NBflfDA illembers Thresh Out Distribution Choff ln Convention Round-toble Pqnel Discussions

A record attendance of 538 persons participated in the sixth annual meeting of the National Building Nlateriai I)istributors Association at the Sheraton hotel, Chicago, November 11 and 12. This u'as a 20/o incre;rse ovcr the 1956 meeting, accorcling to President Eldon P. Reising.

Builcling material u'holesale distributors from :12 states spent the trvo days in discussions and meetings relative ttr current and f utttre problems conf ronting the distrillutor oi building uraterials. Memlrers attendecl three cot.rcttrretrt round table panel discttssions covering Lumber, Itlyrvoocl and Millwork;Roofing and lnsulation Proclucts; and Stecl and Merchant Wire Itoducts. Approximately 75 distribrrtors attended eacl-r <-lf these meetings.

A luncheon grotlp revien'ed "Ne'tt' I'rrlducts I Havt: Found Profitable," lvhicl-r indicatecl that n-rany of thc u'holcsale distributors were diversifying their lines of llrocltlcts. attempting to sectlre iteurs in the Speci:rlty category n'hich carry higher-than-average markups. Several rlew itertlrs orerliouslv handlerl by manv ntentlrers oi NRXIDA rvere ie.,r*t-trended an<l the gr,'rrl, ielt tllis rvlts lt very irti"rtttlLtir'<' session.

"Salesmen's I ncentives ancl Comlletrsation," a gencral discussion led by NI. l-. N'[cCreery of Jacksorr, Xlichigan, ancl Ray Haley of Haler' \\'holesale C.o., Inc., Santa IJarbara., California, revealed that tnost of those preserrt had developed a salary-ltltts-commission plan and, l'hile there rvere dir.erse methocls of payirrg salesmen, irr general thosc metho<ls in rvhich a salesman had a definite salarv pltts an incentive arrlngement tr,ere <leemecl best.

T. J. Dougherty of Cincinrrati, Ohio- rvas elected president;- Don Knecht of Rapid Citl', South l)akota, vice president, and ll. !1. Freen.ran of So-Llal Building Nlaterials Co., Inc., Los Angeles, n'as elected treilstlrer ltucl alst, chosen a director for one ve:tr.

S. M. Van Kirk, general manager of the NBMDA' reviewing the activities of the association since the National spring meeting, indicated that 40 new members had 6een approved in 1957, bringing the total number of warehouses represented by NBMDA to 475. Further statistics given by Van Kirk, basecl on zi rccentlv comtrleted suri'ev, showed that NRN'II)A mernbcrs harl 1 totai of over 23' million s(luare feet of lvarehottse spzrce, employed almost 1,800 s:rlesmen, an<l had othcr einploves. bttrer tlt:rn lnanelgers and szrlesl.tlen, of over (1,000

Members in 1957 harrcllecl 176'225 carloads of rnliterial and hacl 1,575 delivery trucks itt operation '. ' The avcragc monthly income of NIIMD:\ tnembers l':rs close to $1 11 million u,ith annual sales of $fi7'l million.

In closing, Van Kirk statecl that NRNIDA coulrl evelrtual1l' look-forn':rrcl to a menrltershill ttf llctu'eerr -1.50-5fi) ltuilding rnaterials represerrting- aplrroximatel-v 750 n'arehouses.

]l anrriactrricrs arrrl iheir represe ntatives u'ere inviterl to hcar Dr. 'fheodore Recknl:rn, professor of Marketing at Ohio State Universitr'. talk or-r the "\/alue Added Concclit of thc l)istrilrutor." He stlrted that n'ithout eflicient distrilrrrtitln the <leman<l for ntirnv Protlrrcts u'ottltl bc virtuallv elinrinated. N'Iany iten-rs u'onlcl ll()t even lre tlanufactnred. I'rofessor llcckmin developecl the history of the distrillutor fron'r their earliest clal's and told thr,se present tl-rat tire Dicture \\'as never lrrighter than it is t,rdav ior the r'vholesale distributor, as he is an essential c,,g in the lci.ur'-cost, mllssprorluction econ()mv ttporr rvhich our high stand;rrd of living rests.

A tanel, "The Fttture Role of the Ruilding Matcrial I)istributor," ha<1 as p:irticipants: -'\rthtrr Bergman, Johns][urrr-ille Corp. ; I'-lclre<l Cayce, Nashville Tenn., i I D l.'isher oi \\'oird Conversiorr -C<ttrt1ra"rr1', and R. NIcAllister, C'incinnati, Oi.rio. Cttncenstts of the panel ir.rdicated that thc u-holesale distributor, bec:tuse t-rf the m:rr.ry varied pro<lucts otlerecl frtr sale irr the c<>nstrttction in<lustr-y, u'ould continuc to be a cogent ltart <lf thc distril>ution teanl. l-lon'ever, the <listriltutor mttst exp:rr.rcl his influence u'ith the retail clealer. as n'ell as rvith the manufacttlrer.

Communication was stressed by all panelists, not (Continued on Page 56)