The Plywood Story

By Winston H. McCollum, Publicity Director Douglos Fir Plywood Asociotion

Phenolic imperviour lo wcter cud wecther cnd giont "hot pre:sea" (rhown cbove) lor eetting there cdhegives under both hect cnd pressure. Plyvood pcaels, tesh tsom the glue rprecder, cre iaserted belween lhe occordion-lile plcte:. Typicolly, preasure ol 200 pounds to the aqucre inch cnd o t€mpercsture ol 2SS degneer get the qdhesiver ia 5 ro l0 minutcr, dcpendent upon thicheea, to lorrn :,":f" tbcrt i. sttonser than the

Having shattered sales and production records for the third consecutive year, the West Coast plywood industry is looking ahead to continued high demand for the panel material in 195l-with increased industrial use and stepped up industrial construction offsetting the anticipated cutback in new housing starts.

When in, the final production tally for the current year will probably fix the 1950 Douglas fir plywood production at a new record high of about 2.3 billion square feet, compared rvith the 1950 total production figure of 1.9 billion square feet. Next year, volume is expected to about parallel the current high level provided no obstacles such as manpo\\'er shortages are faced.

In the year ahead, plywood retailers, distributors and manufacturers can thank their lucky order books that plywood is versatile enough to shift right along rvith the nation's overall economy. As one plywood-minded retailer put it, "With plywood, you've got one egg for several baskets."

More Plywood Per ffouse

Even though the total number of new housing starts in 1951 apparently will be substantially ferver than in the past year, several factors bode well for plyrvood sales. First, even though less in total number, l95l-built houses may rvell use a greater amount of plywood per house should the material become more readily available. Plywood's strength properties, durability and design advantages are standout considerations for larger, quality homes. The speed of fabrication with plywood with resultant savings of labor and construction time is a built-in plywood extra for use no matter whether the house is large or small.

Other light construction uses of plyrvood-u'hich are likely to be greater than last year-are remodeling and built-ins. With any cutback in new construction in good times, home-improvement and modernization become semiautomatic. Custom-built storage w'alls, cabinets, fixed furniture and other built-ins of plywood are dictated by a longgrowing consumer demand for greater convenience and maximum use of available space. And in this particular field, plywood is virtually rvithout competition being-to borrorv from architects' terminology-"the logical material for such construction."

Military Demands

As rvith all industries producing materials valuable to the expanding armed forces, more plywood will go direct to the Army, Navy and Air Force in the year ahead. Similarly, the contractors supplying material to such forces u'ill be sizable consumers of the panels. No one is prepa.red, as 1950

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