Modern Service and Merchandising Characferize Operation of San Gabriel Valley Lumber

fwo-Wqy Rodio f elephone Focility Encrbles Firm fo Reduce Cosf oJ Operofionlncresses Eliiciency and Ensures Ropid Delivery

QEVENTY-FIVE YEARS young lVlodern new storage sheds, customer milling service and fresh paint is evi- everywhere. All yards are spickand-span outside and inside the modern storage sheds.

I and modern in every detail is the story lead best applied to the San Gabriel Valley Lumber Company, alert retail organization with yards serving the greater San Gabriel Valley in Arcadia, Irwindale and Temple Citv. California.

This constitutes a perimeter which has no boundary within a SO-mile radius because all salesmen, trucks and branch yards are in constant communication with management by two-way radio telephone. This is standard equipment in five trucks and three sales cars "and keeps us in direct touch with field personnel at all times," said executive officer, Warren Peterson.

This progressive retail organization was established early in 1887 in the small community of San Gabriel just a block from the Old Mission San Gabriel. It has been serving the home builder, contractor and industry since that time.

"Our firm has grown with our trade area and we have furnished much of the lumber and building materials which have turned this beautiful vallev of vineyards and citrus groves into a vast residential area housing more than a million people," said general manager Peterson.

Good housekeeping has been a major factor in the conduct of business affairs of the concern. Each retail yard is clean and well kept. "There is a place for everything aird everything is kept in its place," said assistant manager Bill Watson.

By use of radio telephone in trucks and cars, "deadhead" mileage is held to a minimum. Trucks can be routed from one yard to another for fast pickup and delivery. Salesmen receive leads instantly-thus offering a faster, more efficient customer service. It also reduces the huge inventory because materials in short supply, and heavy demand, can be secured from any one of the three locations by speaking into the telephone directly to a mobile unit traveling anywhere in the community of Los Angeles-bedroom-cities served by this progressive retail firm.

"We offer a complete service to the home remodeling and repair market, the week-end carpenter, contractorbuilder and the industrial users of lumber and allied building materials throughout the valley," said Warren Peterson. of the locations includes 90' poles which beam out the radio coverag'e from yard to yard, or direct, on a closed circuit surrounding the valley for 50 miles.

Industry requires special attention to its needs and so does the contractor. that is why a flexible operation of sales control is necessary in the conduct of business, it was said. The 'Do-It-Yourself' weekend repairman can depend on instant delivery when in need of materials, including hardware and tools to complete the job.

The home offices and display rooms of San Gabriel Valley Lumber Company are modern in every detail. The walls are finished in beautiful paneling as permanent displays of the various species of hardwood wall surfacing offered by the dealer. Various tools to complete any job are available and hardware for every purpose is right at hand for immediate selection.

Special items may be secured from one store, or the other, when not available at the location where the customer happens to be shopping. This is all done by radio telephone and rerouting of equipment within minutes, it was said. The transmitting station at each On opposite poge thir monlago of vicwc ol Sqn Gobriel Volley lumbcr Compony illustrotcs thc modern qnd immqculate qppeorcnco of thc yordr ond focilitier-cerloinly o "musl" fcctor in today'r comp€titiv€ merchondiring. In photo ql top right ganerol monoger Worrcn Pelcrron point3 lo q disploy of o variely of merchondirc-tools, fixturor ond olher items-which oppcols to the do-it-yourtelf lrode, Here, indeed, is o retoil opcrolion which hos kept obreost of thc times-in oppcorsnca, in mon. qgemcnl qnd in rervicer ofrercd lo lhc public.

It takes a lot of doing and planning to keep the show on the road at San Gabriel Valley Lumber Company. First, there is a spur track which will accommodate five railroad cars at a time at the Arcadia yard, to keep material flowing to the five radio-controlled trucks for delivery. Three customer mills prepare the material on tl-re spot for fast service and 22 mobile units of yard equipment keep things humming eight hours a day-every day. All bf this is done by a total of 55 employes, most of them with 15 or more years of service, and all of them trained and experienced in lumber and its many uses.

Plywood Industry Heqrs Tolk of Upturn

(Continued, from Page 6)

I'm betting $150,000 that this house is going to catch on like fire with the public." Mitnick is building three models in New Jersey locations, backing them heavily with advertising and promotion.

Inventory of Parts

Taylor displayed a supplementary school model he said could be built from standard stock components developed for a new building system that rvill make it possible for suppliers to inventory building parts the same way they now stock lumber and plywood preces.

"One of the biggest problems facing overcrowded school districts is a shortage of classrooms. These designs will make it possible to put up needed classrooms quickly and economically and to move them with shifts in population," Taylor said.

Yes-although three quarters of a century old-this retail organization is long on experience, progressive in modern methods and aggressive in the "hard sell," which plays a big factor in the approach and guidance of young general manager Mlarren K. Peterson, who secured his early training at the

He pointed out the high quality of the construction method and described the research undertaken before designs were developed.

Ideal Testing Area

"School construction is all on a competitive bid basis," he pointed out. "So this is an ideal area to test a new building system. We know we are comPetitrve on Drlce.

"\A'e cin go fronr here into every area of light construction."

Lange said much of the confusion that has been holding back development of component systems has been caused by definitions. "Everybody is talking about something a little different when he says components."

Lange traced the developments that have produced the modern families of components, including those developed through DFPA research.

"This is the way building must go," he said. "You are far in front, now. But manufacturers of every other material are working feverishly-spending thousands of dollars-to catch up. To maintain your lead you have to keep working."

PFS Draws Paise

Plywood Fabricator Service, a DFPA affiliate founded to provide research, quality control aud promotional help to component fabricators, drew praise from Lange, lvho said the success of components depends "almost entirely on reliability."

He said PFS has done more to help g'uarantee reliability and quality in its short life than has been done by all efforts combined in the past.

Difford topped off the three-day meeting with a call for "more salesmanshiP-more merchandising."

Hard Sell Needed

"In our 25 years we've produced program after program aimed first at helping our customers, the industries that make use of our products. The most recent examDles are second homes and retirement hbmes. We've watched the competition grab them once we've created them," Difford said.

University of California at Los Angeles as a major in business administratron.

"We always study and consider the needs of the customer and never try for the 'fast buck'-and we find this definitely pays off on the long pull," said Warren.

"These programs help our customers' sales and they help our sales. But to make sure we all get the most out of them, you've got to sell as hard as the association does. You've got to help builders and dealers use our products, help them learn about them. We aren't even aptr)roaching our potential."

John H. Martinson, vice president and general manager of Puget Sound Plywood, Inc., of Tacoma, \Mash., was elected president of the association and Jackson Beaman, president and sales manager of Southern Oregon Plywood at Grants Pass, was elected vice president.

Three New Members

K. L. Morrow, California division manager for U.S. Plywood Corp., and John Connors, general manager, Brookings, Ore., Plywood Corp., were reelected to the DFPA board of trustees.

Three new members are T. L. Bentley, general manager and sales manager, Anacortes, Wash., Veneer, Inc. ; Ehrman V. Giustina, vice president and operations manager, Giustina Veneer Co., Eugene, Ore., and Donald C. Jackson, assistant general manager, Timber Products Co., Medford, Ore.

Holdover members are E. C. Dwyer, vice president and general manager, Dwyer Lumber and Plywood Co., Portland, Ore. ; Kenneth Ford, president and treasurer, Roseburg, Ore., Lumber Co., and George H. Weyerhaeuser, vice president, lumber, plywood and timberland group, Weyerhaeuser Co., Tacoma, Wash.

Hove o FUNderful timetoltend Hoo-Hoo-tTOrh ANNUAT CONVEN:. T|ON in MiqmiSeptember l7-20l

uSeascapeo by Goralite

Real bait for buyers-the "customdecorated" look supplied-at no trouble and low cost-by exclusive "CoralScenics"@ on famous Coralite wall paneling. For example, this clever undersea scene especially suitable for bathrooms, playrooms, lanais, beach cottages, in five decorator color combinations. Designs permanently baked in under melamine polymer "Coral-Cote"@ finish...smooth and easy to clean as glass, impervious to moistule, stain, hard usage. For full information and sample chips, call:

The

GOmpany

7251 East Condor Street, Los Angeles 22 RAymond 3-8271

Also a complete line ol meto) moldings, mastics, caulking compounils and, bathroon accessories.

G-P Chooses Southern California for First West Coasf Marketing

Southern California has been chosen for the West Coast debut of a completely new type of flooring, tough oak parquet only r/s-inch thick. It is to be marketed nationwide soon by the country's largest plywood maker.

Southern California distribution is being started immediately through local retail building material and floor covering dealers, according to Harold E,. Sand, Western regional manager for Georgia-Pacific Corp. at Pico Rivera, California.

The unusual new type of flooring is laminated factoryfinished oak as thin as linoleum, yet tough as heavy oak plank, Sand said.

Full-scale production has just been started in a new plant under license by G-P, the developer aud patent holder. in

Called "Georgia-Pacific Flexible Oak," the new hardwood tile actually is flexible. It permanently covers minor subfloor contours that can damage many other materials, Sand said.

A natural finish is actually baked on at the factory like the finish of a fine car. Developed by G-P research, it has undergone extensive laboratory and consumer testing for resistance to a long list of hazards, ranging from abrasion and hot water to extreme cold and most household chemicals.

The patented process includes flexing the hardwood to add even more dimensional stability to natural oak. Field testing of the 9x9-inch tiles has included both commercial and residential use.

It is being sold in this area at about 22 cents a tile, placing it in the same general price range as vinyl or vinyl asbestos, Sar-rd indicated.

The initial West Coast distribution is being made from G-P's Southern California warehouses, including Pico Rivera, North Hollywood and Riverside, through floor covering and building material dealers, Sand said.

Flooring application also has been simplified with a new one-coat quick adhesive that works equally well on concrete or plywood subfloors, he revealed.

(Continued, on Page 27)

Hollywood Jr. Twins Are All.Purpose Doors

Say goodbye torever to old fashioned screen. sash and storm doors. for here are two all purpose doors...COMB|NAT|ON SCREEN AND METAL SASH DOORS that fit all types of ruall construction and harmontze with any interior styling.

Nole llrese 4-ln-l ADYAIITAGES

a Gls.dqquatG dy Yrntlhtlon.

o lnxct.tlSht, ru3t pr.ol 3cmn..

a S.rh G|[r m.t ba cl..n.d wlth ane.

Gonvenience o Nomoic datou.lnt tround aruparf,u. our rrtra door xlth rn rrntul ot bundlc. a l{o mora ut3in& flinry rcrton doo]t Ihlch InYlta Intudm.

O lctt rr

Orbnt l ^3h (S.n) a Blir.fi.

O P.ml doott rvriLbl. In plna sly.