Douglas Fir Plywood Association Holds Annuaf Meeting

The familiar slogan "Plywood, the Wood of 1,000 lJses," was graphically illustrated in displays shown to more than 200 Douglas fir ply'rvood plant officials attending the recent annual industry meeting in Tacoma. \Mash.

Panels with photographs and listings of the 1,000 plywood applications lined the walls of the Crystal Ballroom in Tacoma's Winthrop hotel, rvhere plyrn'ood leaders from \Vashington, Oregon and Northern California planned further developments of markets for their product.

This seeking of an enlarged sales field at a time rvhen the demand for plywood is at a record high is part of the long-range planning program of the Pacific Northwest plywood industry. Irly.ivood leaders are determined to continue the development of their industry for a nation becoming increasingly aware of its importance as a basic building material.

Plyrvood production increased more than ten-fold from 1925 to 1947. And last year's total output of 1,631,000,000 square feet will be topped by a production record of more than tlr'o billion feet in 19€.

Even though demand exceeds supply at the present time, plywood officials are keenly aware that development of future markets must continue now if the industry is to maintain its phenomenal rate of growth.

Arnold Koutonen, president of the Douglas Fir plywood Association, the plyr,r'ood producers' promotional and trvo-tone key_ note of industry policy:

"We must improve service to our customers by knorving markets thoroughly to. gear promotion of sales to customer needs, and by always remembering the quality of our prod_ uct is not good enough if it can be made better."

Koutonen rvas re-elected head of the Association on the first day of the plywood conference. He is general manager of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co.'s Olympia, Wash., plywood division.

Re-elected as vice president rvas J. W. Forrester, general manager of the Coos Bay Lumber Co., Coquille, Ore. Leonard Nystrom, president of Associated plywood Nfills, Eugene, Ore., was re-elected secretary; and J. H. Smith, general manager of Tacoma's Puget Sound plywood, fnc., was chosen to serve another year as treasurer.

Named as trustees of the Association are R. E. Walton, of Walton Plywood Co., Everett, \,Vash.; Dennis M. Slenning, assistant general manager of Oregon-Washington Plywood Co., Tacoma, \Mash.; F. L. Johnson, general man(Continued on Page 24)