completely were tabulated. Of these, only the 94/o or 22,308 which bore "y"r" answers to the first question were included in the study.

Proposed Conclusions

The majority of families in the nation, both homeowners and rentpayers, would undertake more do-it-yourself projects and increase their purchases of materials for the projects if manufacturers and retailers helped them gain better results and greater savings.

Most {amilies want help in understanding do-it-yourself techniques, the best ways to use products and the best products to use in particular projects. They also want to save time and effort-as well as money -in shopping for the materials and in using them.

A significant disclosure in the study is that more families would undertake additional do-it-yourself projects if they could look forward to better results than if they could simply save more money. This indicates they have a greater interest in the appearance and function of their handiwork than in the cost.

However, the study shows that cost is a factor in their thinking and they want reasonable prices. fair pricing practices, an opportunity to shop for the best buys and help in avoiding overspending.

In general, the findings indicate that most families today feel there are many ways manufacturers and retailers can help make do-it-yourselfism more rewarding and. thus. more desirable for them.

The study was made as part of the continuing research program of the Panelboard Company to assist manufacturers and retailers in all segments of the industry serving the do-it-yourself market to better understand the thinking of consumers.

Copies of the complete study may be obtained without charge by writing the Panelboard Manufacturing Company, Inc., 222 Pacific Street, Newark 14, New Jersey. Panelboard operates plants there and in Los Angeles, California.

Bob Millikon lo New Post

Robert "Bob" Millikan has been named purchasing agent for Gamerston & Green Lumber Company, according to president Harry Gamerston. Millikan, who took over his new post July l, will be in charge of all so{twood lumber procurement. John Gamerston continues in charge of all plywood purchases.

Millikan's new position follows several years with Gamerston & Green's plywood department. Prior to joining G&G he was purchasing agent for Broadview Lumber Company, both at Carthage, Mississippi, and the firm's Portland buyine office.