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CONTENTS
June 2020 Volume 39 n Number 6
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32 DO IT BEST 75TH ANNIVERSARY
10 INDUSTRY TRENDS
8 ACROSS THE BOARD
AT 75, CO-OP DO IT BEST ISN’T RESTING ON ITS LAURELS—IT’S CONTINUING TO DEVELOP
NEW WAYS TO BETTER EQUIP ITS MEMBER RETAILERS FOR SUCCESS. THE CO-OP’S
LBM LEADERSHIP SHARES ITS PLANS.
TIMBER TRENDS ON TRACK TO TRANSFORM ARCHITECTURE
14 FEATURE STORY
22 REVENUE GROWTH HABIT
16 MARGIN BUILDERS
26 LUMBER 411
25 YEARS OF FOREST CERTIFICATION MAKING LUMBERYARDS MORE EFFICIENT
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18 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
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IDAHO DEALER THINKS OUT OF THE BOX AND IN THE PALLET
24 TRANSFORMING TEAMS
PREPARE FOR WORKPLACE RE-ENTRY DURING COVID-19
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20 OLSEN ON SALES
30 THINKING AHEAD
THE NEED TO FOLLOW THROUGH
52 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
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51 MOVERS & SHAKERS 56 NEW PRODUCTS 60 TALK BACK 60 IN MEMORIAM 60 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE 61 ADVERTISERS INDEX 62 FLASHBACK
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ACROSS the Board By Patrick Adams
Becoming a kid again “D ad, do you have to work today? Can’t you play with us today instead?” That’s where it all started. This is an interesting “experiment” that we find ourselves in. During normal times, you would never be so “reckless” as to test what would happen if…. Let’s try all working from home. Let’s try not ever eating out and instead, all eating dinner as a family every night. Let’s buy locally and support our local businesses. Let’s only engage with those closest to us whom we trust the most. My kids in their young, innocent (see “manipulative and conniving”) way asked me to take the day off and play with them instead of working. This normally would have been an unreasonable request. Aside from my responsibilities, the core of my foundation is hard work and trying to set an example. But, things feel different now. Less certain, but more grounded at the same time. Unpredictably grounded. I smiled, chased them around the family room acting like I was crazy, and asked them what they wanted for breakfast. “Chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream” was the response. I have gotten up at 4:00 a.m. every morning since I was in my late teens and try to work out most of those days. But this morning as I shared in chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream, all I’m thinking about is this powerful flashback to my childhood when my grandparents surprised me one morning. They told my parents they were taking me to school but instead, took me the International House of Pancakes for breakfast where I had for the first time in my life, chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream. It took me right back there, with my grandparents. The surprise, the secrecy, the excitement, and the amazing tastes and smells! After breakfast, my kids asked, “What are we going to do now?” Since the world has changed, one of the many changes are the local car washes are closed. In our “busy and important” lives, car washes are one of those things that I did the cost/time analysis and delegated to others a long time ago. I’m embarrassed that I can’t remember the last time I washed my own car, but today is a different day. “We’re washing my truck,” was my response. Their eyes lit up like I told them we were going to Disneyland. Having a 9- and 3-year-old help wash a truck is akin to trying to wash it in a dust storm. There were hose fights, buckets of suds thrown and perhaps the only clean thing at the end were my kids. But a funny thing happened. As I was drying the truck and wiping down the crevices, applying Armor-All to the tires, it took me back to my younger days. There was a time for a few weeks where I had to live in my car, but I made sure it was always clean. I was beyond broke then when I met the girl who someday would be my wife. It was the day of what was going to be our first official date and I had literally starved that week saving up enough money to take her out. I spent a couple hours that day trying my best to polish up the jalopy I called a car that would pick her up. I remember my excitement about taking her out
and even though it was a beat up mess, I felt pride in my job of cleaning up my own car. The rest of the day was filled with things like building a cardboard fort in the backyard, planting vegetable seeds in the garden, and pushing the kids on the swing I hung from the backyard tree. Each activity propelled me back to the story of my life as a kid and young man. I have to say it was an emotional day filled with a ton of laughter and things that hopefully someday, will be their own memories of their childhood. This time away from the chaos has done something interesting. I’ve thought about things from when I was young that I haven’t considered in years. I’ve grown to know my family at an even deeper level and have been reminded of the things that create true happiness and love. I’ve been reminded that Facebook does not measure who your “friends” are, but times of uncertainty do. I’ve thought a lot about things like perhaps, I’ve realized that when all of this restarts, maybe I want to restart it differently. Raise my kids differently. Love my family differently. Prioritize differently. We have a choice of how we view our current environment, what we learn from it and what we decide becomes our new “normal.” We have to decide about the “scoreboard” that matters most in our lives and whether it includes things like promotions and bank accounts, or is it a collection of memories and experiences. Of course we all have responsibilities and the answer I hope is some version of “balance.” But I am now praying for the strength to find that balance when we return to our normal lives and make sure that I keep only the things that truly are most important in this life. More than ever before, I am grateful for the privilege of serving this great industry and that I can call many of you friends. Your calls and letters of support mean the world to us. Take care of yourselves, your family, and your team.
Patrick S. Adams Publisher/President padams@526mediagroup.com
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INDUSTRY Trends By ThinkWood
Timber trends on track to transform architecture everal major trends are driving architecture in 2020, and the impact they will have on mass timber and lightframe wood construction is unfolding now. What does a more sustainable city look like in the years to come, and how can low-carbon building materials—like timber—help address climate change and make our rapidly growing urban centers healthier? ThinkWood spoke to some of the leading designers, developers, and timber experts to learn how wood factors into architecture and design trends for the future. Here are six trends to watch when it comes to the future of timber and the built environment.
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1. Evolving Building Codes Mass Timber Stands Tall
With recent changes in the 2021 International Building Code—and a quest to find more sustainable ways to build taller—we are seeing a rise in the number of taller mass timber buildings popping up across North America. Experts in timber construction see these code changes as the beginning and believe that further testing and research could see timber buildings reach even taller heights in the years to come. As one expert put it, they are hopeful more opportunities for mass timber will open up as the regulatory
HIGHER: Conceptual design of Canada Earth Tower contemplates a timber skyscraper 40 floors high. (Photo by Delta Group and Perkins & Will)
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Building-Products.com
TIMBER CITY: Google-backed Sidewalk Labs is proposing a $1.3-billion master plan to be constructed entirely with prefabricated mass timber and is set to turn a portion of Toronto’s industrial waterfront into a smart, digitally connected city prototype. In this particular view, Snøhetta contemplates a masstimber housing development arranged in a semi-circle raised up by stilts and looking down on a public plaza. (Photo by Snøhetta)
environment keeps pace with the engineering innovations and architectural ingenuity we are seeing with wood. Case in point, mass timber experts and juggernaut Perkins & Will are proposing a 40-story timber tower, that if built, would be the tallest of its kind in the world. This project is positioned to advance the industry by altering market perceptions of building taller with wood. Perkins & Will have put the performance and environmental implications of construction at the forefront of design. Not only will Earth Tower be a zero-emissions building, the completed project will demonstrate what is possible as building codes evolve, restoring local biodiversity, creating connections to the environment, and improving livability in tall, urban buildings.
2. Prefabrication & Modular Technologies Putting the Pieces Together
Off-site, prefabricated and modular construction continues to grow in popularity for their ability to save time and money, and the industry continues to find that timber offers several advantages when it comes to this factory-made approach to assembling a building like a kit of parts. Investments made by early adopters are beginning to demonstrate what is possible and help prove out the business case for these advancements. Big players, like Google-backed Sidewalk Labs, are betting on this promising trend. Self-described as an urban innovation organization, it proposes to dramatically improve city living through technological solutions and an entirely timber neighborhood built from locally-sourced wood products, touting benefits such as a reduced carbon footprint, flexible modular design, and improved affordability. Sidewalk Labs is proposing to build an $80-million timber factory and supply chain to support the construction of these wood buildings. The company says the factory would take a modular approach, manufacturing prefabricated building pieces that could then be assembled together to erect buildings on site. They say it would reduce building time by 35% compared to more traditional building methods, and provide a boost for the regional timber industry. In the decade to come, look for timber-based designs to take prefabrication and modular construction to new levels through advancements in automation, robotics and just-intime manufacturing. Building-Products.com
3. Innovative Building Models Making the Pieces Pencil Out
The increased adoption of prefabricated and modular construction is inspiring new business models that underpin and make cutting-edge technologies viable and cost-effective. Innovation in business models is also driving deeper levels of integration and more multidisciplinary firms. Industry disrupter Katerra recently acquired an interest in a number of design firms specializing in mass timber. Wood and prefabricated design have become differentiators across industry sectors, including real estate developers, integrated design-build firms, and manufacturers bundling product offerings in new ways. Developers are also seeing that mass timber can be a differentiator and a new business model. Hines, a privately owned global real estate investment, development and management firm, has launched a series of mass timber office buildings with the moniker T3 (Timber, Transit and Technology). When the seven-story T3 Minneapolis was completed in late 2016, it was the tallest wood building in the U.S. Since then, Hines has completed a second T3-branded property in Atlanta, and other projects are in the works in Nashville, Denver and Austin, and two are planned for Toronto. This scalable, cost-effective building model is positioning the industry for positive change.
4. New Design Tools The Timber Tool Kit
Innovations in digital design tools, such as building information modeling (BIM), Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), 3D rendering software, and augmented virtual reality (AVR), open up new possibilities for timber construction and design. Companies like Katerra use a realtime data processing application and the Internet of Things to achieve deep integration and newfound efficiencies. Integrated design and fabrication companies are seeing buildings designed in software like Revit, a 3D modeling application. The files can then be converted to a format for computer numerical control (CNC) machines in the factory. Mass timber projects may be challenged on a local level by construction codes that can lead to the development of specific site regulations and the proposal of alternative solutions. In these situations, BIM enables authorities and code June 2020 n Building Products Digest n
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WINNING WITH WOOD: Hines’ T3 series of timber offices is a winning formula that could replace the also-ran templated office complex of the past. (Photo by Ema Peter, courtesy MGA | Michael Green Architecture and DLR Group)
consultants to visualize the project and proposed solutions clearly while advancing the approval process. A novel approach of the precedent-setting 18-story tall timber Brock Commons Tallwood House was the intensive use of virtual design and construction (VDC) tools and methods. VDC is a subset of BIM primarily focused on the 3D geometric representation of a facility to support analysis for design and construction and can be particularly helpful for large scale mass timber projects. BIM can also help the installer and manufacturer to coordinate the delivery of the structural elements. For Brock Commons, BIM was used to plan out the delivery and unloading cycles for the timber elements. This exercise helps to avoid misplacement of elements and plan just-intime delivery conditions for construction sites where space is limited, and elements cannot be stored on site.
encourage low-carbon material choices. The city that adopted the goal of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020 is now aiming to reduce the embodied emissions in new buildings and construction projects by 40% by 2030 compared to a 2018 baseline and is looking for ways to remove regulatory barriers to mass timber construction.
5. Net Zero Targets & Embodied Energy
Among the first adopters of biophilic design are architects focusing on educational facilities. Projects like Quebec’s École Au Millénaire and the R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College in Amherst, Ma., are raising the architectural bar while forging connections between building occupants and the natural environment. Connecticut’s Common Ground High School was the nation’s first building to use cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a “stressed-skin” assembly. Using local black spruce for several structural and design elements, a team of five assembled the building’s frame in just four weeks. Today, staff and students couldn’t be happier with the new building, and they’re reaping additional biophilic benefits. Says co-designer Alan Organschi, “The students tell me the air feels really fresh, just like being outside.”
Low Carbon Timber-Built Cities
There is increasing interest by cities and governments to use more low carbon building materials, such as timber, rammed earth, and fly ash, as part of a climate change mitigation strategy and to address the growing concern about embodied energy. Architects see their profession as center stage to the demands of the climate crisis and a call for low carbon construction. The building and design sector responded with carbon calculation tools, including the Athena Impact Estimator and the Tally Life Cycle Assessment App. “The best thing to do is to use common sense,” says Thomas Robinson, principal of Portland, Or.-based LEVER Architecture, which specializes in mass timber construction. “Use what you have on hand, a material sourced regionally and coming from a sustainably managed forest.” Some jurisdictions, such as the city of Vancouver, have launched climate change action plans that specifically
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6. Biophilic Design
Putting Nature to Work
More and more, science is confirming common sense and the emerging concept of biophilia: that being exposed to nature and natural, organic materials not only calms our mind, but it can also contribute to an improved sense of health and well-being.
Connecting Education & Environment
– Think Wood promotes the economic, environmental and societal benefits of using softwood lumber in commercial, community and non-residential building applications (www.thinkwood.com). The program is primarily funded by the Softwood Lumber Board. Building-Products.com
FEATURE Story By David Koenig
Forest certification at 25 he World’s leading forest products certification systems—the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative—both recently celebrated their 25th anniversaries. FSC opened its first office in Oaxaca, Mexico in August 1994, with a staff of three. FSC has since relocated its headquarters to Bonn, Germany, and expanded to 355 staff members in 50 offices, across five continents. SFI’s first Standards and Rules took effect on January 1, 2015. Globally, over 800 million acres of forestland have been certified to FSC or SFI. In addition, chain-of-custody programs allow dealers and wholesalers to become certified, and prove wood they buy and sell comes from certified forests. BPD spoke with both groups for an update on the current state of their chain-of-custody programs and what’s ahead.
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— FSC —
Corey Brinkema, President, FSC US How many FSC chain-of-custody certified members are there? As of November 2019, there are approximately 39,000 FSC chain-of-custody certificates held by approximately 76,000 certified organizations or entities (these include multi-site and group certifications). What sort of growth are they experiencing in the volume of certified material they handle? Chain-of-custody has grown by approximately 10 % over the last 12 months. What can we expect from FSC going forward, regarding its chain-of-custody system?
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While the FSC chain-of-custody system is healthy overall, we are seeing particular excitement among companies connected to mass timber construction. As more architects and builders turn to wood as a climate solution, awareness of and commitment to sourcing from responsibly managed forests continues to grow. As the world’s most trusted certification of forests and forest products, FSC offers the best solution for climate smart wood, and companies are using FSC to gain access to new market opportunities.
— SFI —
Jason Metnick, Senior VP, Customer Affairs, SFI How many SFI chain-of-custody certified members are there? As of mid-April, there are 576 SFI chain-of-custody certificates representing 2,457 certified locations. What can we expect from SFI going forward, regarding its chain-of-custody system? SFI chain-of-custody certification is an important tool in helping SFI advance sustainability. It provides a way to track forest fiber content through production and manufacturing to the end product so that the benefits of sustainability managed forests, including climate change mitigation, species maintenance and recovery, economic benefits to communities can be more widely felt. SFI is currently undergoing our standard revision process with scheduled launch of new standards in January 2022. Because SFI is committed to continual improvement across all its standards, we anticipate even greater uptake of our chain-of-custody standard in the future. Building-Products.com
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MARGIN Builders By Trinton Castetter
3 tips for improving lumberyard efficiency unning an efficient and productive lumberyard is a tall task. Shipment frequency is increasing and lead time expectations are getting shorter. To maintain a competitive advantage, it can be necessary to rethink your operation. It’s easy to talk about the load capacity of a forklift fleet and buying the right forklift for the job. These are important. But there are other steps you can take to shorten lead times and increase productivity.
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Tip #1: Yard maintenance is just as important as forklift maintenance Lumberyard operations are often subject to having their driving surfaces take on wear and tear at a fast rate. Uneven surfaces or debris from lumber can cause damage to your material handling equipment. Assuring that the area is kept tight and level can extend the life of your forklift. Tip #2: A better layout could mean better profits One way to increase margins is by reducing your operating costs. Being strategic about where to place what product can reduce drive time, leading to less spending on fuel and maintenance/replacement of forklifts. Taking note of trends within your lumberyard is helpful when making layout decisions. For example, what kinds of wood are often bought jointly? Having those near each other can help your order pickers. You might also consider how you sell various units of lumber. In the event a product is typically purchased in separated amounts, you can store those in a location that creates a convenient route for your forklift operators to make multiple runs. On the other hand, if you traditionally move an entire bundle with a high capacity forklift, having a space available for your larger forklifts to do simple lifting might be an option to explore. Tip #3: Think ahead to reduce time Reducing lead time for sending orders out could be an area of opportunity for your facility. While maintaining the best routes in your lumberyard is important, you can also optimize the process of preparing loads to be shipped. Some facilities are increasing efficiency by creating a pre-build system. For example, after placing all paper/electronic order forms together, your forklift operators will bring the right sized, previously cut lumber and build out all loads beforehand. If done correctly, an order will be complete and ready 16
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
PRE-PLANNING the material flow through your lumberyard can shorten lead times and increase productivity. (Photo by Toyota Material Handling)
to go when the truck arrives for pickup. Depending upon the size of your operation, you may be able to employ someone part or full-time who handles the task of scheduling these pre-built loads and managing your inventory. This type of planning can go a long way in ensuring your operation is always one step ahead in regards to inventory management and efficiency. Having these pre-built loads labeled in a way in which they are easily identifiable by your forklift operators further improves your efficiency and throughput. This can be easily accomplished by simple changes to eliminate the amount of time it takes to identify the order on the build sheet. Font size, placement and even length of the order number can help to reduce the amount of time it takes to identify each build and can help to eliminate costly downtime. – Trinton Castetter is a product marketing specialist for Toyota Material Handling, Columbus, In. (www.toyotaforklift.com). Building-Products.com
COMPETITIVE Intelligence By Carla Waldemar
Thinking out of the box and into the pallet t’s 7 a.m. in Malad City, Id., when Doug Crowther picks up the phone for our conversation. (Mercifully, it’s 8 a.m. at my home base in Minneapolis.) But that’s business as usual, the GM of Hess Lumber assures me. Doug’s dad, who took over the family outfit from his own father in the Seventies, also still puts in “60, 70 hours a week,” and his mom’s on board to handle accounting tasks. Instead of hooking up Tinkertoys as a young kid, Doug was aligning 2x4s and sorting nuts and bolts in the yard his great-grandfather had built
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from scratch in 1935. That gentleman was a builder who developed a sizable sideline in making shipping crates, including those used in World War I to transport materiel overseas. Because he ordered his lumber by the carload, others in the vicinity started begging to buy some sticks from him—and you can guess how that turned out. Hess Lumber is still selling pallets—are they ever!—as we’ll see in a minute, but also doing a mighty brisk business on the retail side, selling to homeowners who are adding a deck, garage, or family room—or even
IDAHO DEALER Doug Crowther now leads the business his grandfather launched 85 years ago.
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acting as their own general contractor in building the home of their dreams. “Because they don’t have accounts established, the big yards can’t be bothered to deal with them, “Doug relates, “so we take care of them. We establish a relationship. Then they tell their friends. Lots of repeat business.” Hess also is happy to take care of area farmers and ranchers in need of barbed wire, railroad ties, whatever. “But that’s seasonal,” Doug notes. “Malad City is a bedroom community—lots of retirees,” he reports. Its population keeps pace with the calendar (it’s 2,020 at the moment), with few-to-no pros in that number— no certified local plumbers nor electricians, either. Thus, contractors contribute less than 20% of Hess’ revenue, and, chances are, these pros reside in Preston, Idaho, 30 miles away. “We make two or three runs there daily. And we can provide them with take-offs.” That service requires the kind of creativity that Doug has made his specialty. “I found a guy doing takeoffs from his home office, so, with minimal expense, we connect via email. It’s opened up new business, made us a lot more competitive. So does buying direct from my buying group—better prices, better product. “My dad, in his 41st year here, sticks to the old ways of doing business; it wouldn’t enter his mind to sub out anything like that. But, it frees up your time.” And Doug uses that time “always looking for new customers, new lines and new products” to serve his clientele. “‘No’ is not in my vocabulary.” It’s a swear word for his staff, too. “I teach them that if there Building-Products.com
SINCE THE 1970S, Hess Lumber’s hardware and lumberyard have been joined by a highly successful pallet manufacturing operation.
are no customers, there’s no business—so, take care of them: ‘Customers can fire you; not me,’” he drives home the message. His staff of 35 (20 full-time) represent a patchwork including older folks, close to retirement, who love to work part-time. “Some only deliver. I can call them on the spur of the moment and ask if they’re available to help out. I also have a lot of women employees, and they can outwork the guys! My lead pallet person is a woman, and so’s my lead yard person. My secretary is my righthand ‘man,’” he laughs. (“Right, Trish?” he hollers for confirmation.) “I train them from scratch, though most bring experience working in production—auto, meat—so they’re kind of familiar with the basics, working on orders, working sideby-side, as they do on the pallet side of the operation, feeding machines. And women like it that they’re close to home; if their kid get sick at school, or something, they can take right off. The biggest things I’m looking for in a hire is that they show up for work and are willing to do the job: the two biggest traits I look for. You can teach the rest….” The company has done so well, year after year, that it outgrew its original location. “In 2007, we started building a new store on adjacent property, which would let us expand from 1,500 sq. ft. to 7,500 sq. ft. for retail, and a total of 9,000 sq. ft.” The lumberyard and pallet operation occupy an additional acre. The new store took more than two years to complete because Doug and his crew worked the project. “We’re the type of people who like to do what we can ourselves,” he explains. “One year we did the foundation; then the floor; and then started framing.” The move paid off. Revenues jumped from $1.8 million to $4 million and still are growing by over 10% a year (“a conservative estimate,” in Doug’s words). How the heck? A reporter wants to learn the magic trick. “We service people, we don’t tell them ‘no,’” he repeats. “We go out and find [whatever it is they need]. We can offer a larger selection now, like irrigation products, which are new for us. And the pallet operation across the street keeps booming.” Hess has been making pallets since the ’70s—back when they came across a local stone manufacturer who needed such a service. The next step was achieving Building-Products.com
certification—proving that the product was heat-tolerant, free of bugs and mold, and meeting other specs. “It opened the door to three or four other accounts. It’s a whole new ballgame now. Certification put us on the map and pushed us to where we are today. “We moved the operation from a small shop to a 7,000sq. ft. facility, where we just completed an order running 160 by 160 inches—six pallets, for a total of $21,000. It’s unique. But we can build anything if you just send us the specs. Right now, we’re even taking orders from other pallet companies because we’re familiar with the system, have the right equipment. But we’re constantly learning new systems; every day, it’s a little bit different. (That’d make a good reality show!” he chuckles.) Bottom line: “You’ve got to think outside the box. Don’t be afraid to take chances on a new adventure. Plan it right and hope it pays off.” Another out-of-the-box venture has done well, too, and that’s recycling. When he built that new store, Doug realized there was space in it for a cardboard compactor. In the spirit of keeping the town and the environment clean and green, he bought a vertical baler and distributed collection bins around the area. “We keep 20,000 lbs. of cardboard out of landfills every month—a million, total, in the past seven years. Nowadays, we charge a small fee, which allows us to break even. We hired a high school kid to drive around in a forklift to make collections.” Hess went on to purchase a second baler that recycles plastic bags and super sacs. What’s next? Stay tuned. As Doug explains, “I like being around people, helping the community, making the town a better place. And I love keeping our customers happy.” And at 35, there are many more decades of innovation ahead. Plus four kids in the wings (just sayin’.) Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net June 2020 n Building Products Digest n
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OLSEN on Sales By James Olsen
Caring & curious vs. needy & greedy often hear journeymen salespeople say, “I can’t believe she says that kind of thing to her customers! I could never talk to my customers like that.” If you listen to Master Sellers talk to their customers, you will be amazed at how hard they push and the statements they get away with. I work with a Master Seller named Michael La Mattina, and when I listen to his taped calls, I shake my head at some of the things he says to customers. He often talks to them as if he were scolding his favorite auntie or uncle. The reason these sellers can talk to their customers this way is because the customer knows that the seller is coming from a place of caring. They aren’t making these bold statements because they want or need an order. They say them because they truly do care and believe that their solution is best for the customer. It’s immoral to sell something we don’t believe in. This is why we must know before we make the call why our solution or product is a good deal for the customer. Many sellers are hesitant because they feel they have to have the “best deal in the history of humanity” before they can really stand behind their product. This is not the case, and no one ever has that kind of deal. Other sellers confuse “negotiation” with lying. There are and always have been two prices: the asking price and the buying price. Master Sellers are comfortable knowing their deal is good for the customer and that there will be negotiation before arriving at a final price. The Master Seller, when presented with an objection or obstacle, has a healthy curiosity about why the customer doesn’t think their solution will work. The struggling seller gives up, gets defensive, and/or whiny and moves on. The Master Seller finds out why or why not? Maybe they get the order through questioning and negotiation or maybe not. But they do learn more about their customer so, worst case scenario, they set up their next opportunity for an order with the same or similar customers in the future. They are learning machines who sell, not just Quotrons trying to get an order.
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Prospecting
Quotron: “We sell a lot of SPF and studs in your area. Do you use those products in your operation?” Customer: “Yes, we do. So what’s your price on 2x4 16’s today?” Quotron: “I can get those into you at $475/MBF.” (Needy and greedy.) Customer: “Well, I’m paying well underneath that now so I don’t think you can help me.” Click.
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Master Seller: “We sell a lot of SPF and studs in your area. Do you use those products in your operation?” Customer: “Yes, we do. So what’s your price on 2x4 16’s today?” Master Seller: “I’d love to sell you something today, but that really isn’t the purpose of the call. Let me ask you a couple questions about you and your business and then I’ll be able to give you a professional quote. What kind of stock do you normally buy?” (Curious and caring.)
Closing
Customer: “I don’t need any right now.” Quotron: “OK. What are you buying?” (Needy and greedy.) _______________________ Master Seller: “OK. Where are we on that product?” Customer: “What do you mean, where are we?” Master Seller: “We spoke last week, and you told me you had two on the ground and none on order. I’ve got in my notes that we are using one a week, so we’ll be out of stock in two weeks, right?” (Curious and caring.) Customer: “That’s right.”
Master Seller: “Well, Susan, shipments are two weeks out right now, so if we put on an order today the stock will arrive just in time, which I know you love. We don’t want to pay a premium out of distribution if we run out, so why don’t we put on at least one, so we are covered?” Customer: “That makes sense. Let’s do one.” When customers feel we are needy or just want the order, they shut down and shut us out. When we are curious and caring, they open up to us and we will have a partnership relationship with them.
James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503) 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com Building-Products.com
THE REVENUE Growth Habit By Alex Goldfayn
Fight for optimism and positivity he Pandemic has changed the rules of engagement for businesses and for salespeople. In this challenging environment, we have to fight for optimism and positivity. They won’t magically appear. We must actively make it so. We have to fight for positivity. We have to fight for our families right now. Our kids deserve this from us. Our parents deserve this from us. My parents brought me here from the former Soviet Union when I was 2 years old. We had $20 in our pockets and two suitcases with all of our belongings in the world. We survived that, we’ll survive this. I’ve been out of money multiple times in my life. Like, all the way out of money. Now I run a $3-million sales growth consulting practice. We survived difficult things before, and we’ll get through this. How do you fight for positivity and optimism? First, try to avoid the things that take that away from you. For me it’s the news, which is all bad news, all the time. For me it’s avoiding all the politicians and their news conferences, and their negativity. Take joy in your family. Find joy in this time. Take in things that bring you happiness, and actively exclude those sources that bring you down. Use this tension to do things you didn’t have time for before. Use the tension of this difficult time to create. The best music and art is created when the artists are struggling, under pressure. Nobody creates their best work after they’ve succeeded, when they’re in their mansion. We create our best work when we’re uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable now. Create. This will bring you positivity and optimism. How do you fight for positivity and optimism? Ironically it’s the exact same activity that will grow your sales, even now. You fight for optimism and positivity by calling your customers. That’s right. Call your customers. You’ll have great conversations with them. People are craving connection right now. People want to hear from people they respect and enjoy. And YOU are that person. Call your people. You’ll feel more positive and optimistic. And—here is the beautiful thing—these calls will grow your sales. They will remember you.
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Nobody else is calling. The competition is silent. Let them be. We’ll be present. We’ll call. And we’ll feel better. And our customers will feel better. And they’ll remember who made them feel better. And they will thank you with their business. And how will you feel when you grow business now? Better! Positive! Optimistic! The phone call is the answer. Do not keep your value away from people, especially now. Now is not the time to be selfish with your great value. Share it. Give it freely. Help people. And they will remember you forever. Fight for your customers. Fight for your family. Fight for positivity. Now is the time. Fight!
Alex Goldfayn Revenue Growth Consultancy alex@evangelistmktg.com (847) 459-6322
Building-Products.com
THE POSSIBILITIES KEEP GROWING:
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TRANSFORMING Teams By Claudia St. John
Prepare for workplace re-entry during COVID-19 s state, local and municipal governments take steps to re-open businesses across the country, employers must take a fresh look at their physical workspace, their workplace practices, and their communication and training of employees in order to prohibit the spread of the coronavirus and to protect their employees and clients to keep them safe. Below is a checklist for employers to consider when planning to reopen, or for those businesses who have remained open under an “essential business” classification. This checklist serves to provide some ideas, resources, and reminders on how to improve the level of safety and protection in your workplace. A few things to highlight: ● If employees can work from home, allow them to continue to telecommute as social distancing and safe hygiene are still the only ways to prohibit the spread of the disease. ● Social distancing, use of PPE, proper disinfecting, and proper training are keys to maintaining a safe workplace. ● Experts’ understanding of COVID-19 is quickly evolving. From the symptoms of COVID-19 and the CDC’s recommendations to government orders on social
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distancing, PPE use, and workplace closures—information is constantly being updated. Employers should identify all of the resources necessary on the federal (DOL, CDC, EPA, OSHA, EEOC), state, municipal, and local levels (health departments, law enforcement, executive offices) in order to keep track of the virus’ impact and their obligations as employers maintaining safe workplaces within their communities.
CORONAVIRUS WORKPLACE PREPARATION CHECKLIST Federal Resources
c Review CDC guidelines for opening and cleaning the workplace. c Review OSHA Guidance on preparing workplaces for COVID-19.
Posters
c Print and display personal hygiene posters and reminders in all bathrooms, work stations, and official posting locations. c Post all mandated COVID-related posters such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act notifications.
PPE
c Maintain stocks of face masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, and cleaning solutions for all employees who work onsite. Ensure cleaning products are not solely anti-bacterial (coronavirus is not a bacterium and therefore these products may not be effective). Consult EPA on appropriate chemicals and agents necessary to disinfect coronavirus. c Identify sources for PPE and sanitizing equipment including industry supplier organizations, cleaning and janitorial companies, promotional product companies.
Common Areas
c Prop open non-fire doors, such as those to bathrooms with inside stalls, work areas, office supplies, high traffic destinations that can be safely left open to avoid high-traffic touch points.
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c Close down common areas where possible (including break rooms, kitchens, lounge areas) and consider its reuse as a work station. c Post limits to the number of people that can be in common areas based on square footage. Place notices prominently.
Work Stations
c Measure work stations and identify areas where social distancing of less than 6 ft. exist that require reconfiguration. c Build/install physical barriers between desks/work stations where possible/necessary. c Redesign traffic patterns to restrict opportunities for employees to interact (color code work areas, restrict access, etc.). c Identify opportunities to establish new work stations to create social distancing (such as unused conference rooms, closed lobbies, utility closets, unused square footage). c Avoid the need for employees to share phones, desks, offices, and other work tools and equipment including remote controls and AV equipment.
Hygiene
c Install hands-free soap dispensers or additional soap pumps and paper towel dispensers (hands free if possible) at all sink areas. Building-Products.com
c Place touchless hand sanitizer stations on both sides of all doors that require handling, and at all high-touch areas such as printers, scanner stations, and vending machines. c Replace all water fountains with touchless water dispensers or replace with personal-use water bottles and a hand sanitizing dispenser.
Federal Resources
c Kitchen – remove coffee and all food products (sugar, tea, coffee, creamer), close and seal refrigerators. Limit the number of employees eating together. If necessary, remove tables/chairs. c Contact food vendors to provide safe packaging, sealed food. If vending machines are used, place hand sanitizer nearby and wipe down machine throughout the day. c Replace employee food celebrations with non-food gifts such as flowers, balloons, gift cards, and avoid in-person parties. Alternate celebration ideas include walking a celebrated employee through the building or hosting an outside gathering while maintaining social distancing.
Cleaning & Maintenance
c Identify professional cleaning company to provide deep-clean prior to re-opening business and to establish a relationship should ongoing decontamination cleaning be necessary. c Improve ventilation in all areas where possible. Have HVAC maintenance and air filters replaced to maximize efficiency. c Evaluate mail and delivery services to prioritize electronic communication where possible. Limit mail pickup/drop off areas and structure to maximize social distancing.
Work from Home
c Identify all employees who can successfully tele-work full time or part time and maximize work from home opportunities for all employees who can do so. c Develop appropriate work-from-home policies. c Maximize use of technology for communication, including video conferencing in lieu of in-person meetings.
Health Checks & Exposure
c Establish protocols for employees to report if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms or have been exposed. Ensure the privacy of all employees reporting COVID-19 experiences. c Provide guidance on self-quarantining, medical consultation or treatment, and appropriate use of PPE and social distancing according to CDC guidelines if employee reports exposure or symptoms. c Establish communication protocols for notifying employees of a workplace exposure, providing guidance to potentially exposed employees on self-quarantining, COVID-19 symptoms, safe hygiene, contact tracing within the workplace, and heightened use of PPE. Ensure privacy of exposed employee(s) in all communications. c If choosing to do so, establish policy/approach to daily health checks, including reporting symptoms and temperature screening, before entering the workplace in accordance with CDC, EEOC, and state/ local health directives. c Identify necessary communication channels with state and local health agencies and track federal, state, and local governmental agencies that provide updates on the spread of coronavirus and related government directives.
Scheduling
c Identify all individuals who require a modified work schedule due to child care, public transportation, ability to work from home, etc. c Adjust work hours to allow for “shifts” including evening and weekend shifts to reduce the number of employees onsite at one time. Building-Products.com
Travel & Visitors
c Establish safety policy for those whose jobs require travel/client calls/interactions off workplace premises. Consider policy for video conferencing and check-ins with clients. Reach out to clients to adhere to their revised visitor/vendor/client call meeting policies. c Establish policies for guests regarding limiting/restricting access to workplace, health checks, and temperature screening. c Establish policy regarding employee participation in meetings both on and offsite.
HR Policy Review
c Ensure all FFCRA leave request forms are current and up-to-date. Review Emergency Paid Family Leave requests as schools and daycare centers open up or close down. c Review all PTO policies and consider COVID-related revisions such as special COVID leave for those who have exhausted federal paid leave and personal PTO, consider a communal PTO bank for those with excess PTO given their inability to travel, consider a COVID carry-over or PTO payout for 2020-2021. c Review Workers Compensation policy with insurance carriers to identify any new COVID-19 policy riders or changes to comp policy. c Develop remote/virtual recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding process as necessary.
Leadership
c Communicate employer’s commitment to employee/customer/ community safety and health. c Be positive, supportive, empathetic, understanding, and consistent in all communications with employees. Remember, all eyes are on you and taking your lead on how to respond. c Lead by example on social distancing, PPE use, adhering to new COVID-19 related policies. c Solicit staff input on cleaning office, social distancing, workplace redesign, shifts and breaks, and other workplace adjustments. c Emphasize personal responsibility inside and outside of the workplace.
Training
c Train employees on social distancing and provide guidance on discontinuing hand shaking, touching, hugging. Again, lead by example on social distancing. c Train employees on proper sanitation and prevention techniques including hand washing, covering coughs, cleaning desks, phones, high-touch areas. c If using them, train on proper PPE use and disposal/reuse. c If using them, train on administration of temperature and health screenings. c Train employees on how to safely get to and from the office while commuting and in public.
As you can see, some of these tasks are regulatory and technical and some are inspirational, including leading by example while in your workplace. While returning to work during a global health pandemic is frightening and uncertain, your commitment to safety, communication, and compassion will ensure your workplace and your workers remain productive, healthy and well. Claudia St. John, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President, Affinity HR Group contact@affinityhrgroup.com June 2020 n Building Products Digest n
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LUMBER 411 By Matt Pomeroy
A Special Series from Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
To be or knot to be f all the characteristics offered by lumber to appeal to the end user, knots are the most scrutinized of all. Love them or hate them, knots are an inevitable part of lumber. Formed from limbs which grow from the center of the tree outward, when the tree becomes a log and then lumber, the limbs are cut perpendicular or at an angle to its horizontal access—and thus, a knot is created. Are knots defects? Well, to say that would imply that trees with limbs are defective. We know that a tree cannot thrive without at least some limbs, and we also know that lumber can perform in some capacity whether it is full of knots or free from them. In the end, whether a knot is a defect or not is really in the eye of the beholder and dependent on the intended use of the lumber. Let’s take a deeper look at how knots impact appearance grades. In eastern white pine wall paneling planks, knots would have no adverse effect on the performance of the lumber, as they are solely aesthetic, providing a beautiful natural look to a wall or ceiling (think: shiplap, beaded ceiling lumber). When looking at framing, a lumber application involving strength, knots play a more critical role in product performance.
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KNOTS ARE an integral part of lumber grading, but how they’re evaluated has always been somewhat of a mystery.
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The appearance grades of eastern white pine and other softwood graded species do limit the size and quantity of the knots. In some grades, there is a limit on the number of knots allowed in one piece. Generally, lower grades allow larger and more plentiful knots, while higher grades admit fewer smaller ones. Are all knots the same? Knots in softwood appearance grades are generally classified by black, red, live, dead, encased, or intergrown. Black/dead knots are encased with bark, which happens when a limb dies and part of it falls off, no longer growing outward. The tree continues to grow around the remaining dead limb; what’s left when this tree becomes lumber is a black/encased/dead knot. Red knots are formed by the portion of a limb not dead at harvest; they’re also known as intergrown or live knots. The situation happens frequently, where a knot can be fully encased on one face of a board and completely intergrown on the other face. The extent to which the margin of a knot is intergrown or encased determines its classification, and each knot classification is evaluated independently on the face on which it appears. In a nutshell: red knots are typically larger and generally more desired than black knots, so they are unlimited in quantity when it comes to grading. Black knot sizes and quantities are strictly limited. Here’s how a knot is measured: the average diameter is determined based on two measurements at the longest and widest portions of the knot. These measurements are averaged, and the knot is evaluated independently on each face of the board. Next time you’re looking at a piece of beautiful appearance grade lumber, take note of the knots and what you’ve learned. How would you grade that piece of wood? For more information on lumber grading, please reach out to NELMA at info@nelma.org.
– Matt Pomeroy is director of inspection services for Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association. Reach him at info@nelma.org.
Building-Products.com
Kansas Yard Calling It Quits
Trio Home Center, Ellis, Ks., will close by the end of the month. Glen Keller and Dave McDaniel, co-owners since 1972, sold the property, which will be razed to make room for a Dollar General. The site has housed a lumberyard since 1878. Shortly after moving out, the partners plan to open Trio Hometown Supply just down the street. The new venture won’t offer lumber, drywall or cement, but will sell hardware, paint, sundries and appliances.
E-Sales Platform Goes Live
Two former Chicago lumbermen have teamed with two financial tech services executives to launch a new e-commerce platform for lumber that they promise has worked the kinks out
DEALER Briefs Ace Hardware, South Fulton, Ga., has been opened by Warren Pegram and Charleston Austin. Ace Hardware , Royersford, Pa., opened for business May 14. Hatton’s Hometown Hardware , Peabody, Ks., was
opened by Jamie and Korie Hatton.
J&M Ace Hardware has moved to a larger storefront in Belulah, N.D. Menards is preparing to remodel its store in Norton Shores, Mi., expanding by 40%.
of previous failed systems. MaterialsXchange went live in May with 10 mills and wholesalers active. It’s the brainchild of CEO Michael Wisnefski, joined by one-time Bloch Lumber colleague Ashley Boeckholt as CRO, 40-year operations solutions manager Joe Campagna as COO, and as CFO Ian Polakoff, whose 15-year career began with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Their intention is to keep the staff small and the sales process simple, so buying lumber online is as easy as making an electronic stock trade. Wisnefski traces the idea to 2009, when CME began trading lumber futures on the electronic Globex platform. “I was the first floor trader to bring a computer into the lumber pit, and most of my trades were done on the electronic platform,” he says. “In just 18 months, the share of contracts traded in the digital environment rose from 0% to 95% of total daily volume—the lumber pit was permanently closed on July 2, 2015. I experienced firsthand some of the ways that technology could be used to make manual and repetitive processes more efficient.” In 2016, he began researching how transaction technology could be adopted for the physical trading of commodities, which currently are bought and sold in ways he considers inefficient and lack price transparency. The system aims to make buying and selling easy; ensure free, equal access to a product’s price to everyone; allow deals to be made instantly— with the click of a button; have money transferred quickly and securely; and
allow trackable, hassle-free shipping. MaterialsXchange’s commission is modest and straightforward. “It’s very simple,” Boeckholt explains. “If you buy a truck, it’s $40. If you sell a truck, it’s $80.” Rail freight will be incorporated within the next two months, and the platform will gradually expand to commodity raw materials for other industries.
CNRG Buys Arkansas Dealer
Walter Morris has agreed to sell H&M Lumber, West Helena, Ar., to Central Network Retail Group, which has 109 locations in 15 states. H&M will become part of CNRG’s Home Hardware Center brand.
SUPPLIER Briefs Klausner Lumber One, Live Oak, Fl., filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on April 30, citing over $100 million in liabilities. Klausner shut down production at its two U.S. mills in March (see May, page 28). Gruen-Wald Laminates this fall will install a new radio frequency generator and 24-ft.-long curing tunnel for its fingerjoint line in Tea, S.D. A-1 Roof Trusses, Fort Pierce, Fl., will construct a new $17-million, 15,000-sq. ft. plant in Bainbridge, Ga. Green Meadow Lumber , Westfield, Ma., suffered significant damage in May 9 fire. Dempsey Wood Products, Orangeburg, S.C., late this year will install optimization and controls to automate its bucking line. Columbia Forest Products
endured only minimal damage in a May 4 fire at its hardwood veneer operation in Presque Isle, Me.
BlueLinx is now distributing the full line of MoistureShield composite decking at its Charleston, S.C., DC. Palmer-Donavin , Columbus, Oh., now distributes Royal Building Products’ Celect cellular composite siding and AZEK Shingle Siding with PaintPro Technology in the Midwest. Sherwood Lumber , Melville, N.Y., has become a premier distributor of Vicwest Building Products’ True Nature metal tiles in the Northeast. 28
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CO LU M B U S ,
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R E G I S T E R N O W AT nawla.org
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THINKING Ahead By Eric Ford, Western Lumber
The follow-through lthough it’s a term often associated with baseball and other sports, the meaning of “follow-through” goes far beyond that. The definition, as seen in the Free Dictionary is: to engage in an action or complete some task that one said or implied one would do. And according to executive coach Cynthia Corsetti, people who consistently apply follow-through “will complete projects on time, on budget, and with satisfied clients.” In a nutshell, that’s how you succeed in the lumber industry. This is what I’ve learned from a lifetime of dealing in wood. I grew up smack dab in the middle of the industry—my father was the president of Roseburg Forest Products—and although I wasn’t necessarily married to the idea of continuing the family tradition, I’ve only had one job that wasn’t in this sector. Working for Pepsi had its advantages, including all the Mountain Dew my 18-year-old self could drink, but the truth of the matter is that lumber is where my path brought me.
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The Wind-Up
After a promising summer internship, I spent my senior year of college taking classes two days a week and working three days at Patrick Lumber, Portland, Or., which had offered me full-time employment upon graduation. One of the final steps before claiming a business degree was to complete a huge project that required students to build an international company on paper—mapping out the balance sheet, describing how the entity would be profitable, etc. I was already working for an international trading company, so the assignment was a piece of cake. While some classmates turned in papers that were 60 to 90 pages long, my report was all of 19 pages. The instructor called the work substandard, saying it was way too basic and simple; but the bottom line is that what we do in lumber isn’t rocket science. Actually, it’s basically a service industry! The truth of the matter is if you have a good personality and a good heart, if you can be honest and have a high level of integrity and you can
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follow through and take care of people—whether they are suppliers or customers—you can be successful. Although my professor wasn’t impressed at the time, she came to have an appreciation later. I ran into her after being invited back to my alma mater nine or 10 years later to offer some real-world perspective to a group of seniors. After giving me a mediocre grade and using my report over the years as an example of what NOT to do, she was shocked that my formula for success hadn’t changed. By then, I had moved on from Patrick to Western Lumber. At that time, Western was a $15-million company, and it operated under the same principles of integrity and follow-through that I learned at Patrick and that seem to permeate this industry.
The Big Leagues
Probably one of the most memorable examples in my own experience unfolded when Western Lumber was switching from a regional bank to a global one. We were sitting down with four “suits” who were anxious to review some of our contracts.
Building-Products.com
A Special Series from North American Wholesale Lumber Association
“We don’t have any,” I told them. “You’re going to buy all of this wood internationally and bring it to the United States to sell. What is that based on? Without a contract, how can you be sure the buyers are good for it?” In response, I retrieved a file folder and presented it to the bank representatives. They opened it only to find a cocktail napkin with barely legible writing scribbled on it. “What’s this?!” they asked. “That,” I replied, “is a contract for a million board feet.” I had spent two days with the owners of multiple sawmills in New Zealand, looking at timber and visiting their manufacturing sites. The cocktail napkin represented terms we agreed to around 2:00 the night before I flew out. I wasn’t worried about a formal contract, because we had integrity. I’ve known this guy for 20 years, I explained, and I believe he’s going to follow through because he said he’s going to follow through. And if he says he’s going to do it, he’s going to do it! Now, it’s true that you can follow through and get burned. Not everything’s a win. But you do follow through. The bottom line is if you make a promise to somebody, you honor it. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t honor it, you carry the burden of being the bearer of bad news. Yes, it sucks. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But when you have the fortitude to tell the truth about a situation, you give your supplier or customer the option of contingency planning versus just kicking the can down the road and crossing your fingers that everything is going to work out. It’s so much better to be honest and open. It might cost you an order at that point in time, but probably what it does is buys you trust.
About NAWLA North American Wholesale Lumber Association is the association that delivers unparalleled access to relationships and resources that improve business strategy and performance through sales growth, cost savings, and operational efficiencies for wholesalers and manufacturers of forest products and other building materials that conduct business in North America. Learn more about how NAWLA can help your business at nawla.org.
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Team Roseburg
I’ve learned so much over the years, through my own mistakes and the guidance of others. Although I never worked full-time for my family’s company, there’s no shortage of lessons there. My involvement with Roseburg as a shareholder, adviser and member of various boards and committees also helped teach me the fundamentals of follow-through. My dad, in particular, was instrumental in putting me on the track that I’m on. He gave me two pieces of advice, which are always with me. First, always tell the truth—because then you don’t have to remember what you said—and second, it may take 20 years to build a decent reputation in this business, but it will only take 10 minutes to destroy it. If you don’t have a high sense of integrity and you’re just out there trying to make a fast buck, the lumber industry just isn’t the place for you. I’ve taken those lessons to heart, and they’re why I run Western Lumber the way I do. I don’t ask my traders, who are independent contractors, to sign non-compete agreements, because I wouldn’t want anyone to ask me to do the same (I still trade every single day). I wouldn’t want, with coronavirus shaking up business the way it is, to start manipulating commission schedules, because I wouldn’t want somebody to do that to me. Work is so much more than business, another value my dad instilled in me: there are people that you have a responsibility for and to.
Home Run
So to bring it home, I repeat: what we do is not rocket science. But it is hard work that requires time and patience. If you continually concentrate on the process, the results will take care of themselves. If you’re only results-oriented, always looking at your comp sheet, you’re in trouble. But if you create great processes, and you take care of people, things will start to happen. It’s just an evolution. And it starts with the follow-through. – Eric Ford is trader/ majority owner at Western Lumber Co., Medford, Or. (westernlumber.com).
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Do it Best Corp. president/CEO Dan Starr welcomed members to this year’s spring market.
Doing it Best for 75 years... and counting DO IT BEST CORP. may be celebrating its 75th anniversary, but as always its focus remains squarely not so much on its past, but on what it can do for its member dealers today—and how it can keep doing it better into the future. Do it Best is the only U.S.-based, member-owned buying cooperative in the home improvement industry that’s
fully integrated in hardware, lumber and building materials. With annual sales nearing $4 billion, Do it Best Corp. serves approximately 3,800 member-owned locations across the U.S. and in more than 50 other countries. The co-op employs more than 400 at its global headquarters in Fort Wayne, In., plus thousands more in its eight warehouses (Retail Service
1945
Centers) and 25 reloads. Member-owners have access to an extensive lineup of SKUs covering everything from LBM and hardware to paint, home décor, and industrial/ commercial supplies. Every spring and fall, thousands of Do it Best members from every state and dozens of other countries travel
1955
Arnold Gerberding believed dealer-owned cooperatives were essential for keeping hardware stores competitive and independent. In 1945, he left his job as a home-improvement salesman to start Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI), a co-op based in Fort Wayne, In., serving locally-owned hardware and lumber stores in the tri-state area.
In 1955, HWI began offering private truck delivery to member stores. The first fleet consisted of two 16-ft. trucks driven by offduty taxi drivers. The fleet expanded rapidly, allowing HWI to provide members with lower cost freight and scheduled deliveries. By the end of the 1950s, the HWI delivery system had been so perfected that it became an important selling point to prospective members.
1947
In August of 1947, all 13 employees of HWI gathered for the groundbreaking of the facility on Nelson Road. HWI’s new, permanent home was completely financed by member-owners. Ever mindful of expenses, HWI bought fixtures from a grocery store going out of business, and a barn on the 10-acre property was dismantled and the wood used to build storage racks.
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to Indianapolis for high-energy buying markets. Covering more than 500,000 sq. ft., the shows are packed with top industry vendors, offering hot buys, pallet specials, free displays, and—best of all— the opportunity to network face-to-face with experts and fellow retailers. Members can also take advantage of a full slate of flexible, scalable and customizable programs and services anywhere, including: • The Color Bar in-store paint experience • Exclusive brands like Channellock professional-grade hand tools • An industry-leading rental program • Store Design services • Vast educational opportunities More than ever, Do it Best is focused on growth—by attracting new members The Color Bar in-store paint experience helps empower members to own their markets.
and by helping existing members increase sales and profitability. That focus on growth is reflected in a number of recent initiatives, such as enhancing transportation management, order management, and product information technology; cutting millions of miles out of its distribution routes; improving forecasting accuracy; and optimizing its replenishment systems. Do it Best trusts that its continuing strides to operate at maximum efficiency and productivity will translate straight to retail members’ bottom lines—well into the future.
Access to member-exclusive brands, such as Channellock, enables dealers to set themselves apart from the competition.
1971
Wolf believed the only way HWI could grow beyond a mere regional supplier was to establish warehouses in other areas. Cape Girardeau, Mo., was selected for its first standalone warehouse because of its strategic location to serve the South and West as well as the lucrative St. Louis market. Other locations in Dixon, Il., and Medina, Oh., soon followed, and now eight facilities across the country serve Do it Best members.
1967
In 1967, Don Wolf succeeded Gerberding as president & CEO of HWI. Wolf continued to strengthen and expand HWI by taking the co-op from a regional company to a multinational corporation with over $1 billion in sales. His commitment to volunteerism has become a permanent part of the Do it Best culture. Building-Products.com
1979
HWI expanded into a global operation in 1979 when its first international member joined the co-op, Panama Do it Center. Today, Do it Best boasts hundreds of international members in more than 50 countries all around the world.
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Anawalt Lumber Co., Los Angeles, Ca.
Ready for your makeover? TIME FOR A REFRESH? The Signature Store Design service offers a flexible, comprehensive, and scalable design approach that helps Do it Best members respond to consumers’ increased demand for style and convenience. The co-op’s experienced team of store design experts helps members select and execute the right strategy to increase store
performance through a design that fits their unique market and location—regardless of their footprint. With an emphasis on their local brand, specialists work with the dealers to create and implement interior and exterior store designs that boost their market position, integrate their store with the Do it Best programs of their choice, and improve the overall shopping experience for their contractor customers. Recently, Do it Best worked with the team at Wood Shed Lumber & Hardware Supply, Carrollton, Mo., to design and develop a boldly re-imagined, brand new 22,000-sq. ft. facility, simultaneously transforming the existing yard into a full-service, drive-up lumberyard. The store design team also worked recently with Anawalt Lumber Co., Los Angeles, Ca., on a complete renovation of its Hollywood store, inside out. The layout was reconfigured to improve traffic flow. The dingy tile floor was torn up and replaced with contemporary, polished concrete. The addition of The Color Bar added a modern design workstation to the paint department. New fixtures and signage—including archive photos dating back more than 90 years to the earliest days of the historic store— were incorporated into the new interior. Stores that have completed the program have, on average, experienced double-digit sales increases.
Wood Shed Lumber & Hardware Supply, Carrollton, Mo.
1982
1998
In 1982, HWI revolutionized the look of stores in the home improvement industry with the Do it Center design. The bright colors and signage made stores look bigger and products easier to find. So overwhelming was the response that the press reported, “HWI can legitimately lay claim to ignite the resurgence in hardware retailing, and even its co-op competitors concede its Do it Center program has been a rousing success.”
In 1998, HWI combined with Our Own Hardware, a Minnesota-based regional co-op. As a result of the merger, HWI changed its name to Do it Best Corp. to better tie together members, the private brand program, truck fleet, store designs, and advertising. The histories of both co-ops are closely intertwined; when Arnold Gerberding researched co-ops he talked with Our Own Hardware founder George Hall to get ideas.
1992
Mike McClelland succeeded Don Wolf as president & CEO in 1992. He joined HWI in 1974, working in an entry-level position in personnel before later becoming VP of sales & marketing and then executive vice president. McClelland’s focus on serving members resulted in a period of tremendous growth for the company despite intense competition from big boxes.
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2020
BORN READY. Recessions and trade wars. Big box and online competition. Floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes–– even a global pandemic. Throughout the last 75 years, Do it Best has faced disruptions of every kind. Disruptions we were born to overcome. Together, we have proven we have the strength, agility, and wisdom to be there for each other and our communities. While no one can know what the next 75 years will hold, we are confident that we will continue to help our member-owners grow and succeed— because we will do what we were born to do. Together.
BE A PART OF THE NEXT 75. doitbestlbm.com
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2020
Do it Best gives back DO IT BEST CORP. is taking its history of community involvement to the next level, with its recent launch of the Do it Best Foundation. The program will distribute grants to organizations that align with its giving pillars and generate the biggest impact in their communities to help them be great places to live, work and play. “Do it Best has a long tradition of supporting local causes and agencies that are committed to serving the needs of others,” said Dan Starr, president and CEO of Do it Best Corp. “We have been inspired to take that commitment to the next level with the formation of the Do it Best Foundation, where we look forward to offering even more support to community organizations and initiatives.” The new foundation will focus on four key areas for its charitable giving: • Health and wellness: ensuring there are adequate resources to support the growth of healthy families. • Youth enrichment: encouraging developmental, educational and extracurricular activities to strengthen the minds and bodies of children and prepare them for successful futures. • The Community: developing stronger connections among our citizens and building a greater appreciation for what makes our neighborhoods and towns unique and worth preserving.
Over the years, Do it Best has supported Habitat for Humanity and many other charitable organizations.
• The Arts: supporting vibrant culture displayed through creativity. A dedicated committee reviews requests for funding. Do it Best has been a long-time supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, the United Way, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity, and other causes.
2016
In 2016, Dan Starr was named the new president & CEO of Do it Best Corp. Starr served in a variety of leadership roles over the previous decade, including several years as executive vice president and COO. With his attention to detail and solid decision making, Starr established himself as a model servantleader and continued the legacy of strong leadership at Do it Best.
2002
Bob Taylor succeeded Mike McClelland as Do it Best Corp. president & CEO in 2002. After becoming president of his family’s chain of hardware stores in Virginia Beach, Va., Taylor served on the Do it Best board of directors before joining the co-op in 2000 as senior VP. Through Taylor’s broad experience, he sharpened the retail focus of Do it Best and its programs and services.
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2020
Today, Do it Best is the only U.S.-based, member-owned buying cooperative in the home improvement industry that’s fully integrated in hardware, lumber and building materials. With annual sales nearing $4 billion, Do it Best Corp. serves thousands of memberowned locations across the U.S. and in more than 50 other countries. Building-Products.com
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LEADERS IN LBM
2020
level as well as from a program level and buying opportunities.
A TOTAL SOLUTION Gary Nackers Vice President – LBM
Q. Did you come to Do it Best from another segment of the industry? I was with a home improvement retailer for a little over 20 years before coming to Do it Best 21 years ago. I saw things from the other side, what our members face every day. For me it was time to take what I’d learned in those 20+ years, and see how I could help others. HWI had completed the merger with Our Own Hardware and had just changed their name to Do it Best about a year before I came on. Q. What was the reason for the recent restructuring of the LBM Division? Our growth has been rapid in the lumber and building materials side. What we’re trying to do is make sure we’re positioned the best way for continued growth and enhance our ability to serve both our really large member relationships as well as our small member relationships. This new alignment will get us there. The new role of the product sales manager is giving us a whole lot more focus on the individual categories. By doing that, we expect that we’ll have better relationships with the vendors, we’ll have more buying opportunities for the members, and improved programs going forward. There are a lot of benefits that will come to the member side of this, from a service 38
Q. To what do you attribute the growth spike you have enjoyed in LBM over the last decade? Part of the reason is we’re very unique in the industry in that we can offer the total solution. If you look at us compared to our competitors on the hardlines side—the Aces, the True Values, the Orgills—we do a lot of the same things they do as far as hardware distribution. Ace, for example, will have a lot of comparable retail programs to ours. But they really don’t have a solution for the LBM side of the business. And if you look at our competitors on the LBM side of the business—the LMCs, the LBM Advantages—they have a lot of the same vendor relationships that we do, but they really can’t provide a solution for the hardlines side of the business, which really is needed for today’s pro dealers. Then in between that you’ve got all the programs and services, like yard and showroom design, and marketing efforts that we help our members with. So I believe that total-solution approach has helped escalate our growth as well because in talking to a lot of larger dealers coming over to Do it Best, it’s because they feel we can provide more. Q. What are some of the reasons dealers say are causing them to switch? One, it’s easier doing business with us. Services have certainly come up in our conversations, because they feel better connected to our team and willing to work with our team. We believe we are the largest reloader in the industry. We have more inventory on the ground, that’s owned by us and our members, than anyone else. The reason is if you look at the yards today, the percentage that have rail siding and the ability to take cars directly into their yards is diminishing rapidly. So that’s one way to get them product. They can usually source it more efficiently and at better pricing than they’re going to get perhaps buying it through distribution. The other part of that is the ability to have inventory within a matter of days vs. a matter of weeks, if they’re ordering it from a mill direct and it’s coming by car from Canada. We can offer just-in-time inventory, competitive pricing, and the ability to fill in even if you’re a large yard that’s buying direct carloads from mills. Or we have mem-
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
bers, even some of our larger members, who are saying they like the idea of just-in-time inventory, so they choose to buy through that reload system as opposed to even buying direct. That changed a little bit when we came through the recession. The reloads were really important then because business was down for even the bigger dealers and they didn’t want to bring in as much inventory. The reloads were a solution. I think what a lot of our dealers recognized, having gone through that recession, is there’s a benefit to just-in-time inventory. They look at the improved cash flow. It takes a lot of the volatility out of the market for them, and because they’re buying it and receiving it almost immediately as opposed to buying at the prices that are drastically deflated by the time they get the product four weeks later.
Q. Are all 25 reloads east of the Rockies? We have a couple of reloads out west that we bring specialty product in. But the mills out west have generally sourced their products on truckloads anyway, so it doesn’t make sense to bring in product, unload it, and load it back on to a truck and deliver it. Primarily what we use them for is for spruce coming out of Canada, where we’ll bring carloads in. So the other benefit to the members is they can mix a truck up with exactly what products they want, as opposed to taking a car where you don’t always have the tallies that you want and you kind of have to take whatever mix is available. We do some, we bring some southern yellow pine into the reloads. That’s starting to go more into the west.
Q. Do you handle much volume from the Pacific Northwest or from overseas? We source in from the mills out there. Again, they will normally ship their product on trucks right out of the mill and we’ll source that from the mill and it will be delivered right into the dealers’ yards. We’re starting to do more Euro wood. That’s a growing category for us. Just right now because of pricing it’s favorable. Product has recently been a good. So we are starting to recognize its potential as well. Q. What can you share about your reinvigorated treated wood program? It’s been a large category for us, but it’s been one quite honestly we felt needed more attention. By that I mean Building-Products.com
really helping our members understand what’s the best program for them based on the locations around them. I think we’ve got a relationship with pretty much all the treaters out there, but it’s helping our members reassess, “Just because you’ve always been dealing with this treater, let’s try and find you a value. Maybe you’re with the best program, maybe you’re not. Let’s look at it.” We’ve had some great success with that already. And by doing that even if our members start to shift some of their business to consolidate to some of those treaters, we hope to bring more value with things like enhanced rebates.
Q. What’s next? There’s a lot in the pipeline as far as relationships we’re looking to bring on board with Do it Best. As we continue to grow, we will continue to build out our team. It’s really interesting. When you look where we were 20, 30 years ago, to where we are today it’s a dramatic growth and change, and we’ve built out our staff. But we’re going to continue to do that. We’re very committed. Do it Best has a diverse membership group, anything from small hardware
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stores to home centers to the pro dealers to industrial/commercial suppliers. We see the building materials business as being a very, very important part of that. And it gets back to what I mentioned earlier about the total solution. We are fortunate to have a leadership team and board of directors that truly understand how important LBM is to our overall business. We recognize we are unique in being the only co-op that is fully integrated across lumber, building materials, and hardware—and in the unique opportunities it provides our members. It’s a responsibility we obviously take very seriously. We’ve done a lot with improving how we can continue bringing new people in, and get them educated. As you know, the industry doesn’t have a lot of available experience out there right now. So we’ve been really focused on making sure we can build up staff knowledge in the right way to make sure they can serve our members even better. But also on the member side with programs like our LBM School, we’ve recognized that our members
are faced with the same thing. They’re needing right now to go out and bring people into their organization from outside of the lumber and building materials industry. It might be somebody who’s brand new to the industry. What we’ve done is we’ve recognized that and put a plan together to help them out with that. So the LBM School is formatted to address the range from beginner to intermediate education, overall high level education on LBM. We can help them get started and continue that development moving forward. The best part of our team is you’ve got folks who have been in the industry their whole lives, 40 years. That provides our team with a lot of industry knowledge. And you’ve got the younger ones who are coming into it who are working with the experienced folks, leveraging their knowledge, and then also looking and saying, “Okay, how can we make that different? Better?” We’re all about doing it better. That combination of younger energy coming in with our industry experience has really worked out well for us and our members.
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2020
to report to. Our board of directors is all members. We report back to the membership that owns us. All day, every day, we are there for them. Exclusively them. That type of passion, that type of opportunity— financial stuff aside—is a big part of the value our team brings to our membership.
Q. So the advantages go beyond price?
MEMBER FOCUSED Mike Ter Molen Director – LBM Operations
Q. Has Do it Best always been heavy to LBM? Hardware Wholesalers Inc. was more focused on the hardlines side in the beginning. It grew to include LBM. In the mid-1980s, we were a $50 million division, and we’ve steadily grown as our membership has grown. Q. What’s the difference for retailers between dealing with Do it Best vs. a traditional wholesaler? Well, with a co-op, it’s their company. We’re an extension of our members, we work solely for them. We can’t sell to anybody who’s not a member of Do it Best. When we wake up in the morning to come into the office, the only thing we’re there to do is help our members grow. That is it. There is no nothing beyond that. We are there for them. They are our owner, our customer, and it’s an extremely rare dynamic. It’s hard to appreciate if you’re not part of it, but if you enjoy that servant leadership, being a part something that is really truly a partnership and a group effort, there’s no better place to work than Do it Best. Q. In a real-life scenario, how does that work out to benefit members? Well, for the member you have someone who has your best interest in mind, and is only concerned about growing you and your company. No Wall Street 40
Price is price, and price fluctuates. The volume that our combined membership has does bring them better opportunities. It brings them a consolidated source for all their products. We’re the only one in the industry that does what we do. We’re the only ones that are full hardlines, full LBM. If you are in both those businesses, we’re the only one who’s a one-stop shop for everything. I think that efficiency matters, in particular as companies have to do more and optimize every resource. We’re that. We’re a resource for that and that matters directly to the bottom line.
Q. Has the division changed much over the years, beyond its increase in size? In my 20 years here, some things have not changed at all—and for good reason. When we talk about that servant leadership attitude and that culture of members first, you work for them. We are here as a resource and to be responsive to member’s needs, but also to be an aggressor on their behalf. That is constant and stable and continues to grow and grow. Size and scope have changed, but the core part has not.
we will be responsive to help solve that problem. But also we will work aggressively on our members’ behalf, working with mills and manufacturers to make sure our members are seeing opportunities, leveraging our data with them to be proactively looking out 90 days, 120 days. It is a true balance that you have to have, and we are going to continue to push ourselves to excel in both those areas. That’s really what the future’s about. It’s not about product or a product group, or lumber or building materials. It’s about being there for our membership, and we’re excited about what we can bring to that and we’re going to continue to look to expand and grow. We have a wonderful history in the LBM industry. But as wonderful as it is, I’m so excited about what’s ahead. There are a lot of challenges and there’s a lot of pressure in being an independent lumber dealer. But I get to work with young dealers every day. There is such a bright future for them. There are good people coming through the system. It’s a great place to be.
Q. What’s next? We are at a really exciting time for Do it Best and for this industry. We’ve had aggressive growth over the last several years on the lumber side. We are committed to continue to grow that segment of our business. For the independent lumber retailer, our passion is to be the first choice and best choice, period. Yes, there are ways we can always improve. Our team is dynamic—focused on continuous improvement and responding to a marketplace that’s very agile, and becoming more agile every day. We continue to work on being adaptive, being agile, and being both responsive and aggressive. The responsive part is if something happens, we’ve got you. We will solve whatever comes your way, whether it’s a truck that’s late or you had a run on a product and you’re out—whatever the need of today is,
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
NEW RESOURCES Josh Ratcliff Division Manager – Lumber & Reload Operations
Q. Share how Do it Best is constantly pursuing and giving high responsibility to newer folks. I have hired lots of younger folks and trained them from the ground up. And they are doing quite well. I Building-Products.com
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don’t think that this industry is known for recruiting a lot of young people. It’s been an aging demographic, but I believe in building a bench. There’s strength out there. The experience and expertise we have on our team plays a big part in training. We pride ourselves on getting new team members up and running quickly and effectively. We also have specialists. We recently reorganized the department from having to be a trader who handles lumber, specialties, and everything else for one account. We’ve taken it from that to now specialists where I have a spruce manager who’s over all SPF, and he handles that group. That group sells to larger pro dealers, they’re specifically for them for spruce. Then that same account will have a different person on panels. So the specialists can focus on the market, they can be more in tune with what the market’s doing. Not only is that better for the member, but it’s better for us because we’re able to move more volume through them because we’re on top of it.
Q. You’ve been a leader in moving toward analytics in the LBM Division. How is it going? I very much believe in forecasting, not just moving day to day, but in knowing where we should be and how we’re trending—and what that means for the company. So in my prior position I was the director of pricing and inventory control, so we did a lot of analytics. We built a lot of what they still use today as far as helping the stores with market and inventory. I joined Do it Best in January of 2018. So we have put a lot of that in place here, and we’re employing an enhanced analytical approach to purchasing inventory for our reload centers, for example. It’s helped us greatly control that and be more agile in the market. As it moves up and down, we can be a better resource for our members. Q. How does that benefit members? Well, it’s greatly impacting them for a lot of different reasons. Look at the situation we’re in right now, where we really didn’t know if the market was going to fall off a cliff and demand was going to go to zero, or if it was going to stay strong. So we’re set up now to weather something like this very well, because we can react faster. Our
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approach to analytics helps us be more agile and proactive on behalf of our members, which is especially important in times like these. A lot of that comes from just making sure that we’re prepared and looking at the analytics behind everything that’s going on.
Q. The lumber industry can be resistant to change. How receptive have members been to employing these new tools? I believe they’ve been happy, both with the restructure and with the new resources. Someone new may have new ideas. For some members, it did take a little longer. We have one who was apprehensive about moving to a team of market specialists. He didn’t want to change, but very quickly he feels he’s better prepared to tackle his challenges from day to day, just because he’s more knowledgeable; he’s speaking to someone who’s a specialist in a specific category. With analytics, in the beginning there was a learning curve. I talked to one member who was concerned because when the market moves we’re going to move, to try to be ahead of it. We move on the market now. We’re very cognizant of what the market’s doing and using that data to make smarter buying decisions on behalf of our members. So if the market’s falling, we’re coming off the market. We’re not just trying to hold one price. So we’re in front of them, showing them where the market is. We’ve also been very proactive sending out text messages and specific emails to people on what changes are going on in their market. Any change, we’re on top of that, we’re in front of it. So we’re using a lot of that information and getting that in front of them at a corporate level and at a trader level so that all levels of their company are aware of the things that are going on. Q. What does Do it Best see on the horizon? We are going to continue to grow in all aspects of our business. Our reload network isn’t getting smaller, it’s getting bigger. We’re getting smarter as far as transloading and we use everything, from the futures market as far as hedging our own inventory against wholesalers there and we’re a lot more proactive. There are areas we want to grow and we’re making sure we take advantage of those growth opportunities.
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VENDOR PARTNERS Jean Fahy Division Manager – Building Materials
Q. Did you join Do it Best from within the industry? Yes. For my whole career I’ve been in construction. I started out selling windows and doors and cabinets for a pro dealer in Tucson, Az. I ended up working for Masco Cabinet Group selling directly to the builder in Tucson. I was made national account manager pretty quickly. I then worked for a builder after that. Seven and a half years ago, I joined Do it Best. Q. Is the Building Material Division team divided by product category? Yes, we have a drywall team that focuses on drywall, steel studs, mud. We have a roofing and insulation team. We have a millwork team. And we have direct programs for cabinets, flooring and major appliances. When it comes to building materials, it’s everything you put on the lumber or in the house—that whole gamut of exterior and interior. Q. No matter the type of product, is it sold the same way? No. We have direct truckload programs that our larger members are buying and then we have a lot of distribution partners that our smaller members are going to buy from. Our larger members are also buying a lot more through distribution than they did 10 years ago, especially in roofing and insulation. So we pride ourselves on being agile and well positioned to Building-Products.com
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handle changes in buying habits and members’ needs extremely well. We help our members source products in the most cost-effective and efficient way to meet their needs—whether it’s through our strong direct vendor programs or our many distribution partners. We are going to help you order it or order it for you if you want. We are going to track it and make sure the terms on the invoice are right. If there’s a problem we can follow up for you. We want to be linked with our distribution partners. Now every single one of them is what we call a Preferred Distributor, ones we work hand in hand with. Our account executives and specialists are talking to them all through the week, asking how they can help and what’s the recommendation. If we don’t do that, what value are we to the vendor partner? I believe my experience and background help me understand the needs of our vendor partners and how they can best help us serve our members. So I’m always thinking about the value we are bringing to the vendor partner.
Q. What are retailers’ top advantages of being able to buy through Do it Best? There’s obviously the purchasing power of it. The biggest shift right now is getting to the point with the markets that we are really understanding the options. If we see good prices come up at a particular manufacturer, or if a distributor has a good deal, we bring those opportunities up, or we recommend they go this direction and why. So the advantage is really having us keep our fingers on that market. The member may or may not have their pulse on it. We can be a check. “Yeah, that’s what I’m hearing, too,” or “No, I don’t agree with that.” “Well, look at this.” “Oh, I didn’t know about that.” We’ll look at the market, regionally and what’s happening nationally. Dealers don’t have that kind of exposure all the time. Q. Has that become a greater focus with the increasing availability of analytics? Yes, and we’ll improve upon that greatly as we move forward over the next couple of years. We want to be more proactive and predictive, rather than reactive, which unfortunately the industry’s kind of wired that way. Another big advantage of the co-op is education. We dedicate extensive resources to LBM-specific training and continuing education. Programs like 44
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LBM School and School of Design give members hands-on training and insights to ensure they’re staying in front in their markets. It’s critical. I’ve got my team working with members right now on how they can sell a system, rather than “You want a price on housewrap? Oh, you want something less expensive? Do you know the true cost of having this housewrap vs. a quality housewrap? What do you put with it?” Education, especially in leadership development, is one thing our members don’t have a lot of access to. Everyone knows we’ve got a major challenge with the talent retiring and nothing in the middle because of the downturn in the economy and with new people who don’t know what they’re doing, and how do we get them up to speed quickly.
Q. What has been the member reaction to dealing with different people for different products? Any time you have change there can be some uncertainty, but most members are really happy with it. For others, it’s going to take just a little bit of time before they get used to talking to somebody else. The most common concern, as you might expect, has been about moving from dealing with one person to potentially dealing with three or four. But members are already seeing that as a benefit and advantage—they know they’re talking with someone focused on that specific product and can get the information and answers they need right away. Part of it is, like anything else, we’ve got to prove it. We have really talented people, so let people who really know what they’re doing be the experts. The vendor partners are really excited about it because they can work closely and collaboratively with one dedicated product manager. Every vendor partner we talk to is stoked. They just have to know the product manager and those specialists. Think about that synergy of communication.
Q. What’s next? From my perspective, it’s taking our industry-leading approach to training and education directly to the builders. You get the builders to come to that and it sells itself. It’s transformational. I think the new talent we’re bringing into our team and our ability to develop them fully and quickly is as important as it’s ever been. It’s inspiring to see that training and teamwork kick in.
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
SPECIALIZED Joe Corah Division Manager – Panels, Distribution & Specialty Products
Q. What major changes have occurred during your 40 years with Do it Best? Over the past several years we’ve really strived to change our model to become more aggressive, increasing communication with the members and having staff do what they’re good at. Now we have staff that really specialize in a product. They always did. They always had a responsibility to buy one product, and they know more about that product than anything else, but they were also selling other products. Now we’ve got panel buyers buying panels, lumber brokers buying lumber, and down within each species, whether it’s Canadian spruce, western SPF, or southern yellow pine, and we’ve already seen a bigger increase quicker than I anticipated. I always called it “sell what you buy.” When a guy who buys OSB talks to a member, you can hear the conviction in his voice, you can believe what he’s saying because that’s what he does day in and day out. The same guy who was selling other products, like spruce or yellow pine, you could tell that same conviction wasn’t there. So the OSB buyer would be a great OSB salesperson and an average lumber salesperson. Now we’ve separated those. It just took place the first of January, but we’ve seen our direct business increase considerably. To be honest, it’s been a little surprising to me that it’s gone so Building-Products.com
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quickly. The groups have taken more block positions, because specializing in one product, they know what their dealers buy. The groups meet multiple times a week to discuss where the market’s going, what they should do about it, possibly taking positions, and then getting that information out to the membership.
Q. What’s been the effect on members? Really the only real change is instead of talking to one person, you’re talking to at max three on the lumber side. But we’ve done the same thing on the building materials side where there are now product specialists in gypsum and insulation and roofing. So someone who moves a large volume of product on that side could also talk to different ones.
Q. What’s the main difference between buying LBM through Do it Best vs. going to a traditional wholesaler? We don’t talk our position. If we own product, it doesn’t do us any good to tell a member something that’s not real. Sometimes we own product and the market has gone soft and we have a truck or two to move, we’re gonna tell them, “Hey, if you don’t need product, don’t buy right now, but if you need it, let’s talk about what I’ve got.” Whereas someone who is highly incentivized to make sure their product gets moved, may not share the most accurate information. They may sell their position in how they talk to dealers. We’ve seen increases in both panels and lumber the last couple weeks that we haven’t seen in a few months, so it’s like how far do you chase it? That’s the sort of stuff members talk about with their person at Do it Best: How far do you think this is gonna go? Should I cover myself? Where do you think it’s gonna be in 60 days? We share the information we’ve gleaned from talking to different mills and wholesalers. We try to understand what the market’s going to do and then give as much information to our members so they can make an educated decision. We make decisions and buy blocks based on what we think is going to happen and then go out and sell them, but we give that same information to the member and have them decide “Do I want to participate? Where’s my inventory right now? What projects do I have sold? What do I need to sell to cover my profit?” 46
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Q. What are the primary advantages with choosing Do it Best? I think it’s a handful of things. Depending on the size of yard, buying may not be the buyer’s full-time job. He could also be in operations, he could run the yard, especially since the mid2000s when you had to pare back the number of employees. Unfortunately, the things that had to be done didn’t go away. They still had to be done. So one of the most important things is building a relationship that they can trust and then helping leverage their time—we go out, do the shopping, come back with the results, and then help them make that decision. It’s still their decision. We want to make sure we’re giving them the options that best fit their needs.
EXPERIENCED
Q. Any examples? Absolutely. Let’s pick on OSB. With yellow pine, there are mills all across the South. When it comes to OSB, there are just a handful of major manufacturers, so the sheer volume we do with those gives us the opportunity to look at buys because we can move product and move it quietly in many cases, we get opportunities that others don’t see. Another thing is we’re also a huge reloader of wood across the U.S., primarily east of the Rockies. But we have multiple locations that we’re taking wood into all the time. It doesn’t make a difference if the market’s high, in the middle, or low, we’re taking wood away because we’ve built the members’ trust that we’re going to have product, the grade they need, the product they need, and ship it out of the reload in a timely manner. That really gives us a lot of leverage with producers. When a producer has a dozen cars they need to move quietly, we can absorb them into our reloads, take advantage of what opportunities they’ve given us, and pass them along to the membership.
Q. What’s next? In my opinion, the growth curve is really coming at us. We’re seeing a lot of growth in lumber and panel products, and the biggest issue—and opportunity— is talent. We’re very focused on attracting young talent to our team, as well as training them quickly and comprehensively. We’re excited about the dedicated training programs we’ve developed and in seeing the results they’re bringing about in our young talent.
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
Todd Hixson LBM Business Development Manager
Q. What are some of the changes you’ve seen over your 40 years? When I started back in 1980, a 2x4 is the same 2x4 it is now, size-wise at least. It has really come down to technology is able to do more work, to sell more than I could 40 years ago. From the portability of a laptop and a smartphone. I don’t even know if we had voicemail back in 1980. Faxes weren’t even around. We used a Telex. So it’s just so much different. I’m sitting here with two 22-inch screens in front of me, being able to be better support for our membership, which they need now more than ever. Heck, when I first started, for sawmills we dealt with it wasn’t an order until they got your confirmation in the mail. “Yeah, we’ll hold the phone order for X amount of time.” There was a young lady at the time who hand-typed our confirmations on an electric typewriter and put them in the mail every day. Every Monday, we’d get together as a group and go over what we called our Shipments New List. And we had to make phone calls to check on orders. The vast majority of mills we deal with, now you go to their website. You can get live information while you have the member on the phone to tell them. “Hey, it’s ready,” or “It’s not ready,” or “A truck’s picked it up, here’s the trucking company, or here’s the rail car.” We can do more work with fewer people. I’ve been there since 1980 and
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we’ve never laid anybody off, even during what they called the Great Recession in the mid-2000s. We continued to grow our business, because we were there for our members.
Q. What are some ways members benefit from this growth and increasing use of technology? What they’ve gained is better information quicker. Now when a person calls in and asks, “Where’s my car? Has it left yet?,” we go right in and it’s either a yes or no right away. And if it’s yes, here’s the car number, here’s what the tally exit to ship, and it’s not a back and forth, “I’ll call you back,” and you call the mill, and you don’t get ahold of anybody, and they call you back. Most of our time in the ‘80s was spent just on that back and forth. So it has helped them considerably. Plus our inventories that we keep in our reloads are online, and they’re live to us. If someone says I’m looking for this, before—when we were just starting with reloads—we just had a terminal that showed us what the inventory was, but it wasn’t live. If you put an order in, it didn’t go down until someone physically somewhere else did that. Now I can look up inventory and I can punch an order in the same time I’ve got a person on the phone and get that inventory for them, rather than waiting for a few hours to really know for sure that we still have that inventory or someone sold it before me.
that members thought it was going to slow down, too, and it’s not, so they’re having to buy. There are those outlier states—Michigan, Pennsylvania—that have shut down construction. But other areas are going great guns. The virus appears to be worse where people live on top of people. In Phoenix, you don’t live on top of each other. There aren’t the masses like there are in the big cities, so in talking to members, they anticipate an accelerated growth once they get through this because
people see there are other benefits to Phoenix besides warm weather. So we’ll come out of this and still the shortage of housing will be there. People may be a little more cautious money-wise until they make sure they’re back on their feet totally. But I think late third or in the fourth quarter, barring a return visit from the virus in the fall, we’re looking at the next couple of years to be really good for our industry.
Q. How does Do it Best’s intriguing mix of experience and young, new people benefit Do it Best and the membership? For starters, previously, you did everything. Someone would call in and say, “I’m looking for a truckload of 16 Perfection.” Nowadays if a new person gets asked that question, they have no clue. By having people like Joe and me, and others who have been here more than 30 years, and others who have been here more than 20, that knowledge has grown. It’s absorbed by osmosis, by sitting next to a person and hearing them talk. That’s the importance of having senior experience. Q. What’s ahead, short and long term? Both definitely look different. Right at the moment, one of the things that has got my head spinning is we’re still selling so much product. I thought we would have slowed down by now because of what’s going on, but we’re not. I think what has happened is Building-Products.com
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2020
Joe Gaca, CEO Kellogg Supply, Manteo, N.C. Member since 2001
“Do it Best is an extension of our team that is as committed to our growth as those of us on site at Kellogg Supply. Their innovative approaches and dedication are much appreciated.”
WHY DO IT BEST? THE MEMBERS SPEAK
Adam Hendrix, President Chic Lumber, St. Peters, Mo. Member since 1979
“The buying power we have through the lumber division is second to none. They help us buy at the right times, and our lumber traders keep us abreast of what the market is doing.”
Brian Mundy, President Hackmann Lumber, Troy, Mo. Member since 1968
“It’s a changing world and Do it Best has just been that consistent partner throughout the years, a constant presence. Price has been the biggest advantage; we are a small million-dollar company competing with billion-dollar companies.”
Pete Meichtry, VP Ganahl Lumber, Anaheim, Ca. Member since 1989
Jared Crowther, President Hess Lumber, Malad City, Id. Member since 1993
“We joined Do it Best because they seemed to offer a broader selection in the building trade than we ever had before. The first flyer we sent out offered storm doors— we sold more storm doors on that first flyer than we sold for several years prior. “Being a member of Do it Best has been the best move we have ever made. Our business has grown substantially because of them and the way they do business with us.”
“Being a member with Do it Best helps us manage store inventory by utilizing CSC’s, provides in-store support, and enhances relationships with manufacturers.”
Austin Huskey, Purchasing Manager Huskey Truss & Building Supply, Franklin, Tn. Member since 1988
“Do it Best is very strong in commodities. We lean on them for market info and great deals. With their support, we are able to do things we couldn’t do on our own.”
Brady Albright, General Manager Krempp Lumber Co., Jasper, In. Member since 1983
“We have 50+ suppliers/sales representatives that we work with on a regular basis. Do it Best representatives have separated themselves by always being there to support all facets of our business, always providing us with intellectual guidance and exceptional service! Do it Best truly is the ‘Best Source’ for many facets of our business.”
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John Holmes, Owner Holmes Building Materials, Baton Rouge, La. Member since 1995
“Do it Best has great relationships with big manufacturers that we want to carry. They have programs with virtually every brand that we need.”
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
Robert Ashley, President/CEO Triple “A” Lumber, Canton, N.Y. Member since 1992
“There are a lot of co-ops out there, but only one has the vision to see beyond the yard. I get more than lumber from Do it Best. I get ideas and programs that help me grow my business, from people who take my success personally. Since lumber is a primary focus of my co-op, they offer options the others can’t—like the reserved inventory program, which allows me to make advance purchases at a specific price, from a specific mill. Now I can make the most of my selling season by investing only in the product I need and products are ready when I need them. As a full service co-op, Do it Best Corp. helps me offer more products, all while returning the industry’s best rebates. And that gives me an EDGE. “Do it Best Roundtable gives me fabulous friends from around the country that I can ask a question and get several responses in minutes—most likely something they have already dealt with or can give suggestions. “Do it Best leads all the other cooperatives in plenty of categories but two of the most important to me are gross profit per employee and salaries & wages as a percentage of net sales.”
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MOVERS & Shakers Mike Descoteaux, ex-Barrette Outdoor Living, is now marketing mgr. for Coastal Forest Products, Bow, N.H. Todd Nodine is the new sales mgr. for Hood Industries, Hattiesburg, Ms. Steven Mason, ex-PotlatchDeltic, is new to southern yellow pine lumber sales at Georgia-Pacific, Diboll, Tx. Bill Griffith has been promoted to national ridge vent sales mgr. for Benjamin Obdyke, Horsham, Pa. Scott Clevenger, ex-Carter Lumber, is now with Builders FirstSource, as truss sales mgr. for the Kansas City, Mo., market. Wave Oglesby, VP of sales & marketing, Columbia Forest Products, Greensboro, N.C., has retired after more than 40 years in the industry. Edward Jett, ex-BMC, is now Richmond, Va., market operations mgr. for Kempsville Building Materials, Chesapeake, Va. Jon Uldrich, American Builders Supply, Bartow, Fl., has been promoted to VP of lumber products. Jason Blenker, ex-Blenker Building Systems, joined Drexel Building Supply, Amherst, Wi., as off-site construction solutions leader. Christopher Mocerino, GeorgiaPacific, Atlanta, Ga., has been promoted to plywood safety mgr. Tomas Pacheco-Nava is a new mgr. trainee at 84 Lumber, Denton, Tx. Honey Schult has been promoted to Milwaukee, Wi., area mgr. for Richards Building Supply. John Gebert, ex-Builders FirstSource, is new to sales at Western Pacific Building Materials, Pflugerville, Tx. Joe Nagle, Newport Hardware, Newport, R.I., has retired nearly 40 years after co-founding the store. Brad Woolace was promoted to industrial commercial product mgr. for Do it Best Corp., Fort Wayne, In. Greg Evans, Redwoods, Inc., Waco, Tx., was selected as president of the Lumbermen’s Association of Texas. Otto Moe Beale is a new home delivery driver for Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., report co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus. Building-Products.com
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PRODUCT Spotlight By Julia Milrod, Southern Forest Products Association
Southern pine resources for making the sale he numbers are in, and 2019 reported the highest recorded annual production of southern yellow pine at 19.37 billion bd. ft.—a new record! The soaring production of 2019 combined with the Department of Homeland Security’s declaration that the wood products industry is essential; southern pine has the momentum it needs to navigate its way through the uncertain COVID-19 market. This is great news not only for southern pine producers, but for distributors and dealers as well. The Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) represents southern pine producers, large and small, and is ready to help dealers boost their sales with services the organization has provided since 1915. Both durable and versatile, southern pine is the natural
T
A DECK made of strong southern yellow pine adds value and function to any backyard.
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n Building Products Digest n June 2020
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choice for any customer, and SFPA has abundant resources to help dealers sell more of it.
Southern Pine Decks – Build with the Best!
With social distancing and stay at home measures, people are looking for ways to maximize their living space and enjoy the great outdoors at home. A well-constructed southern pine deck creates a natural extension of a home while offering a restful outdoor place to spend time with family. Contractors can offer many different design choices from simple, compact structures to elaborate multi-level decks with fully functional outdoor kitchens. Both consumers and builders enjoy the look and feel of real wood and pressure-treated southern pine remains one of the most costconscious and durable solution for outdoor building projects. Southern pine’s superior treatability makes it the preferred species when pressure treatment with wood preservatives is required. Today’s pressure-treated wood products are manufactured with preservatives that are safe for use around people, plants and pets.
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THE OWNERS of these attractive raised floor homes enjoy many benefits, including reduced flood risk and lower insurance premiums.
Pressure treatment provides longterm resistance to decay and termite attack, with no components that are considered hazardous under the Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Pressure-treated southern pine products are economical, sustainable and renewable—important
selling points in today’s market. A well-educated sales team that understands deck design is an invaluable asset that can help close and enhance sales. Whether you are bringing your salespeople up to speed, or just refreshing their memory, SFPA offers resources that can help. Visit
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the Publications page on SouthernPine.com and access a free copy of Southern Pine Decks and Porches, a 12-page illustrated guide to building a safe, code-compliant deck. Southern Pine Decks and Porches conveniently downloads to your computer as a PDF file, so you can distribute it digitally to your sales team, or print it out and keep it at your counter to share with customers. It covers the entire process, from footings and posts to framing the deck, plus finishing and maintenance. References are made to the Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide from the American Wood Council, geared to professional deck builders and handy do-it-yourselfers. SouthernPineDecks.com can be used by dealers as a virtual training module for new hires. The content covers deck and porch construction from start to finish. If customers challenge you on the merits of composite decking, check out the page “Wood vs. Composites” from the home page’s footer and learn all the advantages of using real wood for any outdoor project.
Flood Protection with Raised Floor Homes
As summer approaches, concerns about flooding are at the top of many homebuliders’ minds. A raised wood floor home provides the solution to homebuilding in hurricaneand flood-prone areas, and durable Southern pine lumber is the ideal construction material. A raised wood floor home elevates the living space off the ground, isolating it from moisture and pests. Elevating a structure reduces flood insurance premiums and can enhance the home’s energy efficiency. Aside from offering flood protection by elevating the home, a raised wood floor foundation can also help manage a community’s risk of flooding in the first
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n Building Products Digest n June 2020
RAISEDFLOORLIVING.COM is a unique two-sided website that offers comprehensive information about raised wood floor foundations to both homeowners and homebuilders.
place. Unlike slab-fill developments which alter the natural floodplain, raised wood floor foundations do not displace rising water and support floodplain management. The southern pine industry is prepared to satisfy orders with a high-quality lumber product and the Southern Forest Products Association is ready to help builders and homeowners with the information they need to build raised wood floor foundations. • The SFPA’s booklet Raised Wood Floor Foundations – Design & Construction Guide is publicly available as a free PDF download from the Publications page of SouthernPine. com. This 16-page publication is aimed at homebuilders, architects, engineers and specifiers. It explains how to build to a higher standard with a Raised Wood Floor Foundation, outlining the many advantages offered by building a wood floor system above grade, including long-term durability and trouble-free performance. An introductory section covers site conditions, soil properties, design considerations and connections. Properly designed and constructed, a raised wood floor foundation accommodates all design loads and transfers those loads to the soil without excessive settlement. Eight 3-D illustrations detail the assembly of foundation types, both pier-and-beam and continuous stemwall on various types of footings. Information about insulated closed crawlspaces is also included. • SFPA’s website, RaisedFloorLiving.com, is a unique, two-sided information hub for both homebuilders and homebuyers about all the advantages and specifications to build off grade. The homebuilders’ side of the website serves as portal for building professionals, satisfying the needs of its users by striking a perfect balance between clear and logical navigation and extensive details. Raised Floor Living’s expertise in the industry serves lumber dealers with helpful resources like dynamic charts, tables, and diagrams. RaisedFloorLiving.com is also searchable, for easy access to information. Do your customers have questions about building their new home using a raised wood floor foundation? The homeowner side of RaisedFloorLiving.com, explains the features and benefits of building raised, all in simple terms. Check out the Getting Started page and find a list of questions property owners frequently ask an architect or homebuilder before beginning construction of a custom home.
Building-Products.com
Online Resources for Southern Pine
Between temporary in-person business closures and offices working from home, many establishments are shifting to or doubling down on their online services. SFPA’s wide variety of online resources, all easily accessible from the homepage of SouthernPine.com. These tools have been helping dealers for years and are now more useful than ever. Product Locator: If you need to adjust your product mix to suit demand or there is a product needed to complete your inventor, the Product Locator at SouthernPine. com is the tool for you. The online Product Locator directs dealers and distributors to manufacturers in their states. Users can select from over 400 lumber products and specify sizes and lengths, grades, or even packaging preferences. Lumber Purchase Inquiry: Need to quickly source a quantity of southern pine materials? The Lumber Purchase Inquiry on the homepage of SouthernPine.com is your pathway to getting quotes from interested mills. Board Foot Calculator: SouthernPine.com features a handy
Board Foot Calculator. The perfect tool for dealers wanting to quickly total up orders or the yard’s inventory. Publications: SFPA’s Lumber Library is available for free download on the Publications page on SouthernPine.com. Here, dozens of
informative pamphlets and brochures cover a wide range of topics from sustainability to marine construction. – Julia Milrod is communications manager for the Southern Forest Products Association, Metairie, La. (www.sfpa.org).
DESPITE COVID-19, southern yellow pine production continues. SouthernPine.com is equipped with plenty of resources to help dealers find and source the products they need.
– Serving the industry for over 30 years – Phone: 800-763-0139 • Fax: 864-699-3101
www.spartanburgforestproducts.com Building-Products.com
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NEW Products Textured Concrete Sealant
4-in-1 Deck Board Kebony has re-engineered its thermally modified wood decking profile to accommodate four different types of fasteners. The new Kebony Deck Board makes it easy to secure surface decking according to a project’s specifications without added milling or lead time. Kebony Deck Board’s new profile accommodates the following fasteners/installation methods: Options for installation include using Step-Clip easy-to-install strips, hidden fastener clips, the Pro Plug System with wood plugs, or stainless steel screws.
New Premium Textured Concrete from DAP gives professionals and DIYers an aesthetic and durable repair solution for concrete cracks commonly found in driveways, sidewalks, patios, garages and basements. It is uniquely formulated with a textured finish to seamlessly blend with concrete, while offering superior elongation and extension recovery for a more durable and long-lasting seal. The textured latex sealant simulates concrete allowing users to achieve more accurate color matching to common concrete material. Its strong adhesion can be applied to concrete, mortar, brick, metal, stone, stucco, grout and textured walls. Additionally, it dries fast; Textured Concrete is ready to paint in just two hours. n DAP.COM (888) 543-3840
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Connectors for Mass Timber
Atlas Roofing Corp. has added ACFoam-HD CoverBoard-FR to its portfolio of ACFoam polyiso roof insulation products, as an additional option to achieve a UL Class A fire-rated roof assembly when used over combustible wood roof decks. The cover board is comprised of ACFoam closedcell polyisocyanurate (polyiso) foam core integrally bonded to inorganic coated glass facers. It can meet UL Class A fire ratings using only one layer, saving labor and materials.
Simpson Strong-Tie has launched a comprehensive offering of code-approved connectors and fasteners to serve the growing North American mass timber construction market. Key products in the collection are the StrongDrive SDWS Timber structural wood screw, StrongDrive SDCF Timber-CF screw, Strong-Drive SDCP Timber-CP screw, Strong-Drive SDHR Combo-Head screw, and CBH Concealed Beam Hanger. Other innovations include the MTW45-8 mass timber angled washer for use with a wide variety of connection plates, and the MDSS96 surface spline designed as an ideal solution for CLT diaphragms.
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Easy Deck Bending CAMO Lever makes deck board bending significantly easier with one or two people, permitting social distancing and smaller crews on the jobsite. The new tool allows for bending, straightening and aligning boards in a single turn, so users can lock the board in while fastening—almost hands free. Reportedly, contractors can build decks up to five times faster when they use Lever with other CAMO innovations like the versatile Drive stand-up tool for any decking and CAMO Edge Clip for grooved boards. n CAMOFASTENERS.COM (800) 968-6245
Colorful Composites MoistureShield’s Elevate capped wood composite decking has added two new premium, variegated colors to the product line: Riverbank and Alpine Gray. With texture and depth similar to rich, tropical hardwoods, the colors join the classic solids Canoe, a forest brown, and Lake Fog, a soft gray shade. With a strong protective cap that shields each board from impact, corrosion, and harsh weather, Elevate adds style and unmatched durability to any outdoor space at an attractive, entry-level price-point. Elevate 1x6 deck boards are available in 12-ft., 16-ft., and 20-ft. lengths in grooved profiles (for hidden fasteners) and 20-ft. lengths with a solid edge, as well as fascia boards in 12-ft. lengths. Elevate decking is fully protected by a 50-year transferable structural warranty and a 30-year fade and stain warranty. n MOISTURESHIELD.COM (800) 653-2278
Cordless Framing Nailers Milwaukee Tool has introduced its first cordless framing nailers, the M18 Fuel 21° and M18 Fuel 30° Framing Nailers. Delivering the power to sink nails in engineered lumber, the tools can fire up to three nails per second with no gas cartridges required. They have also been optimized with the size necessary to fit between studs and a balanced weight to limit fatigue. An optional Extended Capacity Magazine accepts two strips of nails, allowing users to work longer before needing to reload. With a PowerState brushless motor and no consistent cleaning or maintenance required, the nailers are designed to deliver durability and reliability to the most demanding users.
Stylish Deck Screws
n MILWAUKEETOOL.COM (800) 729-3878
n ANCHORMARKUSA.COM (949) 413-7084
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n Building Products Digest n June 2020
AnchorMark stainless steel self-drilling decking screws are now available in a stylish Vintage finish. The new silicon bronze color is designed to blend perfectly with hardwood decking and cladding. Made from 304 stainless steel, the screws’ self-drilling tips make installation quick and easy, while their small head diameter and underhead pockets ensure heads sink cleanly and easily.
Building-Products.com
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PRODUCTS FOR SALE
Rates: $1.20 per word (25 word minimum). Phone number counts as 1 word, address as 6. Centered copy/headline, $9 per line. Border, $9. Private box, $15. Column inch rate: $55 if art furnished “camera-ready” (advertiser sets type), $65 if we set type. Deadline: 18th of previous month. Questions? Call (714) 486-2735.
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NORTH CAROLINA RELOAD
Shaver Reload, Statesville, NC
• Norfolk Southern Mainline Served • Easy Access to I-85, I-77 & I-40 • Company Owned Truck Fleet • Outdoor and Indoor Storage • 12 Acres Fenced with Security Lighting • 25+ years Reload Experience (704) 872-3148 • Fax (704) 872-3146 Email Tom Lakeman shavers.reload@gmail.com
TALK Back PICK-ME-UPS I just finished your article “A Revaluation of Life” (May, p. 8). What a great start to my day. Your article was very much on point and your message was something we can all relate to. Also, the Words of Hope section (p. 56-58) was a nice touch at the end. Hopefully, when we put this virus in the rear-view mirror, when wearing a face mask is not necessary along with the many other things that are the new normal, you can visit us at Weekes Forest Products. Until then be healthy, safe and well. Trina D. Wheeler Weekes Forest Products St. Paul, Mn. Good morning, Patrick. Just a short note to tell you how much I enjoyed your message in the May issue. I think our youth handles these things much better than we adults. As you bring out, happiness isn’t about having more stuff, but about loving each other and doing with what we have! Talking about the family walk instead of the big expensive birthday party is so true. Although it is beginning to wear on us all, we are all getting new life lessons to deal with and new ways of life. Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson wrote a song 35 years ago that once again has a great message for the world: We will win this battle and be a better place! Marty Olhiser Mendocino Forest Products (Ret.)
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IN Memoriam Robert Roy “Bob” Bushman, 93, owner of Mann & Parker Lumber Co., New Freedom, Pa., died April 26 of the coronavirus. After earning a degree in forestry from Michigan State University in 1949, he became a forester with the Maryland Department of Forests, Parks & Wildlife, and from 1952 was the assistant manager of a small forest products company in Baltimore, while at the time serving as a consulting forester to landowners throughout the state. In 1956, he became general manager of Mann & Parker, Baltimore, later that year buying the business from the widows of its founders. He later added a satellite branch and dry kiln facility in Cockeysville, Md., and built a new facility in New Freedom after the Baltimore plant was destroyed by fire on New Year’s Eve 1969. In 1995, he added a drying operation in Meadville, Pa., M&P Lumber, closing it in 2007. Richard C. “Dick” Young, 71, former president of Shoemaker Lumber Co., Ocean City, N.J., died May 10. Upon graduating from Moravian College in 1970, he joined Shoemaker Lumber, retiring as president in 2018. Lee Charles Simpson, 85, former head and longtime director of LouisianaPacific Corp., Nashville, Tn., passed away March 27 in Indian Wells, Ca. As a teen, he started his career as a sawyer at Ukiah Pine, Potter Valley, Ca. Harry Merlo recruited Lee to serve as
n Building Products Digest n June 2020
VP of operations when G-P spun off L-P in 1973. He retired in 1990, but rejoined L-P as interim CEO, permanently retiring in 1996 but remaining on the board until 2004. Thomas E. “Tom” Rock, 86, senior vice president of sales & marketing for TAMKO Building Products, Joplin, Mo., passed away April 17 following a brief illness. A graduate of the University of Vermont, he spent more than 50 years in roofing sales and management. After serving as GAF’s territory sales manager for the Northeast, he left in 1980 to become TAMKO’s Northeast sales manager. In 1987, Rock returned to GAF, but was back at TAMKO in 1988 as a district sales manager. He became VP of sales & marketing in 1993 and senior VP in 1997. Paul Monroe Warren, 82, partowner of Warren & Griffin Lumber Co., Williams, S.C., passed away May 7. A 1961 graduate of Clemson University, he operated the century-old family business with his brother Maxwell Warren and cousin James Warren. Ronald K. Lahti, 88, former president of Iver Johnson Lumber, Virginia, Mn., died April 14. After graduating from the University of Minnesota at Duluth and serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he joined Iver Johnson Lumber. He was also a director of the Northwestern Lumber Association, National Kitchen & Bath Association, and Duluth Builders Exchange. Building-Products.com
ADVERTISERS Index Page
3
Seneca www.senecasawmill.com
39
Champion-Arrowhead www.champion-arrowhead.com
43
Service Partners www.service-partners.com
13
CMPC www.cmpcmaderas.com
45
Simpson Strong-Tie www.strongtie.com
61
Crumpler Plastic Pipe www.cpp-pipe.com
51
Siskiyou Forest Products www.siskiyouforestproducts.com
47
CT Darnell www.ct-darnell.com
55
Spartanburg Forest Products www.spartanburgforestproducts.com
37
DAP Products www.dap.com
50
Swanson Group Sales Co. www.swansongroup.biz
35
Do it Best www.doitbestlbm.com
17
Timber Products Co. www.timberproducts.com
Cover II
Everwood Treatment Co. www.everwoodtreatment.com
57
Western Lumber Co. www.westernlumber.com
15
Great Southern Wood Preserving www.yellawood.com
53
Westervelt Lumber www.westerveltlumber.com
54
Jordan Lumber www.jordanlumber.com
7
Weyerhaeuser Co. www.weyerhaeuser.com
41
LP Building Solutions www.lpcorp.com
Cover I
Wild Hog Products www.linxpergola.com
49
Makita www.makitatools.com
5
Norbord www.norbord.com
29
North American Wholesale Lumber Assn. www.nawla.org
Cover III
Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Assn. www.nelma.com
21
Overseas Hardwoods Co. www.ohc.net
9
Pacific Woodtech www.pacificwoodtech.com
27
Palram Americas www.palram.com
59
PEBLIO
Peblio www.peblio.com
28
Perma-Column www.permacolumn.com
52
Ray White Lumber Co. www.raywhitelumber.com
23, Cover IV
Redwood Empire www.buyredwood.com
Building-Products.com
June 2020 n Building Products Digest n
61
FLASHBack 55 Years Ago This Month
F
ifty-five years ago this month, in June of 1965, BPD’s sister publication, The California Lumber Merchant, turned its gaze to the unique lumber industry sprouting up in the nation’s newest state, Hawaii. Island life offered lumbermen both charms and challenges, including land scarcity and resulting high prices; difficulties transporting, procuring and finding room to store inventory; the preponderance of leasehold residential property; and the elevated cost of housing. A small three-bedroom house that at the time would sell for $10,000 in Phoenix and $18,000 in Los Angeles would fetch $23,000 on Oahu. The then-typical Hawaiian bungalow contained about 1,100 sq. ft. of living space with an additional 300 to 400 sq. ft. of protected outdoor living space and storage, plus a carport, an exterior of 1-1/4” redwood, jalousie windows, sliding doors opening to a lanai, open-beamed ceilings, and absolutely no insulation or heating of any type. Homeowners paid the developer about $250 a year to lease the land from the developer, for a term of 45 to 60 years. The resident was also responsible to pay taxes on the house and land for the period of the lease. By the time the homeowner moved into his house, the land it
THE JUNE 1965 cover introduced Pope & Talbot’s No Check specialty plywood siding.
sat on was worth $1 to $1.35 per sq. ft. Industrial and commercial land suitable for wholesale and retail wood products distribution was valued at $15 to $35 per sq. ft. In other news of June 1965: • A comely dancing girl with bare midriff, men wrapped in the robes of Oriental potentates, and a giant log were all part of a strange ritual that took place at one end of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. A native ceremony? No, a publicity stunt staged by Del Norte businessmen to publicize the reopening of roads leading to the Redwood Empire. The giant log, which had drifted ashore at Crescent City, Ca., after Christmas Day flooding, was also driven through downtown San Francisco as part of a parade. • National Lumber Manufacturers Association voted to change its name, effective June 1, to the National Forest Products Association, reflecting “the broadening scope of its activities.” • Koppers Co. recently established its first operation in wholesaling hardwood lumber. The Sappenfield Hardwood Department, manned by N.D. Sappenfield Sr. and Jr. and based in Montgomery, Al., would sell highgrade domestic hardwoods including cutstock, specialty items, dowels, blanks and squares. • Hinting at the warehouse home improvement centers yet to come, Bonanza Home Center opened a 30,000sq. ft. store filled with “more than 25,000 do-it-yourself items.” The business was purchased in 1984 by Pay ‘N Pak, and today the building houses a Ross Dress for Less.
MASONITE introduced a handsome hardboard paneling display that could be wooing customers while your sales force was busy closing other deals.
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n Building Products Digest n June 2020
• Western Wood Moulding Producers Association launched a national product publicity program to show consumers new and decorative uses of millwork. Sample kits of common mouldings, complete with labels, were sent to key decorators and editors in New York City, who accounted for a large number of stories that ran in national publications. A comprehensive booklet on designs with mouldings was also planned.
Building-Products.com
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NORTHEASTERN LUMBER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
BPD
Building Products Digest 151 Kalmus Dr. Ste. E200 Costa Mesa, CA 92626-5959
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