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Serulng lumber Et, building products retailers 8t utholesale distrlbutors FEBRUARY

PUBLISHER Alan Oakes (ajoakes@aol.com)

PUBLISHER EMERITUS David Cutler EDITOB David Koenig (dkoenig @ building-products.com)

ASSOCIATE EDITOB Lisa Maresca (lmaresca@ building-products.com)

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Chuck Casey (ccasey@ building-products.com)

ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR/ SECRETARY Marie Oakes (mfpoakes@aol.com)

CIRCULATION Heather Kelly (hkelly @ building-products.com)

Composites todcrylhe ftird wonc ol the vinyl revolution

Composites lonorrow: w-ood sul$itute!-.d{ve deching denond

Another lound for flexible noulding

Flexible'millwork monufocturers continue developing new profilel moteriols, longer lengths.

0lulqms benefit fron lrend toword lorge.uston hones

Texos deoler builds o niche in engineered wood soles to the luxury morket.

16 $tten up! the five keys to negotiotive selling

BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST is published monthly at 4500 Campus Dr., Ste. 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660-1872, (949) 852-1 990, FAX 949-852-0231 , www.building-products.com, by Cutler Publishing, Inc. (a California Corporation). lt is an independently-owned publication for building products retailers and wholesale distributors in 37 states East of the Rockies. Copyright@2004 by Cutler Publishing, Inc. Cover and entire contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner withoui written permission. All Rights Reserved. Building Products Digest reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter, and assumes no liability for materials furnished to it.

CHANGE 0F ADDRESS Send address label from recent issue, new address and nine-digit zip code.

How to Advertise

Contact our advedlsing olfices for rates:

SOUTH & WEST: Chuck Casey, 4500 Campus Dr., Suite 480, Newport Beach, Ca.92660-1872. Phone (949) 852-199{l Fax 949-852-0231 Email ccasey@building-products.@m

NORTHEAST: Paul Mummolo, 404 Princeton Ave., Brick, N.J. 08724. Phone (732) 8998102 Fax 732-899-2758 E-mail pmummolo@aol.com

MIDIYEST: Al Gravenhorst, Gravenhorst & Associates, 33 Waukegan Hd., Lake Bluff, ll. 60044. Phone (847) 615-9272 Fax 847-6159274 E-mail alby@mymailstation.com

INTERNET ADS: Alan Oakes, www.buildingproducls.com. Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949852-0231 E-mail ajoakes@aol.com.

How to Subscribe

Call Heather at (949) S52.1990 or send a check for the following amount to Building Products Digest, 4500 Campus Drive, Suite 480, Newport Beach, Ca.92660-1872:

U.S.A.: One year (12 issues), $18

Two years, $29

Three years, $39

FOREIGN lRer year paid in advance in US tunds): Sur{ace-Canada or Mexico, $39 Other countries, $50 Air rates also available.

Single copies, $3 + shipping ww.AtlasRoofing.com

Get away from the high cost and unstable availability of some wood based sheathing products. Consider the everyday advantages of Atlas polyiso insulating sheathing:

STABLE PRICING AND SUPPLY

. SUPERIOR THERMAL PERFORMANCE

LONG-TERM ENERGY SAVINGS

. REDUCES MOISTURE & CONDENSATION POTENTIAL

Make the switch now and experience the powerful Atlas Polyiso advantage. lt's a win-win scenario: the Builder has lower construction costs and the homeowner has higher energy savingsl

ALAN OAKES publisher a.joakes (@aol.com

Red Alert: Public Health Safety Announcement

This is a column I have wanted to through the sarne issues. She was gen- and as many as one in eight rvomen write for almost three years, and is erous rvith her time to me, and after- rvill suffer from this insidious disease dedicated to Ren6e Bates of Fontana rvards I called her or her colleagues to that has no age or race barrier. This is Wholesalc Lumber. Fontana. Ca. follow her progress. a staggering statistic.

A young lady of 46 years of age, About a year before her passing. Hearing the "C" word brings with it she passed arvay around Thanksgiv- she eagerly called me, and asked me if the almost unbearable sense of hopeing, succumbing after a four-year fight I was attending an upcoming associa- lessness and helplessness. It comes rvith breast cancer. Rende was one of tion event, so rve could meet facc to likc a kick in the stomach. and time the first people in the industry I spoke face. She rvas excited to -so out and seems to stand still. The doctor's "I rvith rvhen I joined Cutler Publishing meet her industry friends for the first am sorry but..." sends the room lnto a three years ago, but it rvas not until time in a long rvhile. It rvas not in my spin. ind the weeks that follorv our third phone conversation before travel plans, but I immediately agreed become a blur. Yet, our nature ls to she told me what she was going to go. I remember her beaming smile come to terms with what we need to through. She was so grateful to those that night and her obvious delight in do to survive. Ren6e fought long and in the industry who kept her spirits being out and about with many friends hard and positively tried io overcome high. Our conversation came at a time r'vho cared so much for her. the many setbacks she endured. rvhen my immediate family was going Unfortunately, betrveen one in 10 www.capital-lumber.com

Our magazines, including pass- through readership, are read by some 60,000 subscribers monthly. I am so grateful to be part of an industry that is so community and family-oriented, and I hope that this column will serve as a reminder for any of our many female readers to immediately pull their calendar and recheck the dates of their last mammogram. If you are a male reader, I hope you will go home tonight and inquire from your partner their last date tested. Do not delay! Time is of the essence.

Today, medicine is so improved from 20, even l0 years ago, when treatment of this illness had a high failure rate. The good nervs is that 9OVo of women will live five years or longer with treatment. Yet. this same number in Eurclpe is 80c/r. It may be that medical care in the U.S. is suoerior lo Europe. More so. the ltct that women are tested there on average every l\vo year\ versus hcre a recommended one year. might suggest that early detection is the key to overcorning this disease.

I hope no one reading this column rvill ever have to deal rvith this issue. but I also know that early detection rvill save lives. and the "C" r,vord can be overcome.

Ren6e, rest in peace.

Ipe is a REAL \fOOD outdoor decking product

Ipc Dccking is 5 amcs harder than ffcatccl Pine, Cedar or lledrvoor

Ipc Decking has a {irc ratin.g of Class "A," the same as concrcte or

Ipe Decking is free from the concerns of maintenence & decar

Ipe's durability' means the applicatjon of sealcrs is purelv optional

Ipe is a clcar procluct that has a beautiful natural Teak color

Ipe naturallv r.vcathers to a bcautiful silr-er-gra1' parina

Ipc is one of the most cternal crtcrior u,oocls kncxvn in the wnrld Used in such high clemand proiects as the Atlantic Ciry Boardwalk

Possible applications include:

Decks, Stairs & Ramps, Bridges, Shcirers, Pedestrian Trails & Boardwalks, Picnic Tables, Picnic Benches, Docks & Marinas and Sound Barrie: