Upturn Forecast in Plywood Demand

Tacoma, Wash., November l9-Lower prices, adequate supply to meet customer needs and a whopping $100,000-amonth advertising program will add up to higher demand for plywood in the rnonths ahead, an industry spokesman has announced.

This encouraging outlook was voiced by O. Harry Schrader, Jr., managing director of Douglas Fir Plywood Association in Tacoma, Wash., when questioned about the state of the 7l-f.actory west coast industry following manufacturers' price cuts ranging from 5 to 15 per cent.

Schrader refused comment on prices, explaining that pricing and distribution policies "are determined by individual manufacturers." He emphasized that "sales promotion and quality maintenance are the sole functions" of the industry trade association he heads.

He did talk freely, however, about improved market prospects for plywood and availability of the panels, emphasizing that although supply is excellent throughout the country, warshouse inventories are not excessive.

Industrial Use Rising

Shrader pointed out that about 45 per cent of plywood output goes into divergent industrial uses like railroad cars, trucks, crating and maintenance. For example, he said, one large midwest motor freight company is replacing metal lining with plywood in hundreds of trucks. And Pressed Steel Car Co. of New York has developed an all-plywood Unicel highway trailer patternbd after its revolutionary plywood boxcar.

Two Hyster Men Promoted

Schrader said that about 50 per cent of plywood is used in the construction industry. Residential building alone consumes only about 20 per cent of the panels, and plywood can expect to hold its preferred position here. He cited a big Seattle builder who reports that on 3,000 low-cost units now under way, he lvill have $100 each with plywood.

Defense Orders Substantial

The government estimates that defense requirements will take about 700 million square feet of plywood next year. And prefabricatbrs and trailer manufacturers, historically heavy users of plywood, are being asked to bid on 4,000 portable home units for use adjacent to military areas.

Heavy construction is at record levels, and here plywood is the standard material for concrete forms, according to Srh-", der.

Adequate Supply

Availability of plywood for normal civilian uses such as boats, farm buildings, signs and other applications is virtuallv assured by increased plant capacity in the industry, the plywood spokesman said. He revealed that production for the year to date is up about 15 per cent over last year; 1951 output may reach 2.7 billion square feet.

With the availability picture brightening, said Schrader, thc industry is carrying out the biggest promotion program in its history. Advertising, new sales aids and how-to-do-it information are aimed at three major points-the user, the salesman and the specifier. Sales messages are keyed to the remodeling market and increasing industrial use of plywood.

His territory will include all of the U. S. and Canada west of the Rockies as well as Alaska.

James Leep, with Hyster since 1946 as parts order clerk, has been advanced to the position of manager of the parts Order Department, also a newly created position. Leep is a graduate of Portland University and Oregon State College, and spent two years with Pan American Airrvays in production control prior to coming to Hyster.

The Hyster Company, of Portland, Oregon, Danville and Peoria, Illinois, manufactures industrial materials handling equipment, tractor and logging attachments for ,'Caterpillar" Tractor.. and earthmoving equipment.

Pecrce Trecrty Signed on Desk Made oI Mcsonite

Promotion of two men in Hyster Company,s parts and :service department has been announced by Jack Lewis. anahager. The changes involve increased responsibilities and enlarged duties.

Allen G. (Al) Owen, rvith Hyster since l93Z in assembly .and in the service department, has been moved up to the ;newly created job of Western Division Service Manager.

San Francisco, Calif.-The Japanese peace treaty was signec! on a velour-covered desk made of Masonite quarter-inch tempered presdwood, it was disclosed here recently by John B. Sauter, vice president of the J. L. Stuart Manufacturing Company, which has specialized for 30 years in the design and construction of exhibits and displays.

In addition, the approach to the lectern and the lectern itself, were made of tempered presdwood on wood frame construction. Another Masonite product, tempered duolux, was used for the pennants identifying the nationality groups in attendance.

Cabinet Manufacturers Association

E. L. Bruce Co., Inc. Has Big Crowd Of Southern California Elects Officers At Open House Party in Oakland

More than 500 customers, friends'and competitors of E. L. I3ruce Co., Inc. of Oakland, California, accepted the company's invitation to be present at their open house party en Saturday, November 17, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

This party constituted the official opening of their splendid new Northern California warehouse at 4636 East 12th Street, Oakland 1, Calif.

I. Thornton of the Independent Nail & Packing Co. of Bridgelvater, Mass., made a special trip to the party to demonstrate a new and revolutionary T & G Nailing.Machine.

On hand to greet the visitors were C. Arthur Bruce, executive vice president of E. L. Bruce Co., Inc.; Walter J. Wood, vice president in charge of sales, M,emphis, Tenn., and S. W. Dzneckier, district manager at Oakland. In addition the salesmen working out of the Oakland warehouse and the warehouse crew were present to help entertain the crowd.

The Cabinet Manufacturers Association of Soutlrerrr California at their monthly dinner meeting held October 8, 1951, at the Case Hotel, Los Angeles, elected Everett W. Shoemaker of Lynwood, Calif. as president for the l95l-52 term of ofiEce.

Mr. Shoemaker, while being a comparatively young man in years, has none the less been in the cabinet manufacturing business for many years, as a partner rvith Ray W. Powers, which concern is known as the Atlantic Cabinet Company of Lynwood, Calif.

Elected with Shoemaker was vice president Paul Stember, an associate of The Hoffmeister Cabinet Company of Los Angeles. Phillip De Marco was rgturned to the position of treasurer for his second term. The Trustees of the Association at this time are as follows: Flomer O. Warde, C. N. Thielen, H. C. McConnell, C. J. Dell, William Leonard, Joseirh Mpdron, Ralph Handy, W. L. Rubottom, Albert Sack, and Milton Dixon.

Upon taking office, the new president emphasized the need of the Associations membership continuing its efforts along the lines followed by his predecessor, C. N. Thielen, owner of the Trojan Cupboard Company of Burbank, and the retiring president.

Under Thielen's administration, the Associatiotr devel,oped and published just recently a standard catalogue for use of architects, designers, contractors and builders. This ,catalogue presents graphic illustrations of the flexibility 'of wood built-in cabinets for homes and apartments, with reference to units of sound construction, minimum stand,ards, high quality and of utmost utility. This photographic brochure shows many varied and useful methods of manufacturing wood cabinets, using proven methods of fabri"cation, and an accomplishment of which the entire industry may be well proud.

The newly elected president will announce his chairmen .of the various committees and their membership at the next regular dinner meeting, December 3. 1951.

Refreshments and a buffet lunch were served and enioved at tables in the big warehouse.

Football Day at San Francisco Lumbermen's Club

Tuesday, November 20, was Football Day at the noon luncheon of the San Francisco Lumbermen's Club, held in the Comstock Room, Palace Hotel, San Francisco.

Wendell Paquette, Lumber Sales Company, San Francisco, the Club's president, presided. He introduced Dan McGuire, public relations representative of the San Francisco 49ers. who gave a brief resume of the history of pro football, now in its 32nd season.

Bruce Lee, Chronicle sports writer and Bill Anderson, writer on the San Francisco News, both spoke on the subject of the professional game.

Questions were asked by a number in the audience and answered by the three speakers.

A drawing for two tickets for a professional game was won by Jack F. Pomeroy of the Lumber Merchant's Association of Northern California.

A motion picture in color of the game between the 49ers anrj the Los Angeles Rams was shown.

Appointed Logging McncAer

Roy C. Gibson, for six years general superintendent of LongBell Lumber Company's Vaughn division at Eugene, Oregon, has joined M and M Wood Working Company's Albany, Oregon, Plylock division as logging manager, it is announced by Taylor Alexander, vice president in charge of timber and raw materials. Prior to going with Long-Bell he had been three years logging superintendent of Snellstrom Lumber Company, Eugene. Earlier in his career Mr. Gibson was logging engineer for nine years of Bloedel-Donovan on the Olympic peninsula, Washington. He is a graduate of Oregon State College where he majored in logging engineering, and is a member of the Society of American Foresters.

Forest Fibre Products Company Increases Production

of Forest hardboard are pressed in a single operation. Other equipment includes pulp-making equipment, conveyors, chip handling and piling machinery, and an outside 500 ton c:.pacity chip storage bin. The plant operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Forest hardboard is soid by building material dealers throughout the United States and exported to Alaska, Philippines, Ha'ivaii and India.

Higher Prices for Building lndustry Given Approval

Washington, Nov. l4-Higher price tags on new homes and other construction projects were forecast today under a new regulation for the $36,000,000,000-a-year building irdustry.

The Office of Price Stabilization said the price increases u.ill result from rising costs of labor and materials since tl,e outbreak of the Korean war.

The nerv OPS order permits builders to pass along the higher costs to the public.

OIrS estimated that labor costs have gone up about 10o/o and building materials about l2/o since the war began in June, 1950.

Production of Forest hardboard manufactured by the Forest Fiber Products Company, Forest Grove, Oregon, will double in the next three months, it is announced by Harold A. Miller, president.

The increase to exceed 2l million sq. feet per month rvill add greatly to the utilization of timber resources in the Tillamook burn and Forest Gror.e area. The companv's chief raw material is rvood that is sound, but not suitable for lumber because of its size and shape. The use of this wood in the manufacturing process has made it possible and profitable for the logging crervs to go over the same area as many as three times to relog wood material that heretofore rvas left in the n'oods. This more thorough logging makes a cleaner cut in the rvoods, reduces fire hazard, better prepares the land for seeding. in addition to making much greater utilization from ,the tree.

Miller stated also, that more ra\\r material rvill be bought from sawmills in the nearby area and they rvill, in turn, log more extensively, thus improving the land in a greater area.

Complete utilization of the n.ood is accomplished in the Forest Fiber Products Company process, as all u'ood from rvhich a gooC fiber cannot be made is used for fuel to make steam for the manufacturing process.

The company makes hardboard by cutting the wood into chips, then to a fibrous state, into pulp and under heat and pressure made- into smooth surfaced pane.ls. The panels called Forest Hardboard are made in sizes ranging from 4x4-feet through 4x 16-feet in thicknesses of 1/8". 3/16" and 1f". Part of the production is given a special treatment which a<lds water resistance and structural strength for exterior use. The panels are used in building for dry rvall construction and by industrv for a variety of uses from toys and games to furniture.

To effect the additional production, netv equipment has been installed. including ten 5-ton plates so that 2C panels

The regulation, effective Nov. "20, covers a wide range oi projects, such as carpentry, sheet metal work and installltion of plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical erluipment.

It also covers construction of roads, sidewalks, fences, airports, athletic fielcls, bridges, sewers and water mains, tunnels, sub$'ays, flood control projects, power developnlents, dams, harbors and scores of other works.

The order limits the markup for profit of construction firms to 10/o less than the highest percentage markup the huilder had in effect for a similar job during the period Jtrly l, 1949. throush June 24, 1950.

Promoted by Pcbco

Pabco Products, Inc., has promoted James E. Booth and James J. Doyle, it u,'as announced by R. R. Galloway, sales nranager, Builcling X,Iaterials Division.

Booth has been made head of consumer sales, Building Nlaterials Division, and is responsible for the development and coordination of consumer sales activities on Pabco roofing and asbestos-cement siding. Prior to his new position, he was assistant district manager of the Central District.

Doyle, who has been Denver area sales representative of Pabco's Building Materials Division, moves up to become assistant district manager, Central District. He will headquarter at Pabco's head office in San Francisco.

Herbert F. Ennis, manag'er Glasweld Division, United States Plyu.ood Corp., Nerv York, N. Y., has returned to Nerv York from a business trip to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. He traveled by plane.

M. A. Minor, manager of L. S. Whaley Lumber Co., I-ong Beach, Calif., made a business trip recently to San Francisco and other Northern California Doints.

Look ye! Here is SUGAR PIl{ E

So*r" Pine...Monarch of the Pines...is a genuine white pine blessed with all the inherent qualities that have made white pine a pre ferred building material for generations.

Uniformity of color, soft even texture and straight grain make Sugar Pine unexcelled among woods for interior trim, cabinet work, paneling, sash, doors, siding, and pattern lumber. And like all lumber from Association mills, it is manufactured with care, thoroughly seasoned, and carefully graded.

For tnore infonnation about Sugar Pine, send for free literature-Grade Use Guid.e ; and. Facts Folder. Address

WESTEAN PINE ASSOOIATION

Yeon Building Portland4, Oregon

TIESE ARE rilE I Idaho White Pine, WlSfEnt HilES I Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine f[lSE AnE fHE I Larch, Douglas Fir, White ASSOCTATED I Fir, Engelmann Spruce, ryOODS I Incense 9"{?",Red Cedar, Lodgepole Pine. w00Ds lRon I rlt wlsrrrx PlxE R:Gloll

*