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January 2019
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CONTENTS
January 2019 Volume 98 n Number 1
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Features
34 WESTERN WOODS
10 FEATURE STORY
PROVIDES UPDATE ON THE LATEST SALES
TOOLS, PROP. 65 NOTIFICATION SERVICE, & PRICE TRENDS FOR WESTERN LUMBER.
FORECAST 2019: WILL LUMBER PRICES CONTINUE TO FALL?
14 INDUSTRY TRENDS
MERCHANT
JANUARY 2019
Magazine
THE VOICE OF THE WEST’S LBM SUPPLY CHAIN — SINCE 1922
51 DATE BOOK
30 THINKING AHEAD
52 ASSOCIATION UPDATE
43 EVENT RECAP
Lighter in weight, more ergonomic and faster than ever — get ready for our new Quik Drive drywall tool. Whether you’re attaching drywall to wood or to steel, the PRODW provides precise, self-locking depth adjustment, a 360° tool rotation and an improved screw-feed mechanism to ensure you’re in and out of the job quickly. To learn more, visit go.strongtie.com/prodw or call us at (800) 999-5099. © 2019 Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc. QDDRYWALL18
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The Merchant Magazine Digitial Edition at www.building-products.com
PORTLAND WHOLESALERS CONVENE ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON
The Official Publication of
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42 NEW PRODUCTS
20 OLSEN ON SALES
PUTTING FOREST PRODUCTS CAREERS ON THE RADAR OF THE NEXT GENERATION
Introducing the new Quik Drive® Drywall Tool
22 THE REVENUE GROWTH HABIT 32 MOVERS & SHAKERS
THE ART OF CHANGING THE SUBJECT
The lighter, faster, easier drywall tool.
8 ACROSS THE BOARD 24 TRANSFORMING TEAMS
GRAY IS HOT ON THE ROOF NORTH CAROLINA DEALER TAKES ON UNUSUAL SIDELINES
LUMBER PRICES: 2019 • TRENDS IN ROOFING • WESTERN WOODS UPDATE
14
Departments
16 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE The
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ACROSS the Board By Patrick Adams
Control is an illusion cdon’t know about you, but I look in the mirror sometimes and I don’t recognize the person looking back at me. I don’t feel like that guy and I’m not sure that I think like a guy of that age. I feel like it was just a short while ago that I met my wife for the first time when I was just 22. While that young guy would be questioning what he did wrong to deserve what has just unfolded, this guy just wrapped up my son’s second birthday party. The little guy is asleep and my wife and I have finished cleaning up confetti, giftwrap, and what’s left of a piñata and a birthday cake a 2-year-old found more fun to smash than eat. I’m sitting on our back patio with a cigar and my thoughts, watching my wife in the kitchen making our house a home once again. It’s evening now and for the past several hours, I’ve sat back and watched the generations interact. Wise grandparents, uncles and aunts watch the kids with smiles and nods of their heads, no doubt recalling the times when their own kids were this age. My soon-to-be 8-year-old daughter, being the older sister, teaches her younger brother the fine art of cake smashing and just how to swing a stick to properly break this poor paper animal with a heart of candy. And then there are the parents. I watched my son processing and calculating this landscape of entertainment. Although there were presents, he was drawn to the empty boxes. As the candy fell and kids competed to grab it up, he seemed torn over whether he should hit it again or cry because the animal seemed hurt. There were no ponies or bounce houses or clowns. Just a good, “old-fashioned” family get-together in the backyard on a beautiful afternoon with laughter and memories. As I sit on the patio, I think, “This is my life…” Kids and parties and messes and chaos. Cleaning up only to have a mess again within seconds of waking up in the morning. No doubt a tantrum or two long before the first cup of coffee is poured. My wife will give me a pleading look that says “help” and I will fail in my attempt to be her knight in shining armor and will undoubtedly make the tantrum worse. I believe any success I’ve had in life has come from hard work, but also from not being impulsive. Instead, I plan, I think, and calculate and attempt to control outcomes. But now, the more I do these things, the more often they escalate to being uncontrollable. Halfway into the cigar I remember an old friend’s advice to me. We were in the real thick of things and he told me to “ease up.” He said, “Control is an illusion. Control is simply your ability to handle things as they come—not to control
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what comes and when.” It’s hard to not want to control things that matter. I want my family to be happy. I want my kids to grow up to be good adults, but to also have happy childhood memories. It dawns on me that maybe I’ve been wrong all of these years. Maybe we’re not meant to “control” anything. My kids just had a great time and went to bed tired with smiles on their faces. There were great stories and several tears of laughter at the “show” the kids were putting on. I got to see my crazy, healthy, handsome son turn 2, put him to bed, and tomorrow will get to see him wake up to do it all over again. It’s then that my wife comes out to the patio and gives me that tired, but loving and beautiful smile that I fell in love with so many years ago. She sits down next to me without saying a word and we just look out over the backyard in the quiet evening. There is a feeling that you get when all is right in the world and now is one of those times. Yes, control must be an illusion because on my best day, I could not have controlled a situation to become as fortunate as I am in being able to appreciate what is truly important in life. Here’s your assignment: stop what you’re doing right now. Go home, sit back, take a deep breath, and look in the mirror.
Patrick S. Adams Publisher/President padams@building-products.com
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Building-Products.com
FEATURE Story By Pete Stewart, Forest2Market
Forecast 2019
Will lumber prices continue to fall? he U.S. housing sector—a bellwether for economic health—has showed signs of stagnation (and even the prospect of reaching peak housing in this market cycle) in recent months. Forecasts for housing starts are simply overblown, as there isn’t much room for an increase beyond the 2018 level of 1.266 million units. As a commodity largely tied to housing starts and broader building and construction activity, lumber prices also reflect the general health of this market via supply and demand metrics. After steady increases beginning in fourth quarter 2017 (4Q17), lumber prices skyrocketed to new record highs in 2Q18 before dropping precipitously across the board over the last four months. Southern yellow pine lumber prices recently hit their lowest point since August 2017; Forest2Market’s SYP composite index price for mid-November was $376/ MBF—a 35% drop from the record high of $576/MBF achieved in May. Despite the one-two hurricane punch that recently impacted the South and the continued wildfires in the Pacific Northwest—extreme weather events that have significantly impacted forest inventories, harvests and supply—the drop in lumber prices over the last six months is largely, though not entirely, demand driven. Fewer new-home builds equals less lumber. The sudden reversal begs a serious question: Did the lumber market simply over-drive its headlights in the price run-up earlier this year, or are there more structural forces at work?
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Several dynamics are combining to impact starts and, by extension, the North American lumber market.
Supply Analysis
Housing starts kicked off 2018 with a bang, leading many to believe that there would be a gap in supply once the busy part of the building season hit. January starts were up 9.7% over December 2017 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.326 million units, and speculation began to drive lumber prices ever higher. But as the meat of the building season came and went and housing starts failed to live up to expectations (now on pace at a SAAR of 1.228 million units), lumber production numbers confirm that any supply concerns were exaggerated. Both U.S. softwood lumber production and total softwood
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Building-Products.com
imports have increased year-over-year (YoY). Through August 2018, U.S. production was 23.8 BBF (+4.8%) and total imports were 10.3 BBF (+1.3%). Despite the tariffs on Canadian product, imports from Canada were only off 1.4% YoY to 9.3 BBF through August. Latin America (primarily Brazil) and European producers more than made up for the difference in Canadian volume; LatAm shipments to the U.S. totaled 306 MBF (+8.3%), while European shipments totaled 589 MBF (+65%) through August. We may see this trend reverse course when full third and fourth quarter trade statistics are reported; however, those numbers will be immaterial to this analysis. The data show that domestic and import supply was ample through the price run-up that began in 1Q18 and peaked in the second quarter. Neither U.S. production nor imports through August suggest any supply-side disruptions that would account for such a dramatic surge in price.
Decreasing Demand for Homes
“Housing is no longer a tailwind for the economy, but [so far] the headwinds are blowing very gently,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Michelle Meyer wrote in October. One sign of a shifting housing market is slowing demand—including buyer traffic—for existing homes. Resales earlier this fall suffered the largest drop in 2.5 years to the slowest pace since November 2015. Though still high, resale price appreciation has been decelerating (below +6% YoY for the first time in 12 months) and the supply of existing homes, while still low, is gradually expanding; there were 4.4 months of supply in September, up from the year-earlier 4.2 months. Based on the behavior of the exchange-traded fund iShares U.S. Home Construction (ITB), which tracks a basket of 47 U.S. homebuilders and construction-related companies, investors apparently agree with Meyer’s sentiment. As of mid-November, ITB’s share price had fallen over 34% from its mid-January peak. Builders are in a tough spot, as they have been hit with a number of challenges this year including an increase in materials costs, land and labor shortages and a shrinking appetite of prospective buyers who are willing pay up. Real private residential investment (PRI) declined for a third quarter in 2Q18; as a percentage of total GDP, the decline has been in place since 1Q17. Although both metrics have receded only modestly from their corresponding recent peaks, they nonetheless paint a potentially disconcerting picture for the sustainability of this market cycle.
Increasing Inventory for Homes
Interestingly, especially since there is a general consensus that more new-home supply is needed, rising inventory is even more pronounced in newly-built homes. After meandering around an average of 5.3 months between
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July 2013 and December 2017, new-home inventory has trended higher in 2018 (to September’s 7.1 months of supply). In addition, the ratio between starts and new-home sales reached 1.5 in September, which is in the top 14% of monthly ratios since January 1995. The implication is that unless the pace of new-home sales picks up, starts will ultimately be forced lower. With long-term Treasury yields helping to push mortgage rates upward, the median new-home prices less than 7% off November 2017’s record high, and resale appreciation only gradually slowing, it is entirely possible that housing demand could weaken further in coming months. Despite sustained high home prices (and surging prices in some markets) some regions are now drifting into the “buyer’s market” column.
Interest Rates
With home appreciation and mortgage rates trending higher, the reality is that many potential borrowers simply can’t make the mortgage numbers work. One way to measure the impact of inflation, mortgage rates and home prices on affordability over time is to use CoreLogic’s “typical mortgage payment,” which is a mortgage-rate-adjusted monthly payment based on each month’s U.S. median home sale price. The number is calculated using Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate with a 20% down payment, and it doesn’t include taxes or insurance. As such, the typical mortgage payment is a good measure of affordability because it shows the monthly amount that a borrower needs to purchase a median-priced U.S. home. The U.S. median home sale price in August 2018 ($226,155) was up 5.7% YoY, while the typical mortgage payment was up 14.5% YoY due to a nearly 0.7-percentage-point rise in mortgage rates over that period. Tight housing inventories coupled with rising home costs are a real barrier for potential homebuyers, but a typical mortgage payment that is rising at over twice that pace is a much more serious concern, and a number of forecasts call for even higher rates next year. Moody’s Investors Service has observed the deteriorating quality in mortgage loans noting that “The broad conditions under which loans are being granted have grown less favorable for future mortgage performance. For instance, home prices are no longer very affordable and rising interest rates are reducing refinancing incentives and prepayments.” Hence, “mortgages being originated today appear more likely to face a stressed environment within only a few years, [compared to] loans originated earlier during this long period of economic growth.” And that’s just mortgage rates, which function independently of the federal funds rate instituted by the Federal Reserve. Though speculative at this point, the Fed was expected to raise interest rates once in the final weeks
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of last year and, potentially three to four times in 2019, which will impact short-term and variable (adjustable) interest rates. Strategists warn that if the Fed tightens too much, economic growth could slump and trade wars could intensify, destroy demand and negatively impact earnings. The potential scenarios in the wake of these rate hikes are many. However, the impacts of continued increases would certainly discourage any expansion in new homeownership that would drive an increase in housing starts and additional demand for lumber.
Home Size
Not only have housing starts been decelerating since 2013, but home size has also been shrinking. Median floor area of new single-family completions peaked at 2,647 sq. ft. in 2015 and has subsequently been declining on trend (to 2,426 sq. ft. in 2017). The median new home cost a record $133/ sq. ft. in 2017, +30% relative to 2010. Apartments, by contrast, have been gradually expanding (2017 median: 1,096 sq. ft.) from 2013’s 1,059 sq. ft. If these trends continue, net changes in demand for lumber and other building materials could well be negative. While the trend of slightly-shrinking single-family home sizes may seem minimal, the cumulative impact of fewer builds using less lumber is resulting in diminished demand.
How Are Mills Reacting?
The tense trade situation with China has impacted regional log prices in both the Pacific Northwest and the South in recent months. On an annualized basis, shipments of Doug fir logs out of the Northwest are slightly down and averaging $221 per cubic meter (m3)—up 14% YoY; conversely, shipments of SYP logs out of the South are up 89% while the price has dropped to $141/m3—down 13% YoY. Domestic and export competition for logs in the Pacific Northwest earlier this year drove prices to sustained highs. After watching the steady rise in prices since 4Q17, regional lumber mills maxed out their log purchases in order to maintain inventories and beat what seemed to be a never-ending price run. But as trade disputes materialized, exports waned and the housing market sputtered, demand for logs cooled and prices have decreased as a result—much to the chagrin of many regional sawmills, who still have full log inventories that were purchased at peak prices earlier in the season. The
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decrease in lumber demand has driven many regional mills to reduce production; some are cutting operating hours or curtailing shifts, and others are temporarily curtailing production altogether until markets improve. It’s been “business as usual” for mills in the South, though, who have maintained production levels through the unstable rise and fall of lumber prices. However, these facilities have a much higher degree of flexibility than do those in the Pacific Northwest. Most notably, their log yard exposure is significantly diminished because there has been very little volatility in SYP log costs, which have remained low in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008.
The Verdict
Did lumber prices really crash in 2018? Not if we take a historical view using Forest2Market’s SYP price data in the chart above. In fact, we should be asking the inverse question: Why did lumber prices spike to historical highs? It is clear that the irregular peak that occurred from May-August was an anomaly likely driven by speculation around uncertain trade policies, overly optimistic housing start numbers and the likelihood of pinched lumber flows from Canada and the timber-constrained Pacific Northwest. Yet, none of these events materialized either disproportionately or collectively to a degree that would drive prices to new highs. Remove the May-August variance, control for a more historical trend and 2018 lumber prices are really
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in line with historical norms and current demand. While some of the market influences currently affecting lumber prices seem to be embedded at the structural level (trade disputes, tariffs, etc.), a cyclical decrease in demand is driving what only appears to be an extreme correction in price. This price change represents a natural return to equilibrium as market speculation has waned. As we well know, the U.S. housing market is cyclical—if fickle— by nature, and any commodity that is dependent on such a market will therefore experience volatility related to its cycles. To meet the modest forecasted increase in demand in the near term, there will be an estimated 6 BBF of capacity coming online by the end of 2020 via combined greenfield mill expansions and newly-rebuilt/refurbished facilities in the South. Lower manufacturing costs in new and upgraded mills will allow producers to efficiently manufacture SYP lumber through any market valleys or anomalies in the future. As CLT and other new mass timber building products continue to gain market share, this trend will add to underlying demand for solid wood products, which will benefit producers in both the South and the Pacific Northwest. - Pete Stewart is founder, president and CEO of Forest2Market (www. forest2market.com). Building-Products.com
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INDUSTRY Trends By Wendy Bruch, DaVinci Roofscapes
DISTINGUISHED GRAY is trending on rooftops across the country. (All photos courtesy of DaVinci Roofscapes)
Let your gray show
What’s trending in roofing colors hat’s old is new again. That appears to be the roofing color mantra for 2019. When it comes to shake roofing products, homeowners have a “love/ hate” relationship with real wood shingles. They may love the look of aged cedar shingles on their homes, but they hate constantly maintaining the wooden shakes. Plus, there’s the ever-present headache of mold, algae growth, splintering and splitting with cedar shakes. While the various colors of aging shakes are in demand, the challenge of dealing with real shakes wears out homeowners. In 2019 the roofing industry can
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expect consumers to request everything from orangey/brown tones of aging cedar to darker tones of black oak for their roofs. In addition, they’ll lean toward sun-bleached grays for homes located in coastal areas.
Colors Crafted From Nature
In 2019, national color expert Kate Smith believes that looking backwards may point toward our future roofing color trends. “This year, trends dip into the past to find materials that were perfect when new, that have been made even better with use and wear,” says Smith, chief color maven at Sensational Color. “Surfaces that are ‘perfectly imperfect’ are emerging to give added meaning to the products we buy.” According to Smith, DaVinci Roofscapes was one of the first to see this trend coming and responded by giving customers exactly what they desired in the Nature Crafted Collection. “The Black Oak, Mossy Cedar and Aged Cedar colors offered on these roof tiles capture the look of natural shakes at a moment in the aging processes allowing the beauty to be retained for years to come,” says
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Smith. “These colors celebrate an instance in time when cedar shakes naturally take on a rich aged tone from exposure to the elements, and are aged to the point of perfection.”
Shades of Gray
Of course there are homes without shake roofs across the county. For those roofs we can expect to see tones of gray continue to serve as a trendy color in 2019. Universally identified in 2015 as a “hot color,” the range of grays on top of homes reflect everything from dark charcoal to light cobblestone. Undertones of green, cool blue and Building-Products.com
black can pop out in different gray roofs, giving homeowners the ability to work from the top down to add unifying colors to their siding, window trim, and entry door. Year after year, shades of gray on the rooftop attract the attention of homeowners. Perhaps it’s a mental kickback to the hardiness of real gray slate on a roof, or maybe it’s because gray has a sexy appeal to people. “Women openly sigh over the gorgeous gray locks of George Clooney, Richard Gere, and Jon Stewart,” says Smith. “And I’ve seen jaws drop on men when they see pictures of Jamie Lee Curtis, Diane Keaton, and Blythe Danner. People are embracing gray on top… and this includes the top of the home.” Smith, a trends color forecaster, relates that grays work beautifully on the roof because the neutral tones complement nature and come in so many different shades. A look at any roofing manufacturer’s product offerings shows options of gray including flint, granite, natural stone and even silver fox gray. “A gray roof has a stately, refined look without being dull,” says Smith. “And, a blend of grays is a wise choice that will live up well over the years and allow a homeowner to change out the colors of their siding, trim or main entry door. The universality of a multi-hued gray roof means it will look just as regal in 50 years as it does the day it’s installed.”
Roof Colors with 2019 Trendy Colors
As Smith adds her insights into roofing colors for 2019, she relates that color trends this year are all about connecting, disconnecting and reconnecting. “Top paint brands seem to be identifying color trends that leap into three unique categories for 2019,” says Smith. “People are bonding with these popular colors in their many day-to-day experiences. We’re seeing them incorporate these colors on the exterior of their homes, which means roofing colors will be selected that complement these popular shades.”
Connecting
One of the growing trends in America is for people to connect with their roots. Whether purchasing a DNA kit or going online to track their genealogy, it’s now easier than ever for people to connect with their ancestors. According to Smith, exploring our heritage and celebrating a person’s lineage shows up in the colors they gravitate to on a regular basis. “The colors of this ‘Connect’ palette have a well-worn look,” says Smith. “It’s almost like they are ‘comfort colors’ handed down from another generation. Each hue is a toned down version of a color that was once brighter, but has now mellowed with time. “These ageless hues blend past, present, future and cross cultures. It’s easy to see how a home exterior could reflect these colors. For example, starting at the top of the home, you could have a composite shake roof in a rich Black Oak blend, which is a very trendy roof color right now. Then, working your way down the home could be softer, neutral tones. But, when you get to the front door you can connect the entire exterior with a powerful punch of Cavern Clay or Dark Hunter Green.”
Disconnecting
For many people, handheld devices have fooled us into thinking we can continually multi-task. However, Adam Gazzaley and Larry Rosen, authors of The Distracted Mind Building-Products.com
SLATE GRAY roofing coordinates with a range of home exterior colors and styles.
and other studies, show that true multi-tasking is a myth. Our brains focus on one thing by shutting out others. What does this have to do with color trends and roofing? As people begin to understand the need for fewer distractions, they disconnect and gravitate to softer hues and more subtle tones. “At the intersection of high-speed connections and calm minds, we find inspiring neutral colors that defy being easily named,” says Smith. “They’re not quite gray or taupe or tan, but have an almost magical ability to blend with an unlimited range of colors. “Again, think about how popular tones of gray have become in the past several years. Whether a warm or cool version, grays have exploded in everything from roofs to interior quiet spaces in the home.”
Reconnecting
Like hamsters on a wheel, many aging homeowners are getting tired of seeing the same scenery in life. The current world situations and political conflicts can be overwhelming. When the world around us feels like it has gone crazy, we turn to family, friends and homes to find happiness. According to Smith, comfortable surroundings in upbeat, happy colors make us smile. “Golden yellows, earthy light terracotta and sky blue are just some of the colors that help people reconnect,” says Smith. “These are joyful, nurturing colors that remind us to take a deep breath— and that everything and everyone is going to be okay.” People wishing to create a more welcoming, upbeat exterior to their homes can use many of the colors Smith identifies in her “Reconnect” color palette. “Again, choosing shades of gray to top off a home is a winner,” says Smith. “Then homeowners can play off the gray roof and paint the entire exterior in a sunny yellow or fern green. For less color, a neutral light gray can be used for the siding, but add a pop of color on the front door, shutters or trim. People should not be afraid to select a color like Wild Lilac or Summer Sunset. These may be just the right splashy colors to help a homeowner ‘reconnect’ in 2019!” Wherever you’re located, the winning colors for roofs in 2019 are shades of gray, plus gaining natural woods. Focus on those colors and you’ll create ageless looking roofs that will stand the test of time. – Wendy Bruch is marketing manager for DaVinci Roofscapes, Lenexa, Ks. (www.davinciroofscapes.com). January 2019
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COMPETITIVE Intelligence By Carla Waldemar
Trusses to dresses ellogg Supply, of Manteo, sited on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is a family-owned operation serving customers since 1946. Bravo. But this is a success story (is it ever!) not because of what it’s done throughout all those decades but because of a way-out-of-left-field break from that very past. Forgoing “the way we’ve always done it,” the company recruited a young dynamo who’s now its CEO. Fella named Joe Gaca. Were he in the ballgame business, he’d either have been (1) banned from the field for not playing by the rules, or (2) enrolled in the Hall of Fame. Instead, Joe was a teacher, toiling as assistant principal at a failing school with the mandate to improve performance. But a funny thing happened on the way to the classroom. As he tells it, “I lived next door to a man who owned a lumberyard. Every once in awhile, I’d get a call asking me to join the operation. Finally, in Year Five, I said to myself, ‘Know what? You’re not married, no kids; you work 72 hours a week and should also be going to graduate school.’ Soooo, I decided to try it for a year.” It’s now going on 14.
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CREW IS READY for business at the grand opening last October of Kellogg Supply’s new location in Edenton, N.C.
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“For me the appeal was, the company is family-owned. And all new to me: I had no idea what I should be doing. I started out in the yard, then moved on to the sales counter, then commodities purchaser. I worked my way up to assistant manager, store manager and then CEO. I learned the business from the ground up. Sure, there were hiccups along the way, but I was not too proud to say, ‘Hey….’ You take the information you have, analyze it, and make decisions based on that. “It was nice to walk in without a precise idea of how things should be, and to be able to make an evaluation. It became my responsibility to improve efficiency. I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty, and that won me buy-in from our teams, including the management team (their longevity was very helpful). Everybody was willing to change, to learn—and it could very easily have gone the other way. “I looked at invoicing, technology procedures, inventory processes. Instead of ‘that’s not how we did things before,’ they jumped aboard. I never was made to feel like ‘the new guy.’ Instead, it was ‘Let’s figure it out together.’ I’m not afraid of failure, and we’re all moving in the same direction.” Joe was tasked with heading up commodity purchases. “Luckily, I came in at a downtime in the commodities market. I got myself some history from old sales documents and then saw how things were now moving in the opposite direction: I had that luxury—for instance, not having to commit to x-truckloads in order to obtain a delivery. With time on my side, I was able to look at our records with vendors to see what partnerships had been successful, and which could be made better: how to strategize a program that would be better for both of us. It made a great foundation for relationships, and the way to grow those.” The operation Joe stepped into, and now heads, includes four building-material centers, a stand-along Design Center, and three free-standing retail venues (more on those later). Each, the boss says, has its own personality: no cookie cutters. “Although 85% of our customers are contractors, that ratio is a little different in each store. The managers can make their own individual decisions, based on their particular clientele. That way,” he says, “they’re more vested. If they decide to add Hunting and Fishing, say, then they really try to sell it.” Those contractors are building custom homes stating at $200,000 and spiraling well beyond $2 million in this fabled islands location, where beach property is prime. Which makes a dumb reporter assume that cost of construction isn’t a huge factor. Wrong! “It’s no different here. The competition’s no different on these islands—in fact, it’s Building-Products.com
KELLOGG widened its net to include Cottage Shop furnishing stores...
... AND MUDPIE boutique for kids and moms.
even crazier! It includes everything from big boxes to other successful indies.” So, why do builders choose Kellogg? “They know the longevity of our team, and this is in an environment that relies on long-term relationships. They can count on how you respond to them; how you help them, get them answers. (They’ve got my direct phone number). It’s a cliché, but it’s not about selling products: Rather, it’s what you can do for them, how you respond to them, and make it easy for them to deal with you. For instance, when it comes to returns, they don’t have to deal with a corporate office where you’re just a number—and we’re the only locally-owned company here. You get your questions answered without being transferred 10 times.” So service, then—like just-in-time delivery? Wrong
again. Kellogg tries its darndest, “but our location in the Outer Bank islands means that if it’s rainy, windy, no ferries. So you’ve got to have flexibility.” Customer service jumped up another notch with the launch of Kellogg’s Design Center—the usual host of elements from windows to mouldings and more. Its twist is that, while contractors are invited to bring in their clients to kick the tires, often it’s the contractor himself who now has a dedicated center in which to make decisions. That’s because much of the islands’ new construction is in rental homes erected by developers or individuals looking for added income. Thus, the new Deluxe Houseware Package concept was born. “In a client’s first investment home,” Joe explains, “they pour their heart and soul into choosing all the accessories. But eventually, on ensuing
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ventures, it becomes more of a business, this furnishing of a house for 24 occupants: dinnerware, towels, everything. So with this package, we provide all that.” The concept sprang from Kellogg’s already-successful Cottage Shops. “These are retail stores where you can decorate your home, pick up souvenirs.” Huh? Now you’re selling everything from trusses to dresses? Not so out-there, after all. As Joe sees it, “The building industry is so cyclical, and there’s not a lot of year-round demand here, so this [retail operation] helps offset things in the slow months. Even in the downturn, they continued to grow.” Which led to another experiment that succeeded. Kellogg opened a kids-and-moms-focused store called Mudpie. “As a Cottage Shop brand, it did very well for us, so that we partnered with the vendor and opened the store.” Thus, there’s a lot of word to be spread, and social media helps. Kellogg is involved in FaceBook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and the blogophere. “We need to get better,” he’s the first to admit, “but we’re beginning to integrate what we post to make it easier to share the culture of the company. On our blog we announced a silent auction, and recognize team members. The posts that gain the most attention are pictures of Kellogg doing something fun, like holiday photos or the sharing of ideas, such as color trends.” Of course, Kellogg corrals social media to publicize events, too. “Events are better than just having a sale. People want an experience,” he’s learned, “not just 20% off. They turn out for our beach glass jewelry classes. The pumpkin carving. A duck expo, with duck-calling contest. Our Christmas tree, with cookies and hot chocolate. It’s through these experiences,” he notes, “that we build rela-
888-807-2580 Bend, OR
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“Focused on the future with respect for tradition”
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LIGHT-HEARTED holiday photos are a popular feature of Kellogg’s social media outreach.
tionships. We get our web-sales customers to come in for a visit. And first-timers become repeats.” What’s ahead for the company? Instead of the usual responses such as “expanding our market” and “improving customer satisfaction,” Kellogg’s keen analyst-in-chief has a list of specifics to achieve these universal goals, starting with looking at adding a door shop (“It’s on the agenda”); improving the technical part of deliveries, such as relaying photos on devices; an increased presence on social media; and different inventory management, including data analysis. Also, “Our stores are up and running, so we’re scouting for the next location. “We’ll also continue to analyze sales—for instance, if someone picks up Sheetrock but not the tape—why? With doors and fasteners, we figure we’ve got the customer base, so, why not try them, too? Then we make it happen, looking at ‘Where’s it going to come from?’ This kind of analysis will help direct our growth.” And, looks like, Joe will be right there to lead the troops. “This is the longest job I’ve ever had,” he confesses. “I never expected I’d be here 14 years; it was not on my radar. But I’m excited to work with our teams, which take on different projects and move in the same direction on them. The owners allow me free rein, including expansions. If I said “a Hunting and Fishing shop” or “two more building supply locations,” they would support it. They allow me to experiment. For instance, going ahead with women’s clothing? Amazing!” Combine analytics with relationships and you come up with outside-the-box ideas that succeed. Amazing is right. Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net Building-Products.com
OLSEN on Sales By James Olsen
The gentle art of changing the subject Customer: “What do you have on studs today?” Master Seller: “We have lots of options. So, how many can you use?” (We add the softeners “we have lots of options” and “so” to make the transition smoother than “how many can you use?” which is too direct and off-putting.)
I Agree With You
ne way to change the subject is to have a subject! To control our calls, we need a plan. Next, we need to be able to change the subject. If we have prospected and qualified our customer properly, we should already know what they buy and be ready to promote those products to them. Sadly, many sellers call customers and say some version of, “What are you needing right now?” This approach irritates customers because these sellers are asking the customer to do all the work: “Tell me what you want, how much, and how much you want to pay, and I’ll shop it for you.” This brings almost no value, creating poor treatment. These salespeople bring it on themselves and blame the customer. The reason salespeople don’t prepare their calls is because they will have to prepare for 40 or 50, but will only get 20 customers on the phone, so they don’t prepare any. Instead of over-preparing, they don’t prepare at all!
O
A Well-Planned Call
A great sales call: 1. One or more products ready to promote and sell on every call. Master Sellers have several products and several options on each. Struggling sellers tell me, “It’s tough to get customers to come to the phone.” I say, “Yes, because when you do get them on the phone you aren’t ready; you waste their time, so of course they don’t come to the phone.” 2. Three reasons why what we are offering is a good deal for the customer. 3. Be ready to ask for the order, overcome objections (change the subject), and ask again. 4. If the customer insists on shopping it a bit more, change the subject and set a firm appointment for last look.
How to Change the Subject
“So” is a very powerful transition word. Many sellers—Quotrons—answer customers’ questions like dutiful students speaking to the headmaster. Master Sellers give an answer then use “so” and a question of their own to take control of the call. Customer: “What do you have on studs today?” Quotron: “I can get some into you at $350/MBF.” (Then dead silence while dutifully waiting for instructions.)
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“I agree the market is coming off. Many of my customers are taking advantage of these falling prices to pick up some great deals. We just picked a block of 2x4 104 5/8” out of ABC sawmill your favorite stock, with flexible shipment and a great price. How many of those can you use?”
And That’s Exactly Why
Customer: “This market is coming off. I’m going to wait.” Us: “It is coming off. That’s exactly why we should look at our 12’-16’ in Utility. We always have a tough time finding the tally we want. With the market showing weakness, now is the time to get tough tallies at good prices.”
Most of My Customers Buy Direct
Customer: “I buy direct.” Us: “Perfect, most of my customers buy direct. It’s a great way to buy. What I do for them is show them a part of the market they can’t see buying direct, so let me ask you this, what are your main three items?”
Speaking Of...
Customer: “This thing is coming off big time; I’m going to wait.” Us: “Speaking of coming off, a supplier just came to us and asked us to make an offer. We made one we thought for sure they wouldn’t take, but they did. We bought five cars of 2x4 14’, your key length, at a heck of a price. How many can you use?” We must remember that our customers are not our bosses or our grade school principals. We share information with customers as partners. Respect, yes; servile obedience, no. To succeed in sales, we must control the conversations we are in. The gentle art of changing the subject will become easier with practice.
James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503) 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com Building-Products.com
THE REVENUE Growth Habit By Alex Goldfayn
Call friendlies this work because I was in front of her.” He gave her the back-scratcher with his company’s name on it. And when she got the itch, she picked it up and used it. He called her. And then when she needed him, she called him. That’s how it works. And that’s the power of the phone call.
Nobody Calls Anymore
was interviewing a salesperson for one of my clients, and he brought up a customer of his who he was having some trouble getting on the same page with. He felt like they weren’t connecting with each other. She was impatient with him, and he wasn’t sure why. He asked me what he should do. I said, “Call her.” She’s a friendly. He said “Okay, and…” Me: “And talk to her.” Him: “About what?” Me: “About how she’s doing.” Him: “Really?” Me: “Yes, she will appreciate it.” Him: “Really?” Me: “Yes. You’ll have a nice conversation.” He was dubious. But he went and did it. I didn’t know this until I was doing this client’s live full-day workshop, and this salesperson raised his hand to tell the story: “Alex, I just want to tell this story to the group. Alex told me to call this customer, who I wasn’t connecting well with. And I did it.” He had my attention. “She picked up the phone, and I told her it was me, Andy calling.” Customer: “Hi, what do you need?” Andy: “Nothing, how are you doing?” Customer: “Fine, what do you want?” Andy: “Nothing, just checking in. I was thinking about you and wanted to reach out.” Customer: “Okay, what’s wrong?” Andy: “Nothing’s wrong. I don’t need anything. I’m just saying hello. How have you been?” Customer, stunned: “Really?” Andy: “Really. How’s your family.” Customer: “Nobody asks me that. Nobody calls me like this.” Andy: “I know. That’s why I wanted to.” Customer: “Wow, that’s nice.” They had a lovely conversation, he relayed. He never brought up business or products or services. But guess what? Two weeks later she called him and gave him quite a bit more work. I asked Andy if he thought she would have called him like this if he didn’t make his incredibly high-impact call. His answer: “No chance. She wouldn’t have even thought of me. She only gave us
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We assume that our customers get phone calls from their suppliers and partners all the time. But think about your own days at the office: how many one-on-one phone calls do you get from your own suppliers? You might have conference calls. Or the supplier may call when there’s something urgent or terrible happening. But what about proactive “How are you, how’s your family” calls? Not many right? How many in the last month? Probably not even one, right? We assume our customers are fighting off phone calls all day. This is not true. Your competition, because they are also human, deal with the exact same fears as you do. And they are not reading this book. Want to stand out? Pick up the phone.
All the Good That Happens When We Call
Here’s a list of all the goodness that you create when you pick up the phone: • You are standing out from the crowd with this customer, because the competition is not using the phone like this. • The customer will be happy to hear from you. Once they get over their shock about you not needing anything from them, you will have a very pleasant conversation. • You will have an opportunity to ask the customer what they are working on in a relaxed setting. And they will answer. Arming you with information you would simply not have otherwise. • You will be able to tell the customer about other products and services you can sell them to them. • Your proactive phone call will demonstrate to the customer that you care and that’s really all customers want. We human beings want to know that the people are working with care about us. • If you call a customer regularly, they will send you more business. Why? Because you’re present. You will be top-of-mind, and the competition. The back-scratcher will have your name on it, not the competition’s. There is no downside to calling customers. Only great value, to them, and to you. – Excerpted from Alex Goldfayn’s 2018 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Selling Boldly.
Alex Goldfayn Revenue Growth Consultancy alex@evangelistmktg.com (847) 459-6322 Building-Products.com
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TRANSFORMING Teams By Paige McAllister
More federal and statebased changes for employers are coming n 2018, the federal government had fewer than average laws passed that impact labor and employment law. This was due to focus on other areas as well as political gridlock. There were a few changes that employers should be aware of: New FLSA rules for handling tips: The Consolidated Appropriations Act restricts an employer from keeping tips received by its employees for any reason, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep a portion of those tips. This act also repealed a previous ban on “tip pooling,” requiring tipped employees to share tips with non-tipped employees, as long as the employer does not take a “tip credit.” Changes to tax credits: Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of December 2017, certain exclusions for businessrelated deductions were eliminated, including for employer-paid relocation, transportation, and entertainment expenses. This act also eliminated the allowance to deduct certain expenses related to payments made as part of nondisclosure agreements for sexual harassment settlements. Looking ahead to 2019, here are some trends or topics about which employers should be aware: Immigration: There were no laws related to immigration enacted in 2018 and few anticipate there being any enacted for the next year or two. For now, most immigration initiatives such as DACA protections remain in place. However, employers can expect increased ICE activity and USCIS initiatives to enforce the administration’s focus on immigration.
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NLRB: With Republicans gaining control of the National Labor Relations Board, the Board is likely to continue their more employer-friendly decisions in 2019, such as reversing the previous Board’s decision regarding joint employment standards and restricting the rights of unions, union representatives, and employees. The NLRB also recently announced they are working to facilitate quicker settlements and resolutions by expanding the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. Department of Labor: The Wage-and-Hour division has been working on revamping the white-collar overtime rules, which are expected to be released in 2019; they are also expected to clarify regular rate of pay calculations for overtime. The DOL is expected to release its own guidance on joint employment in the upcoming year. LGBTQ protections: Despite indications otherwise, the U.S. Supreme Court will not take up cases challenging LGTBQ discrimination decisions. This leaves legal interpretations for federal workplace protections for LGBTQ employees in limbo for now so employees may need to defer to state and local laws. While the federal government had most of their labor and employment bills stall in Congress, the states were busy passing and enacting laws impacting wage rate, sexual harassment prevention, sick time, and many other areas. Some of the changes that will be in effect as of January 1, 2019 include:
Building-Products.com
Minimum wage increases: While the federal minimum wage has remained $7.25/hour since 2009, 29 states have or will have minimum wage rates higher than that. Twenty states (Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington) and the District of Columbia will have increasing minimum wage rates effective in 2019. Note: Many cities and counties have also implemented higher minimum wage rates so the highest rate would apply. Predictive scheduling: Laws focused on employers in retail, food service, and hospitality industries have recently gone into effect in Oregon and several cities and are in the legislative forecast in at least 12 other states. These predictive scheduling laws require advanced notice when posting a schedule (ranging from 48 hours to two weeks depending on state law) and restrict or ban employers from scheduling on-call shifts and adding pay incentives for these shifts. Salary history: In the effort to create more gender equality for wages, three states (California, Connecticut, and Hawaii) are joining six other states in enacting laws preventing employers from asking about an applicant’s previous compensation history. Addressing some forms of compensation such as benefits and bonuses, as well as how to handle if an applicant offers the information varies based on specific state law. Sexual harassment prevention training: Several states have recently passed laws creating or revising the requirements for sexual harassment prevention training to
be conducted regularly, usually annually. Among states that recently enacted new or changed requirements are California, Delaware, and New York. Earned sick time: Recent laws in Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas implemented or expanded the requirement for providing sick time to employees but vary as to whether the mandated sick leave is paid or unpaid. Other states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon and Vermont) as well as some cities and counties already have a mandatory sick time law with differences as to how much time and the allowable reasons for taking the time. Legalized marijuana: While some states (Michigan, Montana, and Utah) passed laws legalizing medicinal and/or recreational use, these impacts expand into the workplace as it may change how employees react to a positive employment drug test. None of these laws change employers’ ability to prohibit employees from being under the influence at work as with alcohol or other prescribed drugs. If you are unsure what applies to your company given the new federal landscape and variations in laws from state-to-state and city-to-city, contact Affinity HR Group to help keep you informed and compliant! Paige McAllister, SPHR Affinity HR Group contact@affinityhrgroup.com
Your Partner for Western Species We own 440,000 acres of sustainably managed redwood and Douglas-fir timberlands in Northern California and operate two sawmills in Scotia and Ukiah, California. In addition to our redwood and Douglas-fir capabilites, our pressure treated business is the largest waterborne wood preserving operation in the Western U.S. We operate four wood preserving plants with locations in Coos Bay and White City, Oregon, Loveland, Colorado, and Washougal, Washington. Three distribution centers with locations in Fontana and Woodland, California, and Ferndale, Washington enable us to package and ship customer orders quickly and efficiently.
Redwood
We invite you to learn more about our product lines, operations, and inspirational projects built with our wood. Please visit MendoCo.com.
Douglas-fir Building-Products.com
Pressure Treated
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WFP Buying Columbia Vista
Western Forest Products, Vancouver, B.C., has agreed to acquire the assets of Columbia Vista Corp., Vancouver, Wa., for $30.5 million, including working capital of $6.7 million. Columbia Vista is a lumber manufacturer that focuses production on Douglas fir specialty products for the Japanese and U.S. markets. Columbia Vista operates a sawmill business in Washington State and has been in business for over 60 years. The operations employ approximately 90 employees and produced 60 million bd. ft. of lumber in 2017. “Bringing Western and Columbia Vista together provides Western the opportunity to expand its Douglas fir specialty product offerings, particularly in Japan where our customers have been asking us to source Douglas fir to complement our B.C. hemlock,” said Don Demens, Western’s president and CEO. “We look forward to working with Bob Lewis, Columbia Vista’s owner, who will be remaining with Western following the closing of the transaction in a consulting capacity. Bob has strong relationships in the forestry sector in the region and will be invaluable as we look to grow our business.” The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
Seattle Yard Moves After Fire
Gascoigne Lumber is moving into new quarters in Everett, Wa., after a four-alarm fire caused more than $4 million to its longtime home in the
Queen Anne area of Seattle. The Nov. 10 blaze destroyed three buildings and two sheds leased by Gascoigne and Northwest Millwork. It spared one lone warehouse, which Gascoigne employees worked from in the ensuring weeks, using battery-powered lights. Their move to Everett was expected to be completed by the end of 2018. A $15,000 reward by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and a second reward of up to $10,000 by the Arson Alarm Foundation have been posted for information leading to the arrest of the arsonist behind the fire.
Cabinetry’s ACPI Buying Competitor Elkay
ACProducts Inc., The Colony, Tx., has agreed to acquire 98-year-old cabinetry manufacturer Elkay Wood Products Co., Oak Brook, Il. Elkay brands include Medallion, Design-Craft, Yorktowne, Schuler, Medallion at Menards, MasterCraft, and American Cabinetry Collection. ACPI brands include Echelon, Advanta, Smart, Master Woodcraft, Cabinets 2000, and Serenade. Tim Jahnke, CEO of parent Elkay Manufacturing Co., said, “We found ACPI to be the ideal partner for EWP. The combined business will be a stronger company with a broader product offering to serve the market more completely. The sale also enables further investment in the long-term growth of the other Elkay businesses.” The deal is expected to be completed by the end of first quarter 2019.
Thanks to our customers and vendors as we begin our 34th year
• Redwood & Plastic Lattice • Dupont Tyvek • Roseburg DuraTemp • TruWood Siding & Trim • FRP • Fir, SYP & Radiata Pine Plywood
• Particleboard, MDF & Hardboard • OSB • Dry Dimension Lumber • Pine Boards • Industrial Lumber • Import Plywood • Salvage & Surplus
4685 BROOKHOLLOW CIRCLE, RIVERSIDE CA 92509
877-369-2327 • 951-727-1767 26
n The Merchant Magazine n January 2019
SUPPLIER Briefs Rio Grande Ace Hardware
owner Denis Coca received the go-ahead to build a new 17,268-sq. ft. hardware store with nursery in Taos, N.M.
HPM Building Supply applied to remain long-term in its 58-year-old Hilo, Hi., store, after passage of a law allowing extension of leases on public land for up to 40 years if they continue to reinvest in the property. True Value Washington Furniture & Hardware, Kennewick, Wa., is scaling back operations in anticipation of closing the 100-year-old business in one to three years. Owner and general manager John Gravenslund has cut hours and days of operations, and discontinued furniture sales.
Weyerhaeuser Distribution
has added Fiberon decking at its distribution centers in Salt Lake City, Ut.; Boise, Id.; Denver, Co.; and Dallas, Tx.
Orgill has purchased a three-story office building in Eugene, Or., where it will relocate its fast-growing Tyndale Advisors marketing operations, currently based in Springfield, Or. American Fence Association
is launching a new deck association, the Deck & Rail Institute , and will revive its DeckTech show, which after a six-year absence will once again be held in conjunction with its annual FenceTech show.
Arauco , Atlanta, Ga., received EPA registration for its InCopper antimicrobial technology, which will be used as a standard surface protection for its Prism TFL panels. Viance redesigned and rebranded its website at treatedwood.com, adding a new logo, improved design, and new tools, such as the Wood Chat blog, Deck Design Visualizer, project plans, educational videos, and dealer locator. Cali Bamboo, San Diego, Ca., was named to the San Diego UnionTribune’s annual list of the region’s best places to work for a fifth consecutive year.
Building-Products.com
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DURACOLOR® solid color and semi-transparent finishes for factory application Homeowners, builders, architects, lumber retailers, wholesale distributors and manufacturers have trusted PPG TRUEFINISH® Building Products (formerly PPG Machine Applied Coatings) for more than 90 years. Engineered to protect against harsh exterior exposure and UV-degradation, our Duracolor 100% acrylic exterior coatings are formulated to deliver excellent adhesion, color retention and film flexibility to your fiber cement and composite siding and trim boards. Our Duracolor IM nine-base intermix system allows you to formulate any of over 2,000 custom colors from PPG’s THE VOICE OF COLOR® collection. Popular premixed colors and tintable bases are also available. To learn more, visit ppgmachineappliedcoatings.com or call 1-877-622-4277.
Duracolor, the PPG Logo and PPG TrueFinish are registered trademarks and We protect and beautify the world is a trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. The Voice of Color is a registered trademarks of PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. ©2018 PPG Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.
MPP Going into Advanced Wood Products Lab Freres Lumber Co., Lyons, Or., made the final shipment of its new, patented Mass Plywood Panel (MPP) to Oregon State University for use in the construction of the new A.A. “Red” Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory. MPP is being used for both interior and exterior walls of the laboratory, as well as roofing in the George W. Peavy Forest Science Center. The two buildings, which form the Oregon Forest Science Center, are incorporating innovative uses of advanced wood products made in Oregon.
“This is our largest commercial project to-date, and we are thrilled to showcase the strength, versatility, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of MPP in this premier project at OSU,” said Tyler Freres, VP of sales for Freres Lumber. “Partnering with Oregon State has been such a positive experience from research and development, to the final shipment of MPP to OSU.” The 15,000-sq. ft. facility is expected to open by the fall. Sierra Pacific Industries committed $6 million to the project in honor of its founder, A.A. “Red” Emmerson.
Warehouse Bursting at the Seams?
To streamline its operations, Arauco has reorganized its three U.S. entities under a new name, Arauco North America, Inc., effective January 1. Arauco Wood Products, Arauco Panels USA, and Flakeboard America Ltd. will integrate to provide the same composite panels, plywood, moulding, lumber and pulp products, while operating under the shared name. Simultaneously, its Canadian entity Flakeboard Company Ltd. changed its name to Arauco Canada Ltd.
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© WTD Holdings, Inc., 2019. All rights reserved.
GENERAL CONTRACTING
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DESIGN AND PLANNING
Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau and West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau have voted to merge. The deal was set to close Jan. 1, 2019. Both agencies are accredited by the American Lumber Standards Committee to provide grade inspection and supervision services for lumber, heat-treated wood, wood packaging, and densified pellet fuels. In addition, WCLIB is International Accreditation Service accredited for metal plate connected wood trusses, structural glued laminated timbers, and CLT, and PLIB iCanadian Lumber Standards Accreditation Board approved for inspections as well as CE marking in Canada.
Arauco Renames North American Operations
Millwork stack racks from Sunbelt Rack are the most cost-effective solution to free up space.
44.00 (3’- 8”)
West Coast Grading Agencies to Join Forces
PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDINGS
n The Merchant Magazine n January 2019
RACK SYSTEMS
ECi Software Solutions, Fort Worth, Tx., is integrating its Spruce ERP software with Microsoft Dynamics 365, a web-based customer relationship management tool. Prior to the integration, CRM data—such as communication history with contractors—was separate from the Spruce system’s transactional information, making it harder for dealers to access up-to-date customer profiles and requiring them to input information more than once. Now, Spruce users will have the ability to access complete customer profiles any time from one central location without having to toggle between two systems. “Leveraging a CRM solution has become an essential component of customer retention and sales growth in the lumber and building materials industry,” said ECi’s John Maiuri. “The integration with Microsoft Dynamics allows Spruce users to access details of customer interactions within the Spruce system, enabling them to take actions that better serve their customers.” Building-Products.com
We didn’t come this far to only come this far. History Built. Future Bound.
Over the last 20 years, our technological and operational expertise has made Pacific Woodtech a global leader in private-label EWP. Now, with the addition of our own Pacific Woodtech-branded products, we are accelerating our quest to bring superior products and service to existing customers and a world of new markets. See what we can do for you at pacificwoodtech.com
THINKING Ahead By Mike Zenko, Boscus Canada
No one thinks of lumber Putting forest products careers on the radar of the next generation Editor Note It’s no secret that the pool of qualified candidates across just about every career in the industry is not deep enough to fulfill all our personnel needs. While some family businesses fill their pipeline with the younger generation, we can’t rely solely on the hope that our children will wish to follow in our footsteps. That means, we should be looking in new and diverse places for our next class of lumber professionals. From traders to truck drivers, we need to be smart in how we approach recruitment and hiring. In 2019, the North American Wholesale Lumber Association will explore varying perspectives on careers in the forest products industry. We’ll share several stories of how people landed in this industry—some by virtue of the history in their families, and others by pure happenstance and luck. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll consider sharing these stories with someone outside the forest products industry. Have a story you wish to share? Let us know. Send an email to ideas@nawla.org.
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t wasn’t much of a surprise that I landed in this industry. My father has been in the lumber business for more than 50 years. I suspect a similar story is true for many of you. Just as people like us essentially only think of lumber during our careers, there are many talented people out there in other industries who simply… don’t. They’re thinking of the stock market. Or cars. Or software. Or communications. Or construction. Some of the most talented people in the pipeline may never think of lumber as a potential career path, but maybe, just maybe, we can put it on their radars. As I progress in my career and meet may people along the way, I appreciate what this industry has given to me, and what it can provide to those willing to join us.
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A Good Living
As I was making my way through university, it became clear that earning a good wage and being able to support
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A Special Series from North American Wholesale Lumber Association
a family was possible with this line of work. I started on the transportation side of things, around 20 years ago. I eventually ended up trading, and now spend my days managing our division. We all know that this industry is very sensitive and responsive to market trends. We also can probably agree that it’s harder to make money now than it was 20 years ago, given market conditions and the changing landscape of the supply chain. Still, I maintain that any career here is a good one. The transportation squeeze we’re all feeling (The American Trucking Association reports a current estimated shortage of about 50,000 driving professionals) has resulted in unprecedented high wages and benefits for truck drivers. Great news, if you’re thinking about a career on the road. But this sort of challenge also opens opportunity for us to be more creative in how we get product to market—a task suited for someone with any sort of supply chain success. Finding those creative minds is crucial. Perhaps less understood is the sustainability of what we do. Remaining in business is dependent upon us being responsible and thoughtful with our renewable resource. Doing so ensures we remain relevant, and ultimately, employed. It’s important we remember to communicate that to those considering a career here.
Cherished Relationships
I’ll never forget one of the first bits of advice my dad gave me when I began my career: “Your name is everything.” I don’t have to tell any of you reading this magazine, nothing could be more true with our line of work. Your reputation determines your success in lumber, period. In the middle of the 20th century, researcher Albert Mehrabian introduced two studies that supported a “7-38-
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 www.nawla.org.
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55 Rule” of interpersonal communication. He maintained that just 7% of what we communicate is in the words we say. Tone of voice accounts for 38%, and a whopping 55% is in our body language. Without a doubt, this is true of those the forest products industry. The face-toface time we spend together at Traders Market and other gatherings throughout the year is crucial to our success. A $70,000 deal in a railcar is agreed upon with a handshake. It’s also worth noting that these relationships aren’t exclusively for business purposes. Cherished friendships have blossomed from the connections we make, too. Families have holiday parties and take vacations together. That, my friends, is real.
A Rewarding Experience
When I started trading, no one sat me down to tell me how to do this job. A book was flopped on my desk and someone said, “Pick a state, and start calling.” That was the climate back then, and that’s how we learned. Today, things are quite different. I spend a good deal of my time mentoring those new to the workforce. They can run circles around me with Excel, email, and social media—and those are valuable skills. But what I’m able to provide is guidance to personalize one’s work and build relationships every single day. I find it rewarding to mentor those who did choose lumber, and to help position them for future success. I believe there’s something for just about everyone in lumber. From driving a forklift to sales to accounting to IT to marketing and beyond—using one’s passion in this industry could reap amazing awards, for those willing to try. Finding what makes one happy in any industry is paramount. Forest products may not be top-of-mind at universities or with those embarking on new career paths, so it’s up to us to share our successes and sing the praises of what we do. The survival of our industry may depend upon us doing so. – Mike Zenko is general manager of the We s t e r n D i v i s i o n f o r Boscus Canada Inc., Pointe Claire, Quebec, and a member of the NAWLA Outreach & Marketing Committee.
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MOVERS & Shakers Dallas Moore, ex-Alexander Lumber, has been named general mgr. of Builders FirstSource, Salt Lake City, Ut. Justin Ochsner, ex-SRS Distribution, has been appointed general mgr. of Bloedorn Lumber, Cheyenne, Wy. Duncan Kilner, category mgr., Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls, Or., has retired after 42 years in the industry, the last 39 with Jeld-Wen. Mark Thompson has relocated to Weyerhaeuser’s Seattle, Wa., office as a Northwest lumber sales rep, after a year as a professional development leader in Bruce, Ms. Mark Durk is new to Durk Wholesale Lumber Co., Puyallup, Wa. Ryan Chinnici, ex-84 Lumber, is now in window & door sales with Ganahl Lumber, Anaheim, Ca. Nathan Jeppson has been appointed CEO and chairman of Northwest Hardwoods, Tacoma, Wa. Anurag Gupta has been named to the board of directors for Roseburg Forest Products, Springfield, Or. He replaces David Johnson, who retired from the board after 13 years. Cory Evans has been promoted to VP of operations at Golden State Lumber, Richmond, Ca. Anthony Damiano has hired on at PrimeSource Building Products, Santa Fe Springs, Ca., as a territory mgr. Greg Pray has been named president and CEO of Columbia Forest Products, Greensboro, N.C. Brad Johnson, CEO for the past 11 years, will stay on as an advisor through first quarter 2019. Daniel Brace has been named sales mgr. of Euroline Steel Windows & Doors, Yorba Linda, Ca.
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Todd Gunther is now Salt Lake City, Ut.-based senior commercial territory mgr. for the Intermountain West with Pacific Coast Building Products. Brendan Hazard has joined Fastenal, as sales associate for the San Luis Obispo, Ca., area. Melanie Hess has been named marketing coordinator for Superior Plastic Products, New Holland, Pa. Ezekiel Harnish was promoted to VP of information systems. Todd Braun, ex-James Hardie, has moved to AERT, a division of Oldcastle APG, Atlanta, Ga., as VP-sales. Mike Ter Molen, Do it Best Corp., Fort Wayne, In., has been promoted to director of LBM operations. Jason Stofleth is now divisional merchandise mgr. for hand tools, plumbing, farm & ranch, housewares, and cleaning & storage. Other new merchandise mgrs. are Nicole Green, outdoor living and trim-a-tree; Michael McCoy, outdoor recreation & safety; and Lauren Wilson, rental, impulse, snacks & store supplies. Brent Keefer, president, Hancock Timber Resource Group, Casco, Me., was elected to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative board of directors, along with Kevin Edgson, EACOM Timber Corp.; Lillian Alexander, Black Family Land Trust; and Dan Lambe, Arbor Day Foundation. Haruyuki “Harry” Yoshida has been appointed president and CEO of Kubota Tractor Corp. and Kubota North America, Grapevine, Tx. Stanley Cupp is in charge of goal setting at Mungus Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.
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WESTERN Woods By Western Wood Products Association
WWPA helps out with Prop. 65 notification service estern Wood Products Association offers the wood products industry a Proposition 65 notification service, to help subscribers meet new requirements by the fast-approaching deadline. The new Prop. 65 regarding warning requirements was
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Respecting the forest, honoring the past, building the future. A nation’s pride you can build on.
Manufacturers of 6 million bd. ft. monthly of • 5/4 & 6/4 Ponderosa Pine Shop • 4/4 Premium Pine Board Programs State-of-the-Art Hewmill & Headrig Mill Contact Sheldon Howell
(509) 874-1163
Yakama Forest Products 3191 Wesley Rd., White Swan, WA 98952 Fax 509-874-1162
www.yakama-forest.com
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approved in 2016 and has been in effect since August 30, 2018. Prop. 65 does not ban products from the marketplace but requires consumers be warned before exposed to chemicals or substances that cause cancer or reproductive harms. California Health and Safety Code Sections 25607.10 and 25607.11 provide Prop. 65 tailored safe-harbor warning requirements for wood dust exposures. Section 25607.10(a) of the warning regulation says that a wood dust exposure warning complies with Prop. 65 requirements if the warning “is displayed either at the point of sale or display of the raw wood products in a manner likely to be seen by the purchaser. Warnings that comply with the abovestated requirement are deemed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to be clear and reasonable. Businesses have the flexibility to provide the warnings through other methods that they deem to be clear and reasonable, although they may need to defend such alternative warnings in legal proceedings if a plaintiff challenges the warnings as not being clear and reasonable. This new Prop. 65 requires that the notification must be renewed, and receipt of the renewed notification confirmed, within six months during the first year after the effective date, then annually thereafter during the period in which the product is sold in California. That translates into a compliance deadline of February 28, 2019. Non-compliance can come at a steep cost. The California Attorney General (AG) Office prepares annual reports of Proposition 65 settlements. In 2017, the AG reported 688 settlements for payments totaling $25,767,500. As of November 15, 2018, the 2018 year-to-date total settlement payment was already at $34,823,913. The WWPA service has been in operation since 2011 and is available to both member and non-member companies. WWPA handles subscribers’ annual Prop. 65 customer notifications and provides a delivery status report each year. For more information, go to www.wwpa.org/aboutwwpa/services/prop-65-notification-service. Building-Products.com
WESTERN Woods By Western Wood Products Association
WWPA joins the eBook revolution n April 2018, WWPA launched the Western Lumber Grading Rules eBook for Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks. The eBook can be downloaded onto a smartphone using the Kindle Reader Phone App or a computer using the Kindle Reader Desktop App. The eBook allows quick access and easy navigation to WWPA Grading Rules, whether at the office or on the move. Since 1965 the WWPA Western
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Lumber Grading Rules book has been the go-to source for definitions on lumber standards. Builders, engineers, architects and mill personnel rely on the terminology and provisions provided in its pages. The WWPA eBook now equips industry professionals with a dynamic and responsive tool to harvest the book’s content. Although eBooks have not replaced the need for paper books, there are some keen advantages to being able
THE KINDLE Reader for PC provides quick access and dynamic navigation of the WWPA Western Lumber Grading Rules.
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to access a book from a phone or computer. An eBook gives the reader control on how the book’s content is displayed. Font styles and size can be adjusted to the reader’s preferences. Pages can be bookmarked and content can be highlighted for easy referencing. Words, phrases and terms are searchable using the Kindle App search tool. Notes can be written by the reader and attached to words, paragraphs or pages for future sourcing. Most eBooks do not have an interactive index but WWPA upped the eBook game by providing the Grading Rules eBook with responsive, in-depth cross-referencing navigation. With nearly 150 index topics to explore, the reader merely taps on the index subject heading and is automatically taken to the correct section of the book. The WWPA eBook also includes “Page Flip,” a handy Kindle navigation mechanism. If you need to reference a chart or graph on another page while you’re reading, Page Flip “pins” your current page to the side of the screen when you swipe away from it to explore other parts of the book. Tap your pinned page to instantly jump back to your original starting point. When needing to share content from the book, to clarify grading definitions with co-workers, customers or other professionals, scanning pages and emailing content can be time consuming. With a Kindle eBook, paraBuilding-Products.com
graphs, sentences and words can be highlighted/copied and shared via email or instant messaging. When working with professionals where English is not their first language, a translation tool is available to help with communication. By highlighting the area of the eBook you want to translate, you can then select from a variety of languages to interpret. In some cases, for instance Spanish and Chinese, an audio translation is provided. Russ Tuvey, WWPA director of quality standards, attests to the eBook’s value. “The eBook comes in handy while I’m on the road or in a mill,” said Tuvey. “The navigation tools allow me to search the book quickly for the information I need.” The Kindle Reader for PC provides quick access and dynamic navigation of the WWPA Western Lumber Grading Rules. The WWPA eBook book is available for both Android and iPhone users from Amazon. Those using Android OS can download the book directly from their Kindle Reader. iPhone users can only download Kindle books through their phone’s web browser or desktop PC computer using their Amazon account. From there they can sync the eBook to their iPhone Kindle Reader. iPhone users can also download the WWPA eBook through their Apple iBooks account.
WHEN WORKING with professionals for whom English is a second language, passages from the eBook can be highlighted and translated into other languages on the spot. Building-Products.com
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WESTERN Woods By Hakan Ekstrom, Wood Resources International
Wood fiber prices rise, particularly in the West ood fiber costs for pulpmills in North America remained generally unchanged from the second quarter 2018 to the third quarter 2018 (latest available figures) but were higher than in the third quarter 2017, according to the latest issue of the North American Wood Fiber Review. The biggest increases year-over-year came in British Columbia and the western U.S. where prices for wood chips (the major fiber source for the two regions’ pulp industry) increased by 25% and 23%, respectively. Over the past year, fiber prices have risen fastest in the West mainly because of low fiber inventories and limited access to addition log supply early in the year. This was followed by forest fires in late summer and early fall which reduced the log flow, tightened the fiber supply/demand balance, and increased transportation costs. Towards the end of the third quarter 2018, there were sufficient wood chips and pulp logs in inventories in western U.S. and Canada and prices started to level off. In the fourth quarter 2018, the price changes were mixed, with increases in B.C. and declines, with exceptions in the U.S. West. Wood fiber prices in the U.S. South have been quite stable for a long time because of plenty of supply. Historically, prices in this region have been much less volatile than in the West.
There was a noticeable decrease in residual chip prices due to multiple factors, including plentiful residual supplies at the region’s sawmills, log buyers building sawlog and pulplog inventories because the forests remained opened in spite of the wildfire threat, and more logs becoming available for domestic mills due to U.S.-China trade tensions. The average softwood chip price in the most recent quarter was down 25% from the same quarter in 2017.
U.S. Northwest
Dry summer weather resulted in log contractors maintaining full production schedules and a robust supply of fiber for the region’s pulpmills. In the third quarter 2018, softwood and hardwood roundwood prices were unchanged from the previous quarter. Although there remains an oversupply of softwood logs, prices remained stable throughout most of 2017 and 2018,
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There was an uptick in the price of Douglas-fir and hardwood pulplogs in the third quarter 2018 in coastal Washington and Oregon, with the price for Douglas fir reaching a high last seen in the first quarter of 2012. The current price equals the price of hemlock/fir, which was unchanged from the second quarter 2018.
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U.S. South
Prices for hardwood chips and pulplogs in the South Central sub-region were up about 5% quarter-overquarter, while the price increases were more modest in the Southeastern region. Low inventories and reduced harvests of hardwood stands have contributed to record high hardwood chip prices and hardwood pulplog prices being close to their highest levels in two years. Softwood chip prices have remained practically unchanged for more than a year throughout the South due to increasing supply of residuals from the region’s sawmills. Prices for sawmill chips in both South Central and Southeast are currently among the lowest in North America.
U.S. Lake States
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while prices for hardwood logs have inched downward. Sawmill chips were plentiful, but suppliers reported little to no difficulty in moving their residuals. However, this plentiful supply did result in the price of softwood chips dipping slightly from their second quarter 2018 levels.
U.S. Northeast
There was no change in softwood pulplog prices from the second to the third quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter with steady pricing. Hardwood roundwood prices edged downward slightly due to the cessation of a temporary price increase which was in place for the first half of the year. Although hardwood-consuming pulpmills in Maine reported low fiber inventories during the summer, by late August, the inventory levels had recovered.
to supplement their fiber inventories. Alberta saw a slight increase in residual chip prices in the most recent quarter, a continuation of an upward trend that started in the second quarter of 2017.
Canada East
In Eastern Canada, growing lumber production has created ample supplies of residual chips while demand for the fiber has stagnated. The imbalance, building over the past 18 months, resulted in significant price declines when 2018 annual price negotiations were concluded earlier this year.
Eastern Ontario and Quebec now have the lowest softwood chip prices in North America. In contrast to the plunge in softwood residual chip pricing, hardwood roundwood pricing in eastern Ontario/Quebec has remained flat for all of 2018. Hardwood and softwood pulplog prices in the Maritime provinces were unchanged in the third quarter 2018 at levels similar to price levels seen earlier in 2018. - Hakan Ekstrom is president of Wood Resources International LLC, Bothell, Wa. (www.woodprices.com).
Canada West
The price for chips rose across all regions of British Columbia in the third quarter 2018. In the Northern Interior, residual chip pricing increased significantly based on increases of the New Brunswick/Saskatchewan pulp prices to which they are linked. Prices in Canadian dollar terms have gone up for four consecutive quarters to reach their highest levels since the first quarter 1996. Sourcing fiber to meet demand remains a concern for most of British Columbia, particularly for the Coastal region. High prices continued due to the imbalance between supply and demand. Lack of wood supply on the coast resulted in fiber buyers reaching into the Interior of the province or sourcing fiber from the U.S. Northwest
Western Lumber eBuyers Guide The Western Wood Products Association’s website (wwwpa.org) features an interactive buyers guide to connect wholesalers, retailers, distributors and international buyers with manufacturers of western-grown lumber products. Searches can be filtered by species, product type, services or shipment method to identify producers that can deliver exactly what you want and how you want it.
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QUALITY WOOD PRODUCTS, GROWN RESPONSIBLY
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WESTERN Woods By Western Wood Products Association
Coming to Tucson! WWPA and NAWLA team up again estern Wood Products Association will team up with North American Wholesale Lumber Association for the 2019 Leadership Summit + WWPA annual meeting March 10-12 at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson, Az. In 2016 WWPA and NAWLA partnered in Palm Springs, Ca., for what would be the first combined meeting between the two groups. The success of that event inspired the two associations to join in Texas for the 2018 meeting and now again in Tucson. Registrants will be able to attend all WWPA and NAWLA seminars, outings, receptions and education sessions. WWPA president Ray Barbee has had a chance to both participate and observe the combined endeavor for the past two years. “It has proven to be a successful model,” Barbee said. “It creates an opportunity for the executives of supplying companies and many of their customers to get better acquainted and learn more about the challenges facing both organizations.” Before attendees begin their formal business, they will have an opportunity to meet Saturday evening March 9 at the IceBreaker reception. This meet-and-greet gathering has been a popular introductory rendezvous since the first
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LUMBERMEN will discover an “oasis amid the Sonoran Desert” as they travel to the luxurious Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, Tucson, Az., for annual meetings of WWPA and NAWLA.
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joint WWPA/NAWLA venture, one of many networking opportunities offered to members and their guests during the three-day event. Beginning the next day, WWPA and associate members can get an insiders viewpoint on how industry lumber grading rules are developed and standardized during the WWPA Quality Standards/Technical Committee meeting. Regular topics of discussion range from lumber testing, design values, ALSC updates, grade marks, and reports on WWPA Quality Standards/Technical programs and services. The day’s agenda continues with NAWLA’s popular Wine, Dine + Nine golf outing. This year’s excursion takes place on the course at the Westin La Paloma beginning at 11:00 a.m. A box lunch will be provided for golfers. For non-golfers, a scenic bike tour will take guests through the desert bike trails among the resort. Lunch and plenty of water is provided for the bikers. The Sunday schedule concludes with the NAWLA + WWPA Welcome Reception. For those wanting to exhibit their products and services during the event, the meeting offers prime real estate for tabletop displays beginning Monday morning March 11 and continuing through Tuesday. The 2018 meeting topped 400 attendees and this year’s audience for tabletop exhibitors is projected to be equal to last year’s event. The Leadership Summit + WWPA annual meeting has presented dynamic industry speakers and inspirational personalities. The 2019 line-up is expected to be one of the best yet. An eclectic series of topics featuring some of the industries top analyst and executives will be presented. Topics include CLT, mass timber, industry analysis, building materials distribution and transportation. The well-received Legends of Lumber panel is back focusing on family-owned businesses. Education sessions are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s agenda also includes the prestigious WWPA Master Lumberman Awards. Since 1968 this distinguished award has been presented to outstanding lumbermen who have demonstrated 20 years or more of excellence in the profession. Ron McCutcheon, dry kiln superintendent, Mendocino Forest Products, gave his thoughts on winning the award in 2018: “The Master Lumberman Award is the ultimate recognition of what I have accomplished in my career. I feel honored to be placed on that pedestal.” A full meeting agenda can be viewed online at wwpa. org. Online registration is available at nawla.org. Early bird registration and hotel reservations both end Feb. 15. Building-Products.com
NEW Products
Combo Squares
Starter-Price Decking
Empire Level is introducing the next generation of its industry-leading True Blue combination squares. The 6”, 12”, and 16” squares are redesigned with an improved Blade-Lock for faster adjustments and a more secure hold, a Dual-Pitch vial for checking 1 and 2-degree slope, and rational head dimensions for quick checks of common dimensions. The tools also feature an etched stainless-steel blade and onboard storage for a hardened scriber.
A newly re-engineered line of Trex Enhance composite decking is targeted at the budget-minded, featuring a scalloped profile that is lower cost and lighter weight for easier handling and installation. Enhanced Basics comes in three shades (Clam Shell, Beach Dune, Saddle) in realistic grain patterns. Enhance Naturals has five multi-tonal hues (Foggy Wharf, Rocky Harbor, Toasted Sand, Coastal Bluff, Sunset Cove) with the streaked look of natural wood.
n EMPIRE LEVEL.COM (800) 558-0722
n TREX.COM (800) 289-8739
Expanded Line of Hammers DeWalt’s XP Extended Performance Hammers offer more durability and features including the “More Swing, Less Sting” grip vibration dampening technology, easy-togrip handles, and side nail pullers. The vibration dampening technology allows each hammer to reduce sting by 35% while improving grip durability by 25%. This helps reduce arm fatigue and increases the tool’s ability to stand up to rigorous use. n DEWALT.COM (800) 433-9258
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Advanced Composite Decking MoistureShield Vision composite decking features an advanced manufacturing method that creates a modern, variegated appearance with a diverse pallette of trend-forward color options. The line comes in five natural colors: Smokey Gray, Spanish Leather, Sandstone, Cathedral Stone, and Mochaccino, and deck boards are available in 12-, 16- and 20-ft. lengths, with fascia boards in 12-ft. lengths. n MOISTURESHIELD.COM (866) 729-2378
Weathered Brown Railing Deckorators ALX Classic aluminum railing is available in a new color, Weathered Brown, designed to give deck builders and homeowners more beautiful, modern choices to personalize an outdoor living space. Weathered Brown is currently a trending color that’s meant to add a warm, natural finish to a deck. n DECKORATORS.COM (800) 556-8449
PARR
LUMBER COMPANY 14023 Ramona • PO Box 989 Chino, CA 91708
www.parrlumberchino.com (909) 627-0953 Fax 909-591-9132
Tether for Coil Tools Hammerhead Industries has introduced the ANSI-compliant 3/4” Super Coil tool tether for heavy tools and instruments. The flexible, low profile system provides up to an 8-ft. diameter working area for heavier tools like power drills, nail guns, and power drivers. The new fixed-loop 3/4” tether is rated for use as an anchored attachment to a fixed structure for tools up to 15 lbs. n GEARKEEPER.COM (888) 588-9981 Building-Products.com
• Plywood/OSB
• Hardwood Panels
• Plyforms
• Dimension Softwoods
• Composites
• Dimension Hardwoods
• Melamines/Vinyls
• Pine & Fir Boards
Michael Parrella – x15 • Vince Galloway – x19 Janet Pimentel – x23
• Chris Hexberg – x22
Nestor Pimentel – x31 • Joe McCarron – x21 George Parden – x28
• Bert McKee – x16
Dominick Cosolo – x14
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Underlayment Patch USG’s Durock Brand Tuf-Skim Floor Patch provides a tenacious bond to compromised gypsum floors. The fast-setting, fast-drying compound also bonds to interior wood and concrete subfloors. n USG.COM
Rough TiMbeRs uTiliTy Poles
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Call the experts: • Robert Moore • Jim Winward
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High-Energy Openings Deceuninck’s new 326 residential and light commercial window system is capable of thermal performance of 0.27 U-value and a DP35 rating. It offers three frame options that accommodate stucco construction and a standard sash. Frame options include an integral stucco key for new construction applications, a 1-3/8” nail fin setback, and a stucco flange for replacement and remodeling projects. n DECEUNINCKNA.COM (877) 563-4251
Bolt Busters Milwaukee Tool is expanding its Hand Tool line with its new Bolt Cutters, available in 14” and 24”. The cutters’ forged steel blades and bolts won’t loosen, translating to more cuts and longer life. Also included in the line-up are two adaptable bolt cutters with Powermove Extendable Arms, allowing the user to extend the arms for more power and versatility. n MILWAUKEETOOL.COM (800) 729-3878
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Building-Products.com
Portland wholesalers’ holiday
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14 PORTLAND WHOLESALE Lumber Association held its annual Christmas luncheon Dec. 7 in Portland, Or. [1] Guest speaker Anthony Davis, College of Forestry Dean, Oregon State University, gave a keynote, and the group announced its 2019 board members: [2] president Andy Jones, secretary Paul Quandt, VP Reed Schooler, and executive secretary Debbie Rakfeldt. [3] Kirk Potthoff, Sean Coughlin. [4] Mark Swinth, Gunnar Brinck. [5] John McDowell, Allan Hurd, Mike Jarman, John Newell. [6] Rod Lucas, Hector Perez. [7] Joe Raulerson, Gary Newman, Dustin O’Sullivan. [8] John Murphy, Frank Forward. [9] Darin Allen, Peter Howe, Angie Dundas. [10] Aly Kingsley, Kevin Dodds, Grant Phillips, Jake Moriniti, Misty Dicks. [11] Todd Foster, Justin Wilson, Dave Komar. [12] Jeff Hogard, Shannon Smith, David Jara. [13] Mike Carey, Art Reid, Ryan Williams. [14] Kyle Freres, Diane Freres, Jeff Reed. [15] Peter Gibney, Angie Dundas, Max Heller, Rich Martinez. (More photos on next two pages)
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PORTLAND WHOLESALERS HOLIDAY Photos by Merchant
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36 TED F. FRERES was posthumously named this year’s PWLA Lumberman of the Year (continued from previous page). [16] Sons Tyler Freres and Kyle Freres with wife Diane Freres accepted the award on his behalf. [17] Will Kuester, Stan McGehee. [18] Jim Adams, Jessica Standley. [19] Mike Boone, Chuck Casey. [20] Mike Betz, Pat Murphy. [21] Marshall Lauch, Bryan Borovec. [22] Kim Hill, Steve Snyder. [23] Alexandra Mills, Yesha Malla, Sophia Fujiki. [24] Greg Thelen, John Perch. [25] Mike Holm, Joe Honochick. [26] Dave McNabb, Todd Foster.
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[27] Wayne Holm, Gordon King, Nick Smith. [28] Les Sjoholm, Dave Smith, Rick Yonke. [29] Steve Page, Cody Smith. [30] Laurie Creech, Mark Porter. [31] Dan Jensen, Rich Martinez. [32] Mike Rowan, Sandy Albing, Brett Slaughter. [33] Aaron Samuelson, Josiah Dorr. [34] Parker Wildeboer, Humphry Wildeboer. [35] Paul Donahue, Mark Kelly. [36] Michelle Maller, Quinn Guerrero, Shannon Harwood. [37] KayCee Hallstrom, Aly Kingsley, KelCee Hallstrom [38] Mason Virnig, Ben Rist, Ken Timmins. (More photos on next page) Building-Products.com
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PWLA PARTY (continued from two previous pages): [39] Reid Schooler, Dan Weaver, Damien Fallin. [40] Terri Adair, Regina Smith. [41] Devin Stuart, Phil Odom. [42] Brian Johnson, Brad Myers. [43] David Miles, Casey Girt. [44] Joe La Berge, Paul Cheatham. [45] Norm Persons,
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PORTLAND WHOLESALERS HOLIDAY
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Skeet Rominger, Tyler Freres. [46] Tim Atkinson, Mike Zumwalt. [47] Chelsea Brown, Lee Jimerson, Kalayna Crook, Jim Adams. [48] Tim Hunt, Korina Korkeakoski. [49] Raymond Luther, Brad Mehl. [50] Jerry Farley, Robb Hahmeyer.
DI
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January 2019
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Timber Products parties
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TO CLOSE OUT its 100th year, Timber Products Co., Springfield, Or., held a joyous holiday party Dec. 6 at the Costa Mesa Country Club, Costa Mesa, Ca. Festivities were introduced by [1] CEO Steve Killgore and [2] Randy Lambert, territory sales manager for Southern California. [3] Steve Killgore, Joe Gonyea II, Don Weber, Eric Domanic. [4] Sara Anderson, Cindy Bartunek, Kelley Rhea. [5] Walt Maas, Marty Lovik.
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13 [6] Lori & Tony Burke. [7] Jerry Best, Dan Best, Darrell Sauvageau. [8] Scott LeGros, Jake Brosterhous, Eric Cullen. [9] Richard Perez, Edgar Lopez. [10] Parker Butterfield, Farhad Abdollahi. [11] David Smith, Victor Garcia. [12] Joe Gonyea II, Steve Killgore, Josh Gibeau, Sam Rickley. [13] Filo Silva. (More photos on next page) Building-Products.com
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TIMBER PRODUCTS partiers (continued from previous page): [14] John Erickson, Matt Barrass. [15] Richard Perez, Jouanni Valenzuela, Lance Church, Shawn Carlisle, Scott Church, Jennifer Barnes, Edgar Lopez. [16] Pat Cowan, Jack Griede. [17] Phil Finston. [18] David Gonyea, Steve Killgore, Mike Parrella, Josh Gibeau. [19] John Kemper, Scott Church. [20] Gary Harker. [21] Janeen Jarrar, Eric Domanic, Building-Products.com
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TIMBER PRODUCTS
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31 Marta Evans. [22] David Smith, Lou Flynn. [23] Vince Galloway, Joe Bolton, Steve Daugherty. [24] Kris & Nicole Wanel. [25] Steve Killgore, Sara Anderson, Mark Brothers. [26] Shirley & Jim Cadwell. [27] Mark Washington, Loise Shin. [28] Matt Barnes, Brent Burkhart, Zach Heberer. [29] Bob Payne, Liz & Dan Seeman. [30] Ryan Linehan, Steven Johnson, Steve Johnson. [31] David Hall, Randy Lambert. January 2019
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2ND GROWH HOLIDAY Photos by The Merchant
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WEST COAST Lumber & Building Material Association celebrated at its annual 2nd Growth holiday party Dec. 6 in Brea, Ca. [1] Chris Freeman, Rex Klopfer. [2] Tom & Karin Angel, Bill Sullivan, Kathy Rutledge. [3] Jean Henning, Troy Huff. [4] Joe Morin, Pete Meichtry. [5] Renee Miles, Scott Johnson.
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[6] Shawn Knight, Adam Kenney. [7] Hector Barrerra, Ryan Lauterborn. [8] Zac Cruz, Jacqueline Palazzolo, Endy Flores. [9] Bill Gaita, Tommy & Michelle Mix. [10] Sonja Oliphant, Santos Leon. [11] Sergio Paz, Dave Vigil. [12] Adan Torres, Victoria Foucault, Keith Hitchcock, Sam O’Quinn, Brian Sumpter,
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17 David Alcantor. [13] Jason Schulze, Connor Warren, Larry Christensen. [14] Jeff Donahoo, Luis Mendez, Doug Willis, Steve Brown. [15] Michael Ochoa, Austin Nesbitt, Daniel Hines. [16] Jennifer Burford, Steve Mitchell, Danielle Lyle. [17] Jeff Donahoo, Craig Larson.
Building-Products.com
DATE Book Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with sponsor before making plans to attend. Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman’s Club – Jan. 10, meeting, Fullerton, Ca.; www.lahlc.net. Guardian Building Products – Jan. 10-13, dealer show, Orlando, Fl.; www.guardianbp.com. Associated California Loggers – Jan. 15-17, annual meeting, Atlantis Resort, Reno, Nv.; www.californialoggers.com.
Where Decision Makers Grow
Tacoma-Olympia Hoo-Hoo Club – Jan. 16, board meeting, Tacoma, Wa.; (253) 531-1834; tbilski614@aol.com. Willamette Valley Hoo-Hoo Club – Jan. 18, crab feed, Eugene, Or.; rameses93@nu-world.com. Surfaces/International Surface Event – Jan. 23-25, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nv.; www.intlsurfaceevent.com. Western Forestry & Conservation Association – Jan. 24, timberland conference, Vancouver, Wa.; www.westernforestry.org. Sacramento Hoo-Hoo Club – Jan. 29, initiation meeting, West Sacramento, Ca.; jeff.squires@paccoast.com. National Association of Wholesale-Distributors – Jan. 29-31, executive summit, Washington, D.C.; www.naw.org. Western Building Material Assn. – Jan. 29, introduction to building material sales; Jan. 30-31, estimating workshop, DoubleTree, Salem, Or.; www.wbma.org. Black Bart Hoo-Hoo Club – Jan. 30, industry nite, Redwood Valley, Ca.; www.blackbarthoohoo181.org. Humboldt Hoo-Hoo Club – Jan. 31, crab feed, Eureka, Ca.; (707) 601-9128. Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Assn. – Feb. 5-6, yard operations workshop, Denver, Co.; www.mslbmda.org. Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman’s Club – Feb. 7, meeting, Orange, Ca.; www.lahlc.net. Northern Utah Home Show – Feb. 8-9, Davis Conference Center, Layton, Ut.; www.northernutahhomeshow.com. Sacramento Hoo-Hoo Club – Feb. 9, Valentines dinner & dance, Sacramento, Ca.; jeff.squires@paccoast.com. Tacoma-Olympia Hoo-Hoo Club – Feb. 12, crab feed, Orting, Wa.; (253) 531-1834; tbilski614@aol.com. Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Assn. – Feb. 12-13, yard foreman workshop, Denver, Co.; www.mslbmda.org. Western Building Material Assn. – Feb. 12-13, science of selling seminar, Portland, Or.; www.wbma.org.
2019
Tucson, AZ | Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa
Budma – Feb. 12-15, international construction & architecture fair, Poznan, Poland; www.budma.pl/en. Southern California Hoo-Hoo Club – Feb. 13, speaker meeting/golf, Chino, Ca.; www.hoohoo117.org. LBM Advantage – Feb. 18-20, annual convention & show, Rosen Centre & Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fl.; www. lbmadvantage.com. North American Wholesale Lumber Assn. – Feb. 19, regional meeting, Portland, Or.; www.nawla.org. International Builders Show – Feb. 19-21, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nv.; www.buildersshow.com.
March 10-12
NAWLA Leadership Summit
WWPA Annual Meeting
Western Wood Preservers Institute – Feb. 20-21, winter meeting, Portland, Or.; www.wwpinstitute.org. Oregon Logging Conference – Feb. 21-23, Lane Events Center, Eugene, Or.; www.oregonloggingconference.com. Orgill – Feb. 21-23, market, Orlando, Fl.; www.orgill.com.
LEARN MORE & REGISTER AT www.nawla.org/leadershipsummit
True Value – Feb. 21-24, Spring Reunion market, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Tx.; www.truevalue.com. Building-Products.com
January 2019
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CLASSIFIED Marketplace
HELP WANTED
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. Send ad to Fax 714-486-2745 or david@building-products.com. Checks payable to 526 Media Group. Deadline: 18th of previous month. Questions? Call (714) 486-2735.
LUMBER CARRIERS from Berkot
• Several models available • Balanced for ease of handling • May be modified to your specifications See our full product line at www.BerkotMfg.com
BERKOT MFG. CO., INC.
12350 Montague St. Unit F, Pacoima, CA 91331 • Phone (818) 272-2000 Manufactured in the U.S. since 1954
ASSOCIATION Update Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association is reminding members to save the date for its upcoming yard foreman workshop Feb. 12-13 in Denver, Co. Western Building Materials Association’s upcoming Intro to Building Material Sales course on Jan. 29 will provide entry-level personnel with a basic understanding of building material operations, product usage in residential construction, and customer service basics. The class will be led by Casey Voorhees at DoubleTree by Hilton, Salem, Or. Later that week WBMA will host a blueprint reading & material take-off course also led by Voorhees in Salem on Jan. 30-31. Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman’s Club is kicking off the year with its first meeting in Fullerton, Ca., Jan. 10. Then mark your calendar for the next meeting Feb. 7 in Orange, Ca. Western Forestry & Conservation Association’s sixth annual conference, “Mapping the Course,” will focus on timberlands, forest products processing, and fiber issues, and will take place Jan. 24 at Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, Wa. Keynotes will be delivered by various forestry professionals including managing director Kevin Mason, ERA Forest Products Research; Hakan Ekstrom, Wood Sources International; and Ashlee Cribb, Roseburg.
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A day before the conference, WFCA will conduct a course on professional development and communication skills at the same location in Vancouver on Jan. 23. Students will learn how to deliver a presentation in a variety of settings, how to answer questions efficiently after a presentation, and making an effective pitch. Associated California Loggers’ annual meeting will take place on Jan. 15-17 in Reno, Nv. Western Pallet Association is inviting members to attend its annual meeting Jan. 18-22 at Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage, Ca. Upcoming Hoo-Hoo International chapter events include a TacomaOlympia Club board meeting, Jan. 16, Tacoma, Wa.; Willamette Valley Club crab feed, Jan. 18, Eugene, Or.; Sacramento Club initiation, Jan. 29, West Sacramento, Ca.; Black Bart industry night, Jan. 20, Redwood Valley, Ca.; Humboldt crab feed, Jan. 31, Eureka, Ca.; and Sacramento Club Valentine’s dinner and dance, Feb. 9, Sacramento.
IN Memoriam David Heerensperger, 82, former CEO of Pay ‘n Pak, Kent, Wa., and founder of Eagle Hardware & Garden, Spokane, Wa., died Dec. 2, 2018.
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OUTSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc., the premier manufacturer of fire-retardant treated wood, is seeking an Outside Sales Representative. The ideal candidate is a motivated, success-driven professional with excellent communication and presentation skills located in the west, preferably near a western airport hub. A college degree with at least 5 years of documented sales success is strongly preferred. Building product channel sales and lumber or plywood sales experience is a valued attribute. This position is responsible for growing profitable sales through Hoover’s network of wholesale distribution partners. The candidate must possess the technical acumen to communicate the varied product and service benefits that define the Hoover brand. This position requires significant overnight travel. Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc., offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, life and disability insurance, 401(k), paid holidays and vacation as well as annual bonus, profit sharing, and tuition reimbursement. Submit résumé to hr@frtw.com; no phone calls please. • Desired Skills and Experience • Written and oral communication • Verbal Presentation • Organization • Success driven • Willing to travel (overnight) extensively • Knowledge of commodity lumber and plywood markets • Channel sales experience • Experience utilizing a CRM solution • Proficient in computer applications (Microsoft Office Suite/G-Suite)
He entered the hardware industry in 1954 at age 17, doing inventory for a hardware store in Longview, Wa. Five years later, he opened his own store in Spokane, Eagle Electric & Plumbing Supply. He added a second store and in 1969 merged with 19-unit Pay ‘N Pak. Heerensperger rose to CEO and chairman, growing the chain to $400 million a year by the time he left in 1989. Two months later, he launched Eagle, building it up to 32 locations before selling it to Lowe’s in 1998 for $1 billion. Edwin R. “Ted” Speier, retired foreman of Arcata Redwood, Arcata, Ca., died Nov. 26, 2018, two weeks shy of his 99th birthday. After attending Humboldt State, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He starting working in Humboldt County sawmills in the early 1950s and spent 28 years as Arcata’s foreman before retiring. Building-Products.com
ADVERTISERS Index
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Pacific Woodtech www.pacificwoodtech.com
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Allweather Wood www.allweatherwood.com
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Parr Lumber www.parrlumberchino.com
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Bear Forest Products www.bearfp.com
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Pelican Bay Forest Products www.pelicanbayfp.com
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C&C Resources www.ccresourcesinc.com
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PotlatchDeltic www.potlatchdeltic.com
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Capital Lumber www.capital-lumber.com
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PPG Machine Applied Coatings www.ppgpro.com
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Collins Products www.collinswood.com
Cover IV
Roseburg Forest Products www.roseburg.com
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CT Darnell Construction www.ct-darnell.com
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Seneca Sawmill www.senecasawmill.com
Cover III
526 Media Group www.building-products.com
Cover I
Simpson Strong-Tie www.strongtie.com
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Fontana Wholesale Lumber www.fontanawholesalelumber.com
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Siskiyou Forest Products www.siskiyouforestproducts.com
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Huff Lumber Co. www.hufflumber.net
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Snider Industries www.sniderindustries.com
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Humboldt Redwood www.getredwood.com
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Swanson Group Sales Co. www.swansongroupinc.com
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International Beams www.internationalbeams.com
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Timber Products Co. www.timberproducts.com
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Jones Wholesale Lumber www.joneswholesale.com
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Universal Forest Products www.ufpedge.com
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Jordan Lumber Co., Lee Roy www.jordanredwood.com
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Rough TiMbeRs Utah Wood Preserving uTiliTy Poles www.utahtreatedwood.com PRessuRe TReaTed
Maze Nails www.mazenails.com
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Cover II
Borates CA-C
Above + Ground Contact
luMbeR
FiRe ReTaRdanT
TReaTed luMbeR Versatex and PlyWood www.versatex.com
Call the experts: • Robert Moore • Jim Winward
UTAH WOOD PRESERVING CO.
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Norbord www.norbord.com North American Wholesale Lumber Assn. www.nawla.org
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Western Woods Inc. www.westernwoodsinc.com
1959 SOUTH 1100 WEST WOODS CROSS, UTAH
PHONE - WOODS CROSS: (801) 295-9449 FAX (801) 295-9440 PHONE - SALT LAKE (801) 262-6428 FAX (801) 748-0037
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Yakama Forest Products www.yakama-forest.com
TREATERS WITH INTEGRITY, TAKING CARE OF TOMORROW’S NEEDS TODAY ACQ ACQPreserve • Borates
D-Blaze® Interior Fire Retardant Heat Treating ISPM 15 Compliant • Custom Drying Rail Served BNSF • TPI Third Party Inspected
909-350-1214
15500 Valencia Ave. (Box 1070), Fontana, CA 92335 Fax 909-350-9623 • email – fwl-fwp@pacbell.net
www.fontanawholesalelumber.com Building-Products.com
January 2019
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FLASHBack 95 Years Ago This Month
N inety-five years ago, The Merchant Magazine
reported on a holiday publicity stunt by the Valley Lumber Co. of Fresno, Ca. The company mailed gift cards to thousands of customers and prospects that could be redeemed for Christmas trees. In all, they handed out more than 6,000 trees. In other news from January of 1962: • Moore Dry Kiln Co., Jacksonville, Fl., was granted a U.S. patent for a new “progressive dry kiln” providing graduated heating. The new system was said to give properly balanced temperature and humidity for correct, uniform seasoning of wood. In 1969, Moore Dry Kiln would merge with sister company Irvington Machine Works to form today’s Irvington-Moore. • The steamer C.A. Smith, loaded with 1.5 million ft. of lumber, struck on the submerged rocks of the North Jetty at the entrance of Coos Bay, Or., on the morning of December 16, 1923, and was a total loss. Nine of the crew were lost when a lifeboat capsized as it was being lowered into the water. The first mate on the tug Oregon also died. Rescue trips made repeated attempts to save the men, but were thwarted by the “roughness of the sea.”
PUBLISHER Jack Dionne devoted the front cover of The Merchant Magazine’s January 1924 edition to his sister publication, The Gulf Coast Lumberman, which had served as a template for The Merchant and—decades later—partial inspiration for The Merchant’s current sister publication, Building Products Digest.
Seven crewmen did survive, though one had to spend the night on the wrecked ship before he could be located and saved. • Workmen in Sacramento, Ca., excavating for a sewer along 7th Street uncovered the rails of a horsecar lumber railway that operated along I Street more than 60 years earlier. The rails were made of 4x6 redwood, with a steel band along the top and one side, and were well preserved. Digging crews struck the rails about 8 feet below the surface of Seventh Street, which was filled in after the Great Flood of 1860-61. • Hoo-Hoo International predicted its largest initiation in the history of the lumber fraternity during the upcoming annual meeting of the Western Retail Lumbermen’s Association in Los Angeles. With as many as 1,000 lumbermen from throughout the West expected to attend, the group said well over 100 of them would be inducted at a “concat” held during the meet. EMERSON CAREY Fibre Products, Hutchinson, Ks., heavily promoted its “fibre-sized and prime-dipped” wallboard product, Atlas Board.
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