20 minute read
THINKING AHEAD
By Dave Destiche
Kicking up service during the pandemic
Imy way back from the NAWLA Leadership Summit 0 0 in March of last year when the CO I -1 pandemic got real, at least for me. Ironically, many of us at the event were downplaying the virus, not realizing the magnitude and gravity it would take on. I was in for a rude awakening, though, which came courtesy of a phone call from Amerhart’s director of R. A passenger who tested positive had traveled through our small airport a day earlier, she informed me, adding that I would have to quarantine for the next two weeks. I’ve been working from home ever since.
The fallout from the health crisis came fast and furious after that, with Amerhart forced to adapt alongside its peers and the rest of the world. We experienced many of the same setbacks and challenges as everyone else; but, all in all, we’re getting through it effectively and with mini-
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 how NAWLA can help your business at nawla.org. mal disruption. Indeed, we expect to come out stronger than ever on the other side. A huge part of the reason for our success thus far is our CO I response team, which has spent countless hours sifting tirelessly through piles of information and filtering the accurate and pertinent details to employees.
At the same time, a lot of other “chips” have fallen into place. For instance, because one pillar of our strategic plan is technology investment, our teams were well-positioned for the transition to telework. Perhaps one of the biggest factors, however, was customer buy-in to Amerhart’s first-rate online platform that debuted in early 01 . As it turns out, the system would help us further improve our already impeccable service despite the unfortunate circumstances. Bending Over Backwards for the Customer
The e-commerce site lets customers access any information they need, around the clock and without having to speak to their assigned sales rep. They are able to retrieve product specifications, place orders, review invoices, and reconcile billing questions, among other capabilities. The system was intended to make doing business with Amerhart easier; but this is a people-based industry, where face-to-face interaction is preferred, so some resistance was to be expected. As the pandemic deepened and workplace restrictions took effect, acceptance of and appreciation for the platform took off. It subsequently evolved into the invaluable resource
A Special Series from North American Wholesale Lumber Association
we intended it to be and granted us, through the sheer knowledge and accessibility of our company through the platform, the opportunity to better serve the customer base.
With the ability to be in front of the customer a thing of the past, at least for the time being, Amerhart salespeople are going above and beyond to see that the needs of those customers are met. It is not a company edict—but more of a personal mandate—that has encouraged many of our salespeople and employees to adopt a “response rule.” They only give themselves a limited amount of time, maybe five or 10 minutes, to reply to a customer’s phone call, voice mail, or email and get them the information they have requested.
Stepping up service has also meant doing double-duty as a consultant to customers that are facing adversity during this unprecedented crisis. Our salespeople understand the capacity of their customers and what they manufacture and, therefore, are in a position to advise them on other prospective opportunities.
We might, for example, steer a manufacturer that is sidelined from its primary business at the moment to subcontract with other customers. The company that is in trouble could then use its existing machinery and equipment to make a product that may not be part of their regular lineup but that is in demand.
As another example, Amerhart now offers a product that has an anti-microbial surface, which more than ever
NAWLA Virtual Summit Spotlights Insight from Leading Women
From the latest industry updates to networking with lumber professionals, the 2021 NAWLA Leadership Summit: The Virtual Experience will be the place to be (virtually, of course) this spring. Join us online to learn valuable leadership lessons from experts in the field.
That includes a special keynote panel discussion with female leaders in the industry on March 17. They will provide insight into their experiences, both as women and as leaders within the wholesale lumber industry. Through their stories, you’ll learn how they navigated their unique career paths, the challenges they face in the current business climate and opportunities they identify for growth.
Featured will be Ashlee Cribb, senior VP/CCO, Roseburg Forest Products; 2021 NAWLA Chair Bethany Doss, business manager, Capital Lumber; Darcy Mercer, training & development manager, Olympic Industries; and Donna Whitaker, VP-SYP sales & marketing, Interfor Corp.
In total, the Leadership Summit will present more than five hours of thought-provoking and motivational education sessions, and leave you with actionable ideas and business strategies to boost your business in 2021.
Find more info at www.nawla.org. is invaluable to sectors of our industry such as hospitality, medical, educational, and gaming. It’s the same material the customer always uses to build cabinets and work surfaces, but with added peace of mind—a selling point to show that the customer is taking steps to combat the spread of the virus.
The more helpful you are in easing a customer’s pain, the more valuable you are to them. There’s no more truth to it than now, during this pandemic, when customers are arguably feeling more pain than they have ever before. If you can help them get through it, you become way more relevant to them and the relationship you share only strengthens.
Showing customers how much they matter has been crucial, but demonstrating care and concern for workers has been equally important. Amerhart has gone to great lengths to do that as well, from allowing staff to take sick days without using their paid leave, to expanding employee benefits to include consultation services for well-being, to investing in specialty disinfection services at company headquarters. Even in the most uncertain of business environments, we firmly believe that the safety and well-being of our coworkers is top priority If you don’t have your people, then you don’t have a business. Use Your Core
All of the steps we took, whether aimed at customers or targeted to employees, align directly with Amerhart’s corporate values. They fall under four groupings: Together, Inspire, Community, Build. The subcategories under the Together heading—teamwork, integrity, positive attitude, and alignment—especially speak to what we’re going through today, in too many ways to name here. But teamwork, in particular, is essential. ou must trust in your team to do their jobs, from wherever they are, and to the best of their abilities. Alignment is also key at this time, given the fractured office environment. With so many employees working remotely, ensuring that everybody is on the same page—and communicating accordingly—has never been more imperative.
If your business does not have corporate values, create them They are so much more than just nice words on the home page of your website. If you do have them already, make sure they remain relevant and in the forefront of your coworkers’ and customers’ minds. Bring attention to colleagues’ actions that reflect these values, in or out of the workplace. This is the foundation in creating your company’s experience and culture. With these, not only will you survive these trying times, but you will come out of this and other hardships stronger than before.
– Dave Destiche is vice president of marketing/sales for Amerhart, Green Bay, Wi. (www.amerhart.com).
TJ Rosengarth, former Northwest ardwoods president, has been appointed president and CEO of
Collins, Portland, Or. e succeeds
Eric Schooler, who is retiring after more than 0 years as president
CEO. Jason Allen has been promoted to executive vice president of
International Wood Products,
Clackamas, Or. Glenn Flores, ex-Weyerhaeuser, has accepted the position of product mgr. to run the steel rebar segment at Boise Cascade, Lathrop,
Ca. Nancy S. Loewe, ex- isa, has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer for
Weyerhaeuser Co., Seattle, Wa., eff ective March . Kelly Fox, president, Frontier Building
Supply, has been promoted to
Pacific Northwest president of parent odiak Building Partners, ighlands Ranch, Co., responsible for Frontier and sister company
Builders Alliance. Travis Garner, ex-Parr Lumber, has moved to TAL oldings, LLC, ancouver, Wa., as regional general mgr. in Leavenworth, Wa. Beau Janes, Alpine Lumber, has transferred from Granby, Co., to
Colorado Springs, Co., as GM. Troy Bailey has been appointed president of Plateau Forest
Products, Bend, Or. Bethany Cypher has been promoted to P of real estate development for Lumber, Eighty-Four, Pa. Ryan McInerney has joined the executive team at Weston Forest,
Mississauga, Ont., and has been promoted to P-industrial sales. Chris Dooley, ex-Trex, joined ista
Railing Systems, Maple Ridge,
B.C., as P-business development of its commercial multifamily division, istaPro Architectural
Railing Solutions. Tom Killy is new as P-corporate fi nance. Irving Lopez, ex-Southwest Roofi ng, is now general mgr. of Global
Roofi ng Group, Tucson, Az. John Brinker has joined o it Best
Corp., Fort Wayne, In., as a lumber sales support coordinator. Also new are Tiffany Cooper, order support specialist; Jim Scalfani, merchandise mgr.-outdoor living; and Ben Skoog, director of brand integration. Newly promoted are
Sara Kitzmiller, sales support coordinator; Angela Powe , consumer marketing coordinator; and Maggie Radyn, associate merchandise mgr.-hardware. Allen Prough has been promoted to president of enver, Co.-based odiak Building Partners’ sevenunit Factory Builder Stores division, ouston, Tx. Lytia Watson, ex-A E , has joined eceuninck North America,
Monroe, Oh., as P of human resources. Brian Haigis is the new P of finance accounting, succeeding Logan Arumugam, who is retiring after 0 years with the company. Michael Doss, president and CEO,
Graphic Packaging International, has been elected board chair of the American Forest Paper
Association, succeeding Mark
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Sutton, International Paper. e will be joined by 1st vice chair
Christian Fischer, Georgia-
Pacific, and nd vice chair Brian
McPheely, Pratt Industries. Jordan Williams has been promoted to P of sales operations for
Builders FirstSource, allas, Tx. Celeste Wegener was appointed P of product brand management for O L, Inc., eeland, Mi. Ken Barnum has joined ur-A-
Flex, as P of marketing. Patrick
O’Connell is the new director of operations, quality continuous improvement. Mike Willey, store mgr., Lumber,
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Specialist of the ear. Brock Lee is now serving vegan options at the company cafeteria at
Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, according to co-owners Hugh
Mungus and Freddy Fungus.
Wrecking Ball Nears for G-P’s Coos Bay Mill Site
Nearly two years after the abrupt closure of GeorgiaPacific’s sawmill in Coos Bay, Or., a redeveloper has announced plans to liquidate, demolish and repurpose the facility.
Built in 1 , the Coos Bay lumber mill operated for years and produced dimensional lumber sold and distributed globally. At its peak, the large lumber mill generated up to 1,000,000 bd. ft. per day.
Commercial evelopment Co. recently acquired the 1 -acre property from Georgia-Pacific West, LLC, including real estate, machinery and assumption of environmental liabilities.
In addition to offering easy access to U.S. 101, the property has two private Union Pacificserved rail spurs and two on-site docks—a 1, 00-ft. deep-water dock and a 00-ft. concrete dock.
C C affiliate Industrial Asset Recovery Group will be managing the liquidation of equipment.
•Gazebos – providing more shelter said. “Every now and then a little rumor pops up that auto Lakes, this number is expected to grow a bit over the next than a pergola, gazebos offer a point scanners are taking the place of good people, and that’s just few years. of retreat and greater protection not the case.” “The technology isn’t for everyone,” he concluded. “For from the elements without isolating Coulombe agrees: “When we started this journey, we smaller mills, the ROI won’t ever be there—and they will inhabitants. knew it would be a big change for our folks; our graders are continue to be successful. For our larger ones, this may •Exposed Timber structures – the natural color and grain of redwood timbers lend a solid support to a greater structural design. some of our best employees, valued and important pieces of our organization, and we didn’t want to lose any of them. In our case, we took former line graders and put them in roles like scanner technician to keep their expertise close at hand.” be something more of them may consider in the years to come.” “The technology will continue to improve, and we expect to see more industry peers getting on board,” said Coulombe. “Is it worth it for Irving Forest Products? •Decks – a redwood deck can last a lifetime when it’s built and mainChallenges Along the Way Without a doubt. The benefits far outweigh the challenges, and the equipment we’ve chosen is helping us to better tained well.As is often the case with technology, there were chal serve our customers’ ever-changing needs, and that’s what •Planters – non-toxic and all natural, redwood is ideal for garden boxes and planters to hold flowering plants, herbs, even vegetable gardens. lenges as the new tools were implemented at Irving Forest Products. Initial technology had issues with identifying decay due to its color, among other things. The installation process required lots of checking by people—lots of man hours—to get it started and up and running accurately. it’s really all about.” SFI Growing Certification of Family Lands The Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the 3D PRINTED homes from Mighty Buildings range from the 350-sq. ft. Mighty Mod studio (left), which starts at $186,750, to one- or two-bedroom Mighty Houses (right), who range from 864 to 1,440 sq. ft. and start at $304,000. Will the Homes of the Future Be Built Using 3D Printers? Although various international companies are using printers to produce an assortment of construction materials, an Oakland, Ca.-based startup is determined to “print” an entire modular house out of plastic polymer and minerals. Backed by 0 million in venture capital funding, Mighty Buildings vows to construct houses quicker, cheaper and greener. Currently, about 0% of their studios and tiny one- and two-bedroom homes are printed. The company claims buildings printed later this year will be 0% to 0% printed. It says cost savings will come with volume production, but the ecological advantages are here already: the process reportedly cuts construction waste by %, because only what is needed is printed. The “light stone material” is the first -printed product to be UL-certified for home building. So far, they have installed six small “accessory dwelling units,” which the homeowners intend to use as secondary homes or rental units. Mighty Buildings has the capacity to crank out 0 structures a month. That capacity should increase to about 0 by year’s end. INCREASINGLY backyard builders are realizing that the best contemporary design materials aren’t grown in the lab, but out in unfiltered nature. •Furniture – any form of seating, tables, benches all deliver the promise of a comfortable place to gather when built with redwood. •Arbors – create memorable transitions from one part of a yard to the next with redwood arbors. Among the trends emerging in landscaping design, there’s no better fit for bringing beauty, color and presence into an outdoor space than redwood. Combined with its longevity, and environmental qualities, redwood is the top choice among landscaping trends. It is a choice any consumer can make with confidence, and reaffirm their wise decision year after year. –Jessica Hewitt is director of marketing at Humboldt Redwood Company. HRC is working to cultivate a lasting legacy of environmentally responsible forestry and sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution of top-quality redwood lumber products. Constant checks were the name of the game for a while, but Coulombe says those issues are in the past. “The key to success with new technology is to assign someone to take ownership of the program or equipment and really usher it through the quality control checks, the calls with the manufacturer, etc.,” Coulombe commented. “Precise technology at this level will never be set-it-andforget-it; just when you think you’ve hit that sweet spot, a fleck of dirt on the lens shows up as a defect. It’s a constant process, but worth the effort.” To Each His Own By Easterling’s estimates, maybe 10% of NELMA mills use auto grading equipment. With the technology still fair ly new to the lumber industry in the Northeast and Great American Forest Foundation have formed a new part nership to grow the amount of certified family and other small holdings in North America. Under their new Small Lands Group Certification Module, companies certified to the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard will be able to form a new type of certifica tion group to certify small lands within their wood and fiber supply area. The Module will be submitted to the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) for approval this spring. Upon approval, fiber produced from lands certified under the program will be certified for both PEFC and SFI labels and chain-of-custody systems.
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the finest timbers available, delivered to customers accurately, honestly & on time.
ILLUMINATED BALUSTRADE products are coming to the U.S.
Illuminated Glass Railing Panels Take a Shine to the US
Illuminated Balustrade Australia has formed a U.S. partnership with Spartan Railing, Minneapolis, Mn., to facilitate the introduction of its patented frameless glass railing system into the U.S. The companies are seeking domestic distribution partners and resellers in the construction community.
Illuminated Balustrade’s minimalist hardware design favors every architectural style, while integrating perfectly diff used lighting into its base design. Low Iron glass panels are secured into the spigot to create an amazing transfer of 1 diff erent light color options.
Spartan Railing is currently in discussion with building material distributors and glass wholesalers throughout the U.S. and Canada to find the right partners to bring Illuminated Balustrade through the supply channel. “We’ve had so much enthusiasm throughout North America from wholesalers, glass suppliers, and top-level contractors wanting to distribute this product after just one look,” co-owner Mike unard said. “We are looking forward to making this product easy to buy in 0 1 and are confi dent it will be well received by the professional installer.”
Spartan Railing was formed by Pat Noonan and unard to support the go-to market strategy of Illuminated Balustrade. Noonan is an award-winning deck builder and operator of Minneapolis dealer Pro eck Supply. unard has helped build such building material brands as Trex, A E , Sherwin-Williams, and Wausau Supply.
“I am thrilled to partner with Pat Noonan and Mike unard, who together have over 0 years of experience in the industry building award winning decks as well as working with No. 1 branded manufacturers to set up distribution in the outdoor living space,” said Mark Behnecke, CEO, Illuminated Balustrade Australia.
“Mark is a motivated entrepreneur who understands the process from engineering to marketing,” Noonan said. “Timing couldn’t be better as demand for reliable lighting elements, unobstructed views, and installer-friendly products are at an all-time high.”
Idaho Dealer Adds Second Store
Rocknak’s ardware, Idaho Falls, Id., is opening a sister store this month in Terreton, Id.
According to manager Allen Newcomb, the , 00-sq. ft. store will hold a grand opening on May 1.
It will off er a vast selection of hardware items, including power tools, housewares, plumbing, electrical, farming supplies, plus automotive, hunting fi shing, and grocery.
CENTRAL VALLEY hardware store was honored for being one of Ace Hardware’s Coolest Hardware Stores of 2021.
Central California Store Toasted for Its Coolness
Strand Ace ardware, Escalon, Ca., has been honored by Ace ardware Corp. as one of 0 1’s Coolest ardware Stores.
The 10th annual designation recognizes stores that differentiate their offerings, services and culture to meet the needs of their community.
“With more than , 00 Ace locations around the world, no two stores are the same,” said ohn ittell, vice president, retail operations new business, Ace ardware Corp. “Each independently owned and operated store provides a shopping experience that is locally relevant to the communities they serve. The team at Strand Ace ardware embodies the unique and helpful spirit that makes Ace great.”
Originally founded by the Strand Brothers in 1 , Strand Ace ardware was purchased by the Swanson Family in 1 and has grown from a , 00 sq. ft. building to more than , 00 sq. ft. of retail space to better serve the Escalon community.
Strand currently consists of two buildings and an outdoor garden center. The south building has 1 , 00 sq. ft. with more traditional hardware department including paint, plumbing, electrical, lawn and garden in addition to product assortments specific to the local community. The north building has 1 ,000 sq. ft. of retail space dedicated to outdoor living products including grills and patio furniture. The north building also features a small engine repair shop and lumber department.
It also creates fun and unique experiences that engage the community, from in-store events such as grill demo days, kid craft days, and an annual “Party on the Patio” customer appreciation night to participating in the “Christmas on Main” downtown light parade.
The Swanson family takes pride in supporting local organizations in their community including the Boy Scouts, FFA, the high school football team, the Sportsman Club, and the Garden oy Community Garden. Strand also participates in Ace Children’s Miracle Network events throughout the year.
The other winning store for 0 1 was Gemmen’s ome ardware, udsonville, Mi.
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