"Letts Get logetherl" Aggressive Deolers Srriding ro Bigger Profits

Wirh More Modern Moteriols Hcndling tnethods

By Robert B. BR.OWN, Moteriols Hondling Director, Notionol Reroil lumber Deqlers Assn.

Soon after World War II, lumber and building materials dealers began to see the advantages of mechanical handling. At first only the very large dealers felt they could afford to try out the methods of handling lumber and allied products, which the armed services generally are credited with developing.

As these few up-to-date operations began to work gut successfully, other dealers took note and very stowly started buying fork trucks and other mechanical handling equipment. As the business changed from a seller's to a buyer's market and profits began to decrease, smaller dealers turned to mechanical handling to save money, thereby increasing profits.

Today no one knows how many retail dealers have changed to medern mechanical handling methods. It is estimated in various circles to be from ten to forty percent of the country's approximately 30,@O retail dealers. llowever many there may be, it appears there are that many more either contemplating modernizing their handling methods or adding equipment.

James C. O'Malley, chairman of NRLDA's Committee on Materials Handling, states that "Materials Handling progress is on the march I lt's going to be a profitable parade for those dealers who see fit to get on the band wagon; but it will take careful, long-range planning. Nou' is the time to get started !"

O'Mall,ey further states that "There are going to be more and greater developments in the handling and shipping of building materials in the next three or four years than there have been in the whol,e industry in the last two decades. Newer methods of shipping and handling will account for much of this progress."

In the past, when a dealer changed his operation to mechanical handling he used the more or less conventional methods suggested by the equipment salesman, who generally did not know much more about how to use the equipment than the dealer did. He probably visited a ferv yards and adopted the more obvious methods he saw being used. In all too many cases, these "conventional" methods didn't work too well in his yard and he realized mechanical handling wasn't saving him as much as it should, or was costing him money.

Aggressive dealers developed new handling methods to fit their own yard. They often questioned competitors about new yard facilities or ideas and grasped for his reasoning and planning, while they would parry questions about some method they used or new piece of equipment they had just purchased. As the result of this lack of mutual cooperation, today-all over the country. there are countless good methods being used that could be of great value to many dealers if brought to their attention.

A few dealers have done a large amount of experimenting, sometimes at great expense, and were happy to pass the results along to others, competitors included. The experiments that John Moeling of Sterling Lumber Company, Chicago, and Clarence Thompson of Thompson Lumber Company, Champaign, Illinois, have recently been making with loading, shipping and unloading of unit loads of lumber in boxcars are goo<l exanrples of this.

Moeling recently invited a few people to witness the unloading of a boxcar of unit loads of lumber which incorporated several new ideas. Word spread and over ioaorro lro uNroADrNc of boxcors is more eosily occomplished with modern moteriols hondling mefhods or shown in photos at left. Roilroods ond corriers cre constcntly working fur improvcd hondling methods, cs well os the dealer qssociotions ond monufocturerr of building moteriols