The Merchant - May 2023

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Volume 102 • Number 5

FINDING YOURSELF

BY PATRICK ADAMS

A“MILESTONE BIRTHDAY” was coming up, so I was excited to plan something special for the most important person in my life. Since we met when she was 19, she has mentioned her “bucket list” included staying in “one of those island places where the bungalows were right over the ocean.” Since she doesn’t like surprises, I gave her some notice of my intentions and her “mother reaction” was not what I expected. Instead, she shared that she would prefer something a bit closer to home. To my surprise, she ended up picking a ranch in western Montana… in March.

Now, for me this is heaven! Not unlike my favored elk hunting locations, I knew the area—high mountain country—cold, pure, unspoiled and, in winter, not many people (i.e., tourists). I sat puzzled for many weeks at her selection wondering if I should attempt to save her from herself. Whether it was my trust in her, or my own selfishness, away we went to Montana for some time at a ranch without the kids in tow (a rare treat these days).

During the flights, my mind was racing back over all of the packing advice I gave her in hopes that I could make what she was about to land in at least bearable. Thermals, wool socks, good boots, head covering… the list went on, then back through again. As we flew east from Seattle, the scenery out of the plane started to reveal the landscape that I have found must have been my home in past lives. Have you ever been somewhere that almost instantly you feel yourself change inside? Your mind stops racing, your pulse rate drops and that huge smile that’s inside starts to creep to the outside. As we landed and made the drive to Phillipsburg, she marveled at the raw beauty of the landscape.

Together, we explored and did things that normally I wouldn’t have imagined her wanting to sign up for. We went fly fishing—in 28° weather and she caught a rainbow trout! We went horseback riding in untouched snow and she tried her hand with both clays and long rifle. Each night for dinner, we walked about a half-mile from our cabin to the lodge. Half the time it was snowing and every time it was cold. There was a small river directly behind our cabin that each early evening, wildlife would wander down to for their evening’s hydration and grazing.

The entire time we were on the move, mostly on foot and always in the cold. There were many times I considered how far away from her “bucket list” this trip was. But each time I looked over at her, she wasn’t shivering or grimacing about trudging through the muck. Her eyes were up and constantly scanning like a bright-eyed kid. When she hooked the trout in that river, she immediately looked over to me beaming with pride and a smile that took me back to when she was 19. When we rode horseback side by side, without another human in sight, it reminded me of those walks we used to take on the beach as kids because I didn’t really have the funds for much more on date nights back then.

Almost the minute we got home, we fell back into our routines and managing the chaos of our wonderful, blessed life—business, kids, dogs, laundry. Since we’ve been home, I’ve thought about that trip so many times I can’t begin to count. Yes, I’ve thought, “Why can’t every day be like that? Maybe we should just move somewhere like that.” But I know that’s not realistic on countless levels. I’ve thought of how I can be more of that person I was during our trip in Montana every day, regardless of where I am. But more than anything, I keep thinking about whether she chose that trip for her, or for me? Did she really give up the island bucket list trip because she was curious about Montana, because she didn’t want to be that far from the kids, or because what was on her bucket list was finding ways to find ourselves again? I’ll probably never know.

In this frantic life of goals that we pursue, it is easy to lose yourself. It’s easy to blame it on stress or other demands in life and after long enough, it’s easy to lose sight of the person you really are. It sometimes feels even more stressful planning a trip away from your responsibilities when what you should be doing is working. But, do it anyway! Find yourself… and then fight to hold on to that person regardless of where you are.

Thank you for the privilege of serving you and this great industry. Enjoy your spring and get out there!

PATRICK S. ADAMS, Publisher/President padams@526mediagroup.com

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2023 OUTDOOR LIVING FORECAST

ACCORDING TO to leading real estate website Zillow, a functional outdoor space is the most soughtafter amenity among today’s homebuyers. For homeowners looking to make the most of their outdoor spaces this year, Trex Co. has just released its 2023 Outdoor Living Trends Forecast. Based on input from consumers, contractors, retailers and industry insiders, along with its own expertise, this annual report projects backyard and outdoor trends for the year ahead.

“Spending time with friends and family has never been more valued and backyards are often the epicenter for home entertaining,” said Leslie Adkins, vice president of marketing and ESG development for Trex.

BIOPHILIC DESIGN, PRIVACY, SUSTAINABILITY LEAD TOP TRENDS

“Based on what we are seeing and hearing from our consumers, trade and retail partners, the focus on outdoor living shows no signs of slowing. As we head into peak outdoor living season for 2023, we already feel the momentum and demand building as homeowners continue to invest in optimizing their outdoor spaces as functional and stylish extensions of their homes.”

Following are six trends that Trex expects to shape backyards in 2023:

1. Light Neutrals

The biophilic influence of nature on home design—both indoors and out—will be evident in everything from material choices to colors. According to this recent online poll,

light neutral hues are expected to permeate home exteriors in 2023 due to their ability to create a sense of calm and serenity.

2. Mixed Materials

Gone are the days of matchymatchy monotony. Today’s homeowners are embracing eclectic design schemes with lots of visual interest created by juxtaposing materials like concrete and composite, wicker and aluminum, copper and stone—as well as mixing colors and patterns for added personality and visual intrigue.

Integrating nature-inspired materials can complement a home’s natural surroundings and infuse creative contrast with pillows, cushions, furnishings and decorative accents.

SOFT NEUTRALS are in demand for home exteriors. Trex Transcend Lineage decking features four nature-inspired hues, including a creamy taupe, deep mocha, light coastal brown, and airy mountain gray. (Photos by Trex)

3. Sustainable Selections

Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have,” but a meaningful requirement among increasingly eco-conscious consumers. Purchases made with sustainability in mind will remain a priority in 2023—and beyond—as more and more homeowners purposefully consider how to reduce their own environmental impact.

4. Stylish Seclusion

Privacy remains a priority with more than a quarter of all Zillow listings now highlighting this as a selling point. This penchant for stylish seclusion is driving demand for products like fencing, pergolas, privacy panels, and lattice, which allow contractors and homeowners to enhance the sense of sanctuary with products that are visually appealing, durable and easy to maintain.

Incorporating plants and greenery is another clever way to enhance privacy while tapping into the design and wellbeing benefits of biophilic design. Add color and creativity with hanging baskets, planter boxes, pouches or a trellis dripping with flowers or ivy.

5. Mood Lighting

Faced with rising inflation, homeowners will be looking for small home investments that make a big impact. Lighting has the ability to completely change the look and feel of an outdoor space without breaking the bank. Candles, tiki torches, string lights, and fire features add warmth and ambiance to an outdoor space and can help to extend the time you are able to spend outdoors—both in hours and weeks.

For even greater impact, deck lighting can take your outdoor space to a whole new level, enhancing style and sophistication as well as safety. Trex offers a plug-and-play system that is easy to install on a new or existing deck. It even comes with a new Wi-Fi lighting controller for optimal convenience and control.

6. Added Function and Value

Homeowners also will be looking for improvements that add both function and value to their homes. One such investment for those with elevated decks is adding an under-

deck drainage system. Designed to divert water away from the foundation, these systems protect a deck’s substructure from moisture damage while also creating dry space beneath the deck surface that can be used for any number of purposes, from storing seasonal items to serving as bonus living area.

Some systems, such as Trex RainEscape, install above the joists of a deck’s foundation, allowing for the addition of electrical and gas lines to power ceiling fans and lighting, as well as outdoor kitchen and entertainment components, creating outdoor spaces with the function and finished look of an interior room. MM

MIXED MATERIALS that result in eclectic design schemes are all the rage.

MOOD LIGHTING can be achieved through candles, tiki torches, string lights, fire features, and—most impactfully—deck lights.

IPÉ IN STOCK... FOR NOW

------------ BY DAVID KOENIG

SIX MONTHS ago, CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora) voted to add the South American hardwoods ipé and cumaru to its list of protected species. Some suppliers are warning that the ruling will tighten supply and increase prices of imports made with the tropical species.

So far, there appears to have been little immediate change. Several of the leading suppliers of ipé—including Redwood Empire, J. Gibson McIlvain, and Tropical Forest Products—say the new CITES requirements should integrate seamlessly into their current third-party certification systems.

Ipé and cumaru were added to CITES’ Appendix II list of potentially

RECENT CITES RULING MAY IMPACT SUPPLY, PRICE IN THE FUTURE

threatened species, not its Appendix I list of critically endangered species. Appendix II species are not considered endangered, but rather “in danger of becoming endangered,” and can continue to be harvested, exported and sold under certain conditions.

The idea is to place controls over their trade so they don’t become over-utilized to the point that they one day do become endangered.

Most noticeably, the ruling will result in an extra layer of paperwork: an export permit. This is in addition to current requirements to meet the Lacey Act.

“We do expect that this additional documentation could cause some delays in export,” notes Shannon Rogers, J. Gibson McIlvain. “Expect

this to cause shortages in supply here in North America. Ultimately, it is a question of whether or not a bottleneck will slow things down. Brazil has stated they will be requiring on-site inspections of export material in order for the permit to be issued. Depending on the size of that inspection team, this could cause a significant delay.”

CITES’ implementation deadline is 24 months—the requirements don’t take effect until the end of next year. However, Brazil—the leading source of ipé—intended to start requiring CITES permits by July 1, 2023.

Redwood Empire’s buyer in Brazil was doubtful the Brazilian Forestry Ministry had the ability to speed up issuing of certificates that quickly. Currently, Brazil requires CITES permits for only two species—cedar and mahogany—and issuing them can take months.

“The concern is the processing time,” says Redwood Empire’s Sean Burch. “I think there is a enough ipé stateside to handle this season’s demand and to stay ahead of delays.”

If this were a decade earlier, when ipé burst onto the American decking scene, the new requirements may have had a bigger effect. But sales volumes are now such that suppliers like Redwood Empire have been able to maintain sufficient inventories. “The footprint is smaller, due to its price and alternative species,” Burch explains.

The reality is that neither ipé nor cumaru are scarce—a state the new regulations were intended to make sure continue. MM

IPÉ DECKING remains in plentiful supply, but coming regulations could slow availability and increase prices in future years. (Photo by Nova USA)

Fresh ideas for home improvement.

Strength and selection go together with Outdoor Accents® decorative hardware from Simpson Strong-Tie. We’re always expanding our Mission Collection ® and Avant Collection™ lines with new products and accessories, making it easy to enhance outdoor structures and living spaces. Both feature an innovative hex-head washer and fastener combo that looks like a bolted connection but installs as simply as a screw. It’s the only approved fastening solution for Outdoor Accents connectors. Plus, our code-listed connectors and fasteners are rigorously tested for performance. So whether your customers are building a planter box or a pavilion, it will be strong, safe and beautiful for years to come.

To see our complete lines of Outdoor Accents decorative hardware, visit go.strongtie.com/outdooraccents or call (800) 999-5099.

own contractors

Having

Prioritizing Sustainable Products

Environmental concerns will remain an important conversation around the world, making it essential

March/April 2023 | Deck Specialist | 13

12 | Deck Specialist | March/April 2023

WHAT’S HOT IN PAVERS AND PATIOS

------------ BY JOE RABOINE

While for many are more door we perform working—meaning on their al for

Updating, spaces off their ing design opportunity create textures There popular you ule this Adding Clients est to choosing their of

OUTDOOR LIVING remains a high priority for homeowner investment. According to a study published by Angi, 19% of all home improvement spending by 2027 is expected to go toward outdoor improvements— specifically what they call “outdoor leisure.”

While outdoor leisure certainly is a catch-all term for many of these renovations, outdoor living spaces are more than just areas to lounge and relax. Outdoor living encompasses many of the same activities we perform indoors—like cooking, exercising and even working—meaning homeowners are looking to expand on their outdoor spaces to make them more functional for everyday life.

Updating, renovating and building

these outdoor spaces provides a space where contractors can show off their creative prowess. With new trends influencing design and construction, you have the opportunity to work together with your clients to create a stunning space using different materials, textures and more.

There are a few key trends we expect to be heavily popular in 2023 in terms of hardscape design.

Adding Color and Texture

Clients today are looking to add more visual interest to make their spaces truly unique. As opposed to choosing just one product to cover the majority of their outdoor surface area, they are looking for a mix of different colors, patterns and textures.

Combining materials such as wood, composite decking, textured pavers, and even metal or glass elevates and adds more depth to spaces that may otherwise feel flat and too linear. Integrating more color and texture is a natural extension of the popular modular design trend, as it layers in even more dimension.

Hardscape manufacturers are capitalizing on this trend, developing new textured pavers that mesh with any design style. They can be used on their own or paired with other paver colors and textures to create one-ofa-kind designs and patterns.

With color and texture being the top deciding factor for homeowners selecting pavers, you can step into the role of an interior designer.

contractors around to for checker and includthat projsurvey,

GEOMETRIC pavers in related tints of the same color family create a one-of-a-kind pattern.

different

COLOR and texture will be the top deciding factors when homeowners are choosing pavers this year.

GEOMETRIC pavers in related tints of the same color family create a oneof-a-kind pattern. (Photos by Belgard)

COLOR and texture will be the top deciding factors when homeowners are choosing pavers this year.

2023 Paver & Patio Designs

you look at popular design choices and elements that the exterior.

Combining materials such as wood, composite decking, textured pavers, and even metal or glass elevates and adds more depth to spaces that may otherwise feel flat and too linear. Integrating more color and texture is a natural extension of the popular modular design trend, as it layers in even more dimension.

Contractors can also use the excitement around colored and textured pavers to elevate projects to the next level. One option is incorporating colors and designs that can double as an outdoor game for families to enjoy, such as a chess board or checker pattern. Homeowners are looking to create fun and entertaining spaces for children and guests by including games like bocce ball, checkers or Scrabble, that are integrated into their outdoor living area.

By Joe Raboine Photos by Belgard

Overall, hybrid spaces combining multiple features make outdoor living areas feel more cohesive. For example, a beautiful lounge area can also include outdoor kitchen or gardening elements that are a source of food for the family. Homeowners want to expand their space to prioritize functionality to best suit their family’s needs.

the variety of paver materials available to build both the patio and base of the planters. Products, such as concrete panel systems, which align well with popular modern design styles, are perfect for creating raised patio garden beds.

Hardscape manufacturers are capitalizing on this trend, developing new textured pavers that mesh with any design style. They can be used on their own or paired with other paver colors and textures to create one-of-a-kind designs and patterns.

With color and texture being the top deciding factor for homeowners selecting pavers, contractors must step into the role of an interior designer. Having that extra knowledge to consult homeowners on more complex design decisions can give contractors an edge and create an additional selling point for your business.

Gardening for Functional Living

Functionality is a top priority in outdoor living projects. According to the same Angi survey, 26% of projects in the last year were focused on creating spaces that better met lifestyle needs. This now includes outdoor spaces so homeowners can spend more time in nature.

Contractors can also use the excitement around colored and textured pavers to elevate projects to the next level. One option is incorporating colors and designs that can double as an outdoor game for families to enjoy, such as a chess board or checker pattern. Homeowners are looking to create fun and entertaining spaces for children and guests by including games like bocce ball, checkers or Scrabble, that are integrated into their outdoor living area.

With this continued interest in connecting with nature, gardening is seeing a resurgence. More people aim to grow their own produce at home, as well as add decorative plants around patios, decks and walkways.

Raised and vertical gardens are well suited for patios, especially with

Gardening for Functional Living

OUTDOOR

Prioritizing Sustainable Products

ing energy and waste. New products continue coming to market that prove homeowners are understanding the value of taking care of their outdoor spaces, and contractors are prioritizing high quality products that have longer lifecycles.

LIVING remains a high priority for homeowner investment. According to a study from Grand View Research published by Angi, 19% of all home improvement spending by 2027 is expected to go toward outdoor improvements—specifically what they call “outdoor leisure.”

Environmental concerns will remain an important conversation around the world, making it essential

Functional and biophilic design trends have encouraged homeowners to consider patios and porches as true extensions of their home, blending the indoor and outdoor spaces to create one cohesive unit. This shift in perspective can be observed when you look at popular design choices and elements that homeowners are integrating into their spaces, like mixed materials or folding glass walls that connect to the exterior.

While outdoor leisure certainly is a catch-all term for many of these renovations, outdoor living spaces are more than just areas to lounge and relax. Outdoor living encompasses many of the same activities we perform indoors—like cooking, exercising and even working—meaning homeowners are looking to expand on their outdoor spaces to make them more functional for everyday life

If you are looking for ways to integrate sustainability practices into your business, start by recommending products that prioritize durability and have a long life cycle. Also, local requirements regarding permeable pavers have become more common as communities realize the importance of water runoff and planning for city expansions, so stay up to date with local legislation and community guideline updates.

Updating, renovating and building these outdoor spaces provides a space where contractors can show off their creative prowess. With new trends influencing design and construction, contractors have the opportunity to work together with their clients to create a stunning space using different materials, textures and more.

Overall, hybrid spaces combining multiple features make outdoor living areas feel more cohesive. For example, a beautiful lounge area can also include outdoor kitchen or gardening elements that are a source of food.

Prioritizing Sustainable Products

Environmental concerns will remain an important conversation around the world, making it essential that the outdoor living industry adapts to meeting new goals regard-

COLOR and texture will be the top deciding factors when homeowners are choosing pavers this year.

Functionality is a top priority in outdoor living projects. According to the same Angi-published survey,

There are a few key trends we expect to be heavily popular in 2023 in terms of hardscape design, which you can incorporate into the projects on your schedule this year.

Adding Color and Texture

Overall, outdoor living investments will remain a high priority for homeowners in 2023, especially in terms of hardscape products like pavers and other patio elements. Continued interest in outdoor living opens the door to more creative design ability and unique challenges pushing dealers to think outside the box to meet all the homeowner wants and needs. MM

– Joe Raboine is director of residential hardscapes at Belgard (belgard.com).

Clients today are looking to add more visual interest to make their spaces truly unique. As opposed to choosing just one product to cover the majority of their outdoor surface area, they are looking for a mix of different colors, patterns and textures.

INTEGRATING a functional outdoor fire pit with stylish geometric pavers completes this year-round space.

GEOMETRIC pavers in related tints of the same color family create a one-of-a-kind pattern.

COMBINING different colored pavers the perfect board for an outdoor game of chess.

INTEGRATING a functional outdoor fire pit with stylish geometric pavers completes this year-round space.

COMBINING different colored pavers can create the perfect board for an outdoor game of chess.

STATE OF SUPPLY FOR THE MILLWORK INDUSTRY

------------ BY TYLER SHARPE

THE MILLWORK industry has been rocked by significant changes these past few years with supply chain breakdowns, product import duties, COVID-fueled growth and a sharp decline in demand.

Ocean freight and raw material pricing experienced a cost multiplier leading to high inflation, widespread disruption and continued uncertainty before falling back to pre-pandemic levels. Millwork product manufacturers, suppliers and installers were forced to adapt quickly while many struggled to navigate an unpredictable landscape brought on by external forces.

After years of volatility, the industry expectation in 2023 is that we should be able to deliver our products and services with pre-pandemic reliability, even in the face of continued uncertainty. Raw material pricing is still fluctuating, supply chains are distressed with strikes, blank sailings and GRIs, unexpected outcomes of annual CVD/AD duty reviews and a cloudy demand pipeline one to two

quarters down the road.

In this article, we will explore strategies to help millwork businesses navigate ongoing instability and change. We will examine strategic supply considerations and offer practical advice to increase product reliability while remaining competitive and situated for growth in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Following an unpredictable 202022, I wholeheartedly embrace that we’re at the mercy of market forces. We operate in a world of fragile supply chains, inflation, challenges in employee recruitment/retention and a daunting geopolitical atmosphere. It’s not all doom and gloom, it’s far from it. The path forward acknowledges that continued uncertainty should be embedded into long-term sourcing strategies.

Logically, continued uncertainty in the market implies the likelihood of change. We all faced considerable disruption these past few years. How do we take stock of recent lessons learned? One of the biggest chal-

lenges experienced revolved around our supply chains, whether it be stock outs, delays, price increases, or quality issues. We are only as strong as our weakest link and should be evaluating the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) of our supply chain. Knowing that many product costs peaked almost a year ago and will eventually bottom out, is there an effective strategy to balance short-term cost savings with long-term strategic planning? It is mission critical for all millwork businesses that supply partners ensure you are well positioned to deliver on your value proposition.

For sourcing directors, key considerations include a supplier’s ability to deliver:

• High service level commitments

• Quality control and assurance procedures

• Diversified supply sources

• Local warehousing, buffer stock and last mile logistics services

• Overall reliability

Although cost was not on the list of considerations, we all know it’s essential. The reason it doesn’t make the list is price needs to be competitive, but the lowest price is not a key indicator of the best supply choice.

Each of the considerations above could have a 10 times greater impact on the total cost of ownership as opposed to a small variance in delivered prices. Supply needs to be competitive, but this might be the time to caution that pricing that seems too good to be true, may in fact cost considerably more in the end. Access to reliable supply with the ability to ramp up quickly, increase volumes and deliver on new requirements is valuable for companies looking to grow.

From another perspective, late shipments or poor product quality result in stock outs, missed opportunities or shift reductions for manufacturing businesses. Knowing that economies are cyclical and a bear market will eventually be followed by the bull, there is no better time to focus on assembling the right team of supply partners who can play critical roles by delivering product as demand fluctuates or new opportunities emerge.

When considering suppliers, who do you want on your side to endure the next unexpected market shift?

Evaluating your suppliers’ capabilities directly correlates with the understanding of the quality and limitations of the products that you source. The demand experienced over these past few years presented a gold rush opportunity to new suppliers in our industry to gain market

share with limited due diligence when it came to product composition or properties. Should this be the year where we learn about the intricacies of the products that we use?

It’s easy to decipher at a high level the reliability of your products. We can start with basic documentation and processes:

• Does your supplier have a brochure or a technical data sheet for each product?

• Can they answer questions about dimensional tolerances, MoE, MoR, screw holding, etc.?

fluctuations and emerging government policies?

• Continuity of a trained local workforce, infrastructure to transport materials, stable energy, wages and other operational costs?

Unfortunately, market forces, pandemics, natural disasters and continued geopolitical conflicts all have the ability to drive considerable delays, shutdowns and costs. 2023 is a year to embrace geographical diversification of supply. This could be a daunting challenge on your own but the right partner can provide transparency and support to quickly implement a diversification strategy while maintaining the consistency your business depends on.

To recap, our industry is well positioned to deliver low market pricing to combat inflation, quality control assurances that products meet required specifications, additional value added services to improve your business, and a geographically diversified supply chain. Your landed pricing or COGS is exceptionally important, but the savings opportunities are minimal when compared to an overall reduction in the total cost of ownership of your products.

• Does your MSDS spell out the composition of the product including species, raw material sources, glue types, etc.?

• Is there a series of QC processes and destructive testing performed to ensure each batch meets long-term expectations?

• Do your products come with a transferable warranty?

• Are you comfortable with your supplier’s compliance (social, regulatory, environmental)?

We may be at the mercy of unpredictable market forces but you can avoid the subpar “pandemic quality” by conducting a simple evaluation of product performance.

Our products are further defined by the country of origin as the supply map is changing rapidly. The primary driver of this massive change is the geopolitical climate and the implications are enormous. What is the outlook of your country of origin in terms of:

• Import/export duties, currency

2023 is the year to build reliability protocols, understand your products supply chain, and identify the key partners that can propel your business through the next economic cycle. The millwork industry has experienced significant disruption these past few years; by evaluating the capabilities of our supply chain, we build resilience into our businesses and stand better prepared for future disruptions. MM

BY EVALUATING THE CAPABILITIES OF OUR SUPPLY CHAIN, WE BUILD RESILIENCE INTO OUR BUSINESSES AND STAND BETTER PREPARED FOR FUTURE DISRUPTIONS.

TYLER SHARPE

Tyler Sharpe is the director of global sourcing and supply for Weston Wood Solutions, an innovative manufacturer, importer and value-added supplier of lumber, engineered wood and composite products for the millwork and building industry (www.westonwoodsolutions.com).

FEELS LIKE HOME

------------

BY SARA GRAVES

WHEN LONGTIME customer

Tom McManus drives up to Tweedy Lumber & Hardware (Tweedy) in his motorcycle with his long beard blowing in the wind, his three dogs in their custom-made side car, and his booming voice announcing that he’s arrived, it’s hard to miss him.

“When he’s in the store everyone in the store knows he’s in the building; there is no mistaking that he is here,” says Tweedy partner, Dustin Reynolds. “He’s just an all-around joy in the store.

A witty, talented, rustic timber craftsman who loves animals, Tom has been coming to the Rushville, IN., store for years. The staff doesn’t know exactly how long, but they know he was there in August of 2019 when the business was sold to the present owners, the Davis Family and Dustin Reynolds.

Tom, the owner of One Off Woodworking, is as good as they come. Recently, after he had overpaid his bill at the store by $1,500, the Tweedy staff returned the money to him. Tom handed them back a $100 bill and told them to buy pizza with it. “You couldn’t ask for a bigger-hearted gentleman,” Dustin exclaims.

Tom and Tweedy’s other customers have learned that it is more than just a store—it’s a comfortable place that feels like home. “I say we know probably 90% of our customers by name and they know us too,” says Dustin, an earning owner whose percentage of ownership increases

yearly. “They know what they’re working on and who to ask about their project as well—who’s good in tools and stuff like that—and they’re able to come and talk to (the person) who knows what they’re talking about.”

It’s the staff’s personal attention that draws the store’s repeat customers back regularly, sometimes up to 10 times a day. “We open from 7:00 in the morning to 7:00 at night,” Dustin says. “We’ll see the same people in and out, so we really get to build that rapport with those guys.”

Listening to their customers and having the products they need in stock has firmly connected Tweedy with its clientele. “Our staff is genuinely interested in the projects our customers are (building),” Dustin says. “Our customers will come back in and show pictures of what they’re doing.”

Since the store is located 18 miles away from the nearest interstate, big box stores have stayed out of town. To set themselves apart from their local, smaller-store competition, Tweedy offers the only

INDIANA DEALER Tweedy Lumber & Hardware trusts in its staff to provide personal attention that draws repeat customers back regularly—sometimes up to 10 times a day.

lumberyard in town, and the only rental department in 18 miles.

If a customer has an urgent need, such as when a well pump goes out, Dustin, with his background in the mechanical and contracting side, will visit job sites to help a customer. Or, if a customer urgently needs a part, Dustin or the store’s business manager, Shannon Davis, will open the store even after the store is closed.

“I was born and raised here—most people know how to get a hold of me—so I get phone calls at night—as Shannon does,” Dustin shares. “and if at all possible, we will come in and get them the product. There are times when we both will deliver the product to the site if for some reason they can’t get in or they just need a little help with the loading or unloading.

“I’ve had some rental tools that have failed after hours, and I will trade those machines out. Or, we can facilitate getting the building

opened up where we can make sure they get the replacement tool so they can complete their job. We are very much a small town store.”

“That’s not something that other companies do, or big-buck stores do either,” adds Shannon, who is in charge of the day-to-day operations along with Dustin and R.D. Browning, the store manager who has been with the company for 45 years. In addition, the company is owned by Bruce Davis, who is not involved in the day-to-day operations.

As Dustin explains, “We’re able to see things differently. (Shannon) does a great job on the things that my background doesn’t. We have two different perspectives. I’m more on the mechanical side—I’m looking at what kind of valves we need to bring in—or the electrical wire or water heaters—and building up the rental department... and Shannon does a really good job with the aesthetics, the home and gardens—

all of the stuff that I wouldn’t think about.”

Shannon adds that she has been focusing on drawing more women and younger customers into the store. “We have a lot of women who come in and get paint and they see what we have to offer and become a lifelong customer. I hope to grow that—getting more women—and for more young people, to give them the encouragement that they’re able to do things on their own so they don’t have to hire a contractor. We’re here to help them with whatever projects they have.”

It’s the owners’ differing strengths and flexibility that has enabled the company to succeed. And despite taking over the business and starting a full-store renovation just as the pandemic hit, they have since doubled the company’s sales in the past 3-1/2 years.

“I remember walking out at 4 a.m. that night thinking, ‘Oh my gosh! I don’t know which direction to go right now. We’ve got product everywhere—we’ve got no help—we don’t know (if) we’re going to get shut down.’ Then they tell us, ‘Oh, you can’t get this product,’” Dustin recalls. “We took it day by day—just pushed through and tried sourcing from other areas, other companies. (We) existed the best we could given the circumstances. We had a really good 2020 and 2021.”

“We learned a lot too. I think getting kind of thrown into it and then losing all of our help, we definitely learned a lot for sure,” he adds.

Clearly, one thing they learned is how to treat their customers. And if you are lucky enough to shop at Tweedy’s, keep your ears open; you just might hear Tom’s booming laughter from the next aisle over. MM

SARA GRAVES

Sara Graves, senior editor for The Merchant Magazine, is interested in your story. Contact her at sgraves@526mediagroup.com.

LEADING THE WAY at Tweedy Lumber: (left to right) Dustin Reynolds, Andy Ralstin, R.D. Browning, Cheryl Cole, Chloe Reynolds, and Rachel Cameron.

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GETTING AND MISSING ORDERS

------------

BY JAMES OLSEN

THE BEST TIME to ask for an order is right after we have gotten one. When I first started trading, they taught us to hang up as soon as possible after getting the order number for fear of talking the customer out of it.

But there is a partnership approach after getting an order that is better for the customer and better for us.

After We’re Given an Order

1. Thank them. “Julie, I really appreciate these orders.”

2. Go over the details. “John let’s go over the details one more time just for fun. These are three trucks of 2x4 16’s SPF coming out of ABC Sawmill. They are paper-wrapped, shipping the week of 5-15, getting into us at $665/ MBF. Is that what you have?” Better to have a misunderstanding at the time of purchase (that can be fixed before delivery) than to have a claim on three loads a thousand miles from home that we have to clean up.

3. Thank them again. “Julie, I really appreciate these orders.”

4. Congratulate them. “John, these really are a good deal at $665/MBF. Well, we know it’s a good deal because you only buy good deals.”

5. Ask for three more. “John, I don’t know if we can, but if we can get three more of these for the week of 6-5, do you want to put on three more?”

One out of 10 customers will say yes. In addition to getting three more orders, this is a great way to block out our competition. Customers do spread their business around so often they do have more orders to give out.

After We Miss an Order

Get curious.

Customer: “That sounds like a decent deal, but I just bought three of those.”

This is where most sellers say, “Okay, what else are you buying?” Not wrong, just too soon.

Master Seller: “Great, when did you pick those up? When are they shipping? What are they coming in at? What was the tally? Whose stock?”

Our tone is caring and curious. We don’t want to sound too aggressive or defeated. Often we get beat by a lower number, but customers leave out important details of how we are getting beat. In up markets, if they bought this “better deal” three weeks ago, that would make a big difference. Sometimes the tally or the stock isn’t as good as what we are offering. We need to dig in on the details to make sure we are comparing apples to apples. Sometimes our competitors just have a better deal, but it is important for us to understand how we are getting beat. We might be missing supply out of a certain supplier that we should be working harder.

Another good question to ask when we get beat is, “Did you give them a firm offer to get to that price?” Do not whine and say, “Well gosh, if you had given me that firm offer I could have done that number also.” By asking the question we let the customer know that we know. That’s enough for now, but we definitely will be asking for more firm offers in the future with this customer.

When we do get the details of what the customer bought:

Master Seller: “Susan, that’s a great deal. If I could get you three more trucks like that for further out shipment could we put those on?”

One out of 10 will say yes. Some customers won’t share information. But 60-75% will. We are not intimidated by customers who say, “I don’t share that information; just give me your best number up front.” We continue to probe.

Give Me Your Best Number Up Front—I Don’t Play That Game

Master Seller: “John, there are and always have been two prices: the ‘quote’ price and the ‘firm offer’ price. I am giving you the best quote price, but to get the best price we are going to have to work together. Why don’t you give me a firm offer at $550/MBF and let’s see if we can get that done.”

Or...

Master Seller: “Susan, the market into you today is $550/MBF, but with a firm offer I think we can get it done at $500/MBF. Can I have that firm at $500/MBF?”

JAMES OLSEN

James Olsen is principal of Reality Sales Training, Portland, Or. Call him at (503) 544-3572 or email james@ realitysalestraining.com.

3 QUESTIONS: PENNSYLVANIA LUMBERMENS’ JOHN K. SMITH

JOHN K. SMITH, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co., has learned a lot over 40+ years in insurance:

1Tell us about your first experiences with the lumber industry, and how you got involved with it.

Smith: I had been in insurance for more than 20 years when Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co. first reached out to me. My experience ranged in positions of ever-increasing responsibilities running large profit centers for national and multi-national insurance companies. But I always wanted to run an entire insurance company, not just a division or region. At that time, PLM was a tertiary insurance player in the lumber and forestry niche. While I had never envisioned leading a small company, I was intrigued. Joining PLM was truly a great decision. My wife, Julie, and I have met tremendous people, from PLM employees to industry clients, who welcomed us into the company and the industry.

One of my first interactions with the lumber industry was at an association dinner where I was clearly the youngest person at the table. The dinner conversation revolved mostly around business operations and new technologies. I was taken aback by the transparency and willingness to share opinions among competitors. At one point, a business owner asked me why he should insure his business with PLM. I launched into the benefits of a PLM relationship and the rest of the table took note. Others joined the discussion and asked deep, pertinent questions. When I finished my pitch, the gentleman who opened the dis-

cussion doubled down, making me repeat myself. Then he informed me he had been PLM insured for decades. In fact, most of the people at the table were PLM customers. The joke may have been on me, but I learned if I spoke my mind, told the truth, treated people fairly, and lived and breathed the promise we make as an insurance carrier to be there at the time of a claim, we would thrive.

The challenges PLM faced 20 years ago have changed, and we have changed to meet them. I firmly believe the day you realize you don’t love what you’re doing, that should be the day you move on and try something else. I love what I’m doing. There has never been a day I regretted choosing to lead PLM.

2What have been the greatest challenges over the years?

Smith: Recognizing all the challenges that need to be handled to develop effective plans and procedures, and ensuring we have right people to manage them, has been our greatest challenge. We call this the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process. PLM’s ERM process is deep and broad-based. It gives us a framework to not only address those risks we know about, but also to help us identify developing risks and prepare for those we do not yet know about.

For example, consider the winter freeze of 2021 in Texas and the Midwest. Texas is not known for winter freeze losses. Regardless, we were not significantly impacted because we have a strong plan in place to handle multiple types of weather-related property losses. We executed our plan efficiently and effectively to operate

as normal, focusing on helping our customers get their businesses back up and running after a loss.

This challenge was different from COVID-19. The pandemic forced us to send our employees home, where they remain to this day. Yet despite the initial uncertainty, we had a plan to deal with dispersing our workforce if the office became inaccessible due to a fire or a significant cyber event. So, we adjusted our plan to fit COVID-19. Within 48 hours, we established a fully remote workforce and did not miss a beat.

The point being is that when asked about challenges, all I hear is “how do I manage risk?”

3 What have been the most significant changes?

Smith: Two decades ago, PLM was operating at $45 million of premium volume and $60 million of policyholder surplus. There were four or five mutual companies focused on the lumber and forestry segment. PLM’s footprint was primarily on the East Coast.

Today, we are arguably the market leader in our niche with a national footprint. Our premium last year was at $375 million. Our policyholder surplus was just under $200 million, and our profitability has improved dramatically. We are the only mutual insurance company left focused exclusively on lumber and forestry.

What has not changed and will not change is my love of the business, and the commitment and dedication of the PLM team in our pursuit of demonstrating the value of the PLM relationship.

– Send suggestions for future interviews to David at dkoenig@526mediagroup.com.

PLM’s John K. Smith

IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION

------------ BY PAIGE McALLISTER

EMPLOYEES STAY at companies where they feel valued and safe. Employees leave companies where they feel discounted, taken advantage of, or disconnected from managers and co-workers. Increasing the engagement and retention of good employees can propel a company’s success, allowing leaders to focus on proactive strategies instead of reactively putting out fires.

While some more immediate actions can create shortterm engagement, long-term commitment requires leaders to examine and redefine how things are done by the company as a whole and how employees are developed and nurtured.

Organizational Culture: To help employees connect with the company, ensure that every aspect reflects the goals, vision, and philosophy of its leadership. Policies, practices, communication, decisions, clients, etc., all need to connect back to the same message so employees know who the company is and can gauge their actions accordingly. Stating one thing but letting managers and employees do something different sends mixed messages and makes employees doubt the integrity of the company they work for.

• Create purpose and commitment by fostering formal and informal connections between leadership and employees, between departments, and between co-workers. Institute ways for employees to interact with leadership, such as panels, lunches and “meet-and-greets,” and reasons for employees to work with others across the company such as initiatives, committees, and affinity groups.

• Improve communication and transparency to offer regular insights into the company’s goals, financials, wins, and challenges. Schedule quarterly or monthly meetings and/or send regular newsletters or impromptu communication so employees hear what is going on directly from leadership. Hold managers accountable to timely pass along important information to all of their employees.

• Review your organization as a whole, starting at the top and extending through every level and job. Update

your policies, practices, and culture to eliminate any toxicity, harassment, or discrimination and to create the consistency of acceptance and equality throughout. Engage an outside consultant to assess your practices and recommend initiatives from an objective perspective.

• Make all employees feel welcome and valued regardless of their background. Prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives (including race, gender, LGBTQ+, religion, national origin, age, education, etc.) to benefit from the diversity in thought and experiences that comes from a varied group of people.

• Update your technology, infrastructure, and resourc-

Q. We allow employees to personalize their work areas. However, we have one employee who has so many pictures, plaques, sayings and other trinkets on their desk that there is little space left to work. Can we make them take some of it down?

A. Allowing an employee to make their workspace “their own” is a good idea. It helps them connect to the workplace and feel more comfortable where they spend several hours each day.

However, you should make it clear in policy and practice that the workspace is the property of the company and therefore employees are not entitled to full control or privacy over it.

• Consider creating guidelines for what is acceptable

• Restrict what or how much can be hung on walls or in cubicles

• Limit the number of pictures or plaques that can be displayed, focusing on mostly professional or company-related items such as diplomas or recognition awards

• Require a certain amount of workspace be available for actual work

• Prohibit anything that is unacceptable or could be offensive to other employees

Be consistent in enforcing these policies regardless of who they are or where their workspace is located. Hopefully you can find a balance between completely impersonal and excessive work areas.

es to give your employees the best tools to do their jobs. Find ways to make employees’ jobs easier.

• Stop making decisions “because that’s how we’ve always done it” and allow employees to feel comfortable and empowered enough to offer their thoughts and insights. Welcome brainstorming new ideas and teamwork to improve results.

• Extend your focus on excellent customer service to include your internal client—your employees. Make sure your employees feel valued and respected and ensure you are meeting their needs just as you expect them to do with your external customers.

Employee Development: Recognize that most employees do not “live to work,” but they do want to dedicate their time and talent to a company that appreciates them. Today’s workforce is not composed entirely of people on the “traditional” career path. Employees have different needs, priorities, goals, lifestyles, backgrounds, and challenges, often changing many times during their tenure. By helping employees

succeed with their personal and professional goals, you will enhance their commitment to the company, increase their productivity and inspire their innovation. Meeting employees where they are in life may require individualized, out-of-the-box thinking, and implementing new policies and procedures can produce remarkable results.

• Instead of the necessitating “promotion by changing jobs,” work with employees to determine how they can follow their desired career paths while staying at the company and keeping their institutional knowledge in-house. Are they looking to be promoted? Explain those expectations and give them the chance to learn those skills. Do they want to keep doing what they are doing? Help them refine and improve those skills so they can do them even better. Do they want to try a different job? Find opportunities for employees to work in different departments to find their best fit. Do they want or need to take a step back? Work with them to find schedules and job duties that allow them to balance their demands.

• Change your focus from attendance and punctuality to availability and performance. Recognize that working in the office 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday does not work for a significant portion of the workforce, including employees who still have a lot to offer. Instead, explore flexible work arrangements, such as remote work, reduced schedules, partial year, hybrid arrangements, and job sharing, to allow good employees to better integrate their work responsibilities into the rest of their lives.

• Expand employees’ responsibilities to allow them to develop new skills such as supervising others, controlling an aspect of finances, or understanding how their role coordinates with another through cross-training. Don’t require employees to take on more work or stress with no benefit, but rather give them opportunities they value and compensate them appropriately for their added effort.

• Demonstrate your trust in experienced employees by giving them

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Style and Simplicity

ARE LIMITING BELIEFS HOLDING YOU DOWN?

------------ BY DAVE KAHLE

“IN YOUR TRAINING, do you focus on instilling new skills, or do you try to remove the hindrances to people using their existing skills?”

It’s one of the best questions I’ve ever been asked. I recall it clearly. I was having lunch with the CEO of a large non-profit, for whom I was training their social workers in sales skills. As a professional trainer, it is a question I have considered for decades. It really speaks to the heart of the task of helping someone improve and develop. And, while it is a deep question that I’ve considered, I never expected to hear it from a client.

The answer is that we (the teachers and trainers in the world) do both. We teach the practices and competencies that are proven and fundamental for success in sales and leadership. In many cases, these are new skills, new ideas and new practices for the learner.

At some point in the process, though, a very predictable phenomenon occurs. While the learner accepts, intellectually, the value of what was been taught, he/she makes no—or a very limited—attempt to actually put it into practice.

The Process

It’s a two-step process: First, the learner needs to become aware of some practice, process, idea or skill. Then, they need to intentionally work to put it into practice.

The first step is the easiest. It only takes a small amount of effort to identify practices, processes and skills

which have been proven to be effective in your job or profession.

For trainers, the real challenge lies in helping the learner to actually use those practices. For someone intent on helping people develop, tap into their potential, and become more successful, it is the primary hurdle. I call it the “gap between idea and action.” It is relatively easy to transmit ideas; it is incredibly difficult to help the individual put them into action.

It is a complex problem, with lots of reasons that dissuade people at different times and places. For example, they can be as simple and superficial as not having the time: “I was so busy with other things that I just didn’t have time to give it the thought necessary to make the change.”

Fear of the discomfort that comes with any change in behavior is one of the most common. “I’m not comfortable doing that new thing. I’m not an expert at it, and I’ll feel foolish for a while. I’d rather not pay that price to gain a new skill.”

The Most Potent Obstacles

That list of reasons why the gap between idea and action is a difficult one to traverse can go on for pages. For now, I’d like to focus on a class of obstacles to changed, and better, behavior: our pre-existing beliefs.

As an educated and experienced practitioner in the profession of helping people change their behavior, I’ve come to the conclusion that our set of pre-existing beliefs supplies the largest and most potent set of

obstacles to self-improvement, and is the most difficult hurdle preventing greater success and fulfillment.

Human beings naturally make observations and conclusions about our experiences as we grow up and experience life. Eventually, some of these become hardened into beliefs. These beliefs that form our base set of assumptions about the world, and we make choices and live our lives based on those beliefs.

For example, a child can have a difficult relationship with one of his parents and begins to think that all people of that sex are arbitrary, aggressive and can’t be trusted. He forms a “confirmation bias,” which leads him to look for those things in others of that sex. After a couple of experiences that seem to confirm his bias, that thought coalesces into a belief, and then begins to influence all his behavior.

This belief becomes buried into the deeper layers of his heart. And it burrows into the subconscious level. He doesn’t even know that he believes it, he just operates on the basis of it. So, when he is dating, for example, he sees his potential life mates through the lens of this pre-existing belief. And that hinders his relationships with the opposite sex.

He may go to an excellently presented workshop on “Communicating with the Opposite Sex,” for example, and learn some of the best practices of communication, but is unable

(Continued on page 30)

to put them into practice because the gap between idea and action harbors his belief, and that belief prevents him from turning the good idea into action. With the best of intentions to implement his newly found practices, his belief trumps his intellectual ascent, and prevents him from following through. His potential for a loving, life-long relationship is hindered because of the unconscious belief he developed along the way.

This process is such a part of human life that every human struggles with it. The Bible, for example, calls these unconscious beliefs “strongholds” and indicates that they are destroyed through the spiritual power inherent in Christians.

Cultural Beliefs

Limiting beliefs are not just an individual issue. They can be distributed among affinity groups of people and become part of the culture of that group. Families have limiting beliefs that they share, as do larger communities.

One of our travel experiences that made a life-long impact on me occurred in the ‘90s when Coleen and

I were visiting Soweto, a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. On the day that we were there, the children were on strike, refusing to go to school. Even stranger than that was the reason they were on strike: they objected to being graded as individuals. Their tribal belief system promoted the idea that they

not to be respected. As a result, family members are regularly in trouble with employers and the courts.

In my Soweto example, the belief holds people down, and prevents individual achievement that would lift up the entire community. As a result, the community lives at the level of subsistence generation after generation.

While these two examples illuminate some life-changing and societyimpacting beliefs, not all limiting beliefs are so potent. We all have a host of them that impact our on-thejob performance. They can impact professional salespeople and hold them back. “Salespeople are good talkers” is one. “I have great relationships with my customers” is another.

were a closely connected group, and that any attempt to recognize that one person did better than another was an attack on that belief. Either the whole class passed, or the whole class failed. The individual had value, not as an individual, but only as a part of the larger group.

As with all such cultural components, these beliefs have consequences. A family can share a belief that all authority figures are arbitrary and

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Beliefs can be both positive and negative. Martin Seligman’s great book, Learned Optimism, describes the impact that positive beliefs can have in bringing success to one’s life.

Not everyone is hindered by the gap between idea and action, for example. Some—typically about 20-30% of a training class—go on to incorporate the new practices into

their routines and enjoy the positive outcomes as a result. My focus here is not on developing positive beliefs, but rather on overcoming negative ones. It’s not the minority who seamlessly incorporate the training that is my focus; it is the majority who don’t.

In many ways, our development as humans is dependent on our ability to eliminate or overcome our limiting beliefs. Since limiting beliefs are subconscious, and influence our behavior, the way to identify them is to study our behavior. Patterns of behavior that seem to be unreasonable, that often lead to negative outcomes, are often indicators of a limiting belief that prompted that behavior.

Back to our example of the man raised with a limited belief about the opposite sex. If he sees himself acting unreasonably in multiple situations, then that behavior indicates a pattern, and that pattern of unreasonable negative behavior indicates a limiting belief. For example, he may get overly angry at the slightest perceived insult, when none was intended, and other reasonable people would not have acted that way.

A little introspection indicates that this is a pattern of behavior. That it has become habitual. Those are indications that there is a limiting belief prompting that behavior.

So, the first step is to identify patterns of unreasonable, negative behavior. Friends, family members, and colleagues can provide some insight into this.

The next step is to identify the belief that prompted that behavior. This is where a professional consult can help. If you’re working by yourself, ask the question, “Why” and as objectively as possible, search for the belief. See if you uncover and label it. Give it words and describe it.

This is difficult work. Multiple books have been written on various aspects of it. It is much more complex than my few words indicate.

Once you identified the negative behavior and the underlying belief, you can attack it at both levels. You can become aware of the behavior, and whenever you find yourself in that situation, follow one of Seligman’s techniques: Simply tell yourself to “Stop” and then “Switch” to some

other behavior. Do that enough, repeat it enough times, and you will have built a more positive habit.

Or you can attack it at the level of the belief. Now that you have uncovered and labeled it, argue with yourself. Think through all the reasons why the belief is false. Convince yourself that the belief is unfounded and leads to negative behavior, Defeat the belief itself. You may find it helpful to formulate a positive rule and substitute that every time the old belief expresses itself.

If you can successfully bridge the gap between idea and action, you’ll have gained a self-improvement tool that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

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DAVE KAHLE

Dave Kahle is a leading sales authority, having written 12 books and presented in 47 states and 11 countries. For more information, visit davekahle.com.

YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF EVERY TRANSACTION.

HUTTIG FOLDED INTO WOODGRAIN

Woodgrain is combining its Huttig Building Products and Woodgrain Distribution Division into a single entity known as Woodgrain.

The formal consolidation comes 11 months after Woodgrain purchased Huttig and began to unite the two companies.

“Since the acquisition of Huttig, our combined teams have been hard at work building a stronger future,” said Todd Dame, president of Woodgrain’s Distribution Division. “We have been identifying the best of both companies, standardizing business processes, investing in facilities and equipment, and collaborating to deliver more value to our customers. We are excited to go to market as one company and continue Woodgrain’s growth. We also want to acknowledge and celebrate Huttig’s long history as a leading distributor of millwork and building materials.”

TAL HOLDINGS BUYS RENTAL SHOP

TAL Holdings, Vancouver, Wa., has agreed in principle to acquire Harbor Rental and Saw Shop,

Friday Harbor, Wa., complementing its Browne’s Home Center branch, which is also in Friday Harbor.

Harbor Rental has been a trusted name in the San Juan Island community since 1974, providing equipment and tool rental, small engine repair, and lawn mower sales.

“The acquisition of Harbor Rental is a key component of TAL’s growth strategy,” said TAL CEO Jason Blair. “This acquisition will allow us to diversify our business profile, expand our service offerings, and better support the San Juan Island community. By incorporating Harbor Rental and allocating millions of dollars towards the renovation of Browne’s Home Center, we demonstrate our dedication to helping build better communities for many years into the future.”

Owned by the Olshefsky family for 36 years, Harbor Rental has operated under a commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Darren Olshefsky, current manager and one of the owners, said, “We are excited for this partnership, as

it will provide our employees with additional resources and growth opportunities, benefiting all parties involved—employees, customers, and vendors.”

Effective May 1, Harbor Rental officially joined the TAL family of companies and continues to operate under the same name. With the acquisition, TAL now has a total of 30 locations in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

ABC Supply has opened new branches in San Bernardino, Ca. (Kevin Banfield, branch mgr.), and Durango, Co. (Zachary Wynne, mgr.).

J.M. Thomas Forest Products is now distributing MoistureShield’s full composite decking portfolio from its branches in Ogden, Ut.; Denver, Co.; and Boise, Id.

Foundation Building Materials, Santa Ana, Ca., has completed the purchase of 32-unit Marjam Supply Co., Farmingdale, N.Y. Foundation has also signed on as the first “jersey patch partner” of the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 Major League Baseball season.

McCoy’s Building Supply now offers customers Simpson Strong-Tie Deck Planner, Pergola Planner, and Fence Planner software on mccoys.com.

Westlake Royal Building Products is introducing PROS Perks, a contractor loyalty program for its 13 brands, including Zuri decking, Royal siding, Versetta Stone, Celect, TruExterior and Kleer.

ODL, Zeeland, Mi., has expanded into exterior doors by purchasing Tru Tech Doors of Ontario, Canada. It will roll out steel and fiberglass ODL Doors, built by Tru Tech, in the U.S. and Canada.

Fiberon issued an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its Wildwood cladding.

Simpson Strong-Tie received the 2022 Specialties Vendor of the Year award from LBM Advantage.

ROSEBURG EXPANDING BIG IN OREGON

Roseburg Forest Products, Springfield, Or., will invest $700 million over the next four years to upgrade and expand its manufacturing operations in Southern Oregon, where the company was founded nearly 90 years ago. The investment includes the creation of two new, state-of-the-art manufacturing plants at its Dillard Complex, and technological upgrades at existing plants in rural Douglas and Coos counties.

The total project represents the largest known investment in manufacturing in rural Oregon, and one of the largest private capital investments of any kind in the state’s history.

“Across the business, Roseburg is embracing advanced manufacturing and leveraging new technology and methods to make our current products and develop new ones, with the goal of ensuring we remain competitive in the global market,” said president and CEO Grady Mulbery.

Dillard MDF will use wood residuals from Roseburg’s local mills and other regional mill suppliers to manufacture standard medium density fiberboard panels, as well as thin high density fiberboard, often used in cabinetry, doors and other applications. The plant will produce panels with a thickness range from 2mm to 28mm.

“HDF is a new product for Roseburg that meets growing customer demand for domestically manufactured panels of increasing thinness and strength,” Mulbery said. “Dillard MDF will be one of the most technologically advanced plants of its kind in the world, and it alone represents $450 million of our $700-million investment.”

Dillard Components will convert specialty MDF panels from Roseburg’s MDF plant in Medford, Or., into Armorite Trim, a finished exterior product for residential and shed use. It’s an innovative, new product currently unavailable within the industry or market. Roseburg will invest roughly $50 million in this plant.

The new plants will have a combined annual capacity of 175 million sq. ft. of MDF, 70 million sq. ft. of exterior trim, and 90 million ft. of interior moulding.

MDF is an engineered wood product made from softwood residuals combined with wax and resin and formed into panels. It is denser than plywood, and stronger and denser than particleboard. HDF is a thinner, denser version of MDF. Roseburg currently owns and operates three MDF plants in North America.

The company anticipates that both new plants will begin operations in 2025, and will employ approximately 120 people once completed.

The remaining $200 million of the investment will go toward improvements at existing Roseburg plants in Oregon over the next four years, including a new dryer at its plywood plant in Coquille and significant upgrades at its plywood plant in Riddle, including two new lathe lines and a new hardwood plywood line.

NEARLY 200 people gathered at the Douglas County Fairgrounds for Roseburg’s big expansion announcement. At the podium is Roseburg president and CEO Grady Mulbery. Seated left to right are Roseburg’s director of government affairs Eric Geyer, Douglas County commissioner Chris Boice, and director of Business Oregon Sophorn Cheang. Also in attendance were Allyn Ford, Roseburg’s owner and board chairman, and representatives of the state and county agencies that worked with Roseburg on the project.

FOR US, IT IS ABOUT MORE THA N JUST SELLING LUMBER.

IT’S ABOUT DRIVING YOUR SUCCESS FORWARD.

We are proud to announce that Western Woods has begun to distribute Sierra Pacific Industries fascia products in California and Nevada. This means a larger supply of high-quality fascia when you need it, where you need it, and with greater availability - all thanks to this unique strategic partnership. It’s another example of how Western Woods delivers success for you and your projects. Order yours today.

Excellent products. Unrivaled service. It’s what we do.

Vernon Shallenberger has been promoted to vice president of sales & operations for TAL Holdings, Vancouver, Wa. Dana Cowart is now VP of technology & acquisition integration.

Tony Bonansea is a new purchasing agent with All-Coast Forest Products, Cloverdale, Ca.

Vince Butera, ex-GAF, has joined Boise Cascade, Lathrop, Ca., as senior account mgr.

John Victor has retired after 40 years in the window and door business, the last four with Golden State Lumber, Berkeley, Ca.

Spencer Lawston has been promoted to inside sales & service supervisor at OrePac Building Products, Spokane, Wa. Lais “Lasey” Simon is a new building envelope specialist for OrePac in Seattle, Wa.

Michael Hunter, ex-Jeld-Wen, is now North Pacific regional sales mgr. for RedBuilt. He is based in West Linn, Or.

Charlie Allen has retired from the Wilkins Family of Companies, including WKO Sawmill, Carson, Wa.; Mt. Hood Forest Products, Hood River, Or.; and SDS Lumber, Bingen, Wa., after 14 years with the group, and 57 years in the industry.

Thomas Compa, ex-Pacific Northwest International, is a new trader for Patrick Lumber, Portland, Or.

Baxter Reimer, Belco Forest Products, Shelton, Wa., has been promoted to director of sales.

Rob Rutkowski, Cameron Ashley Building Products, has been promoted to Southwest regional sales VP, based in Henderson, Nv.

Zach Keiser, ex-Idaho Pacific, is a new lumber trader for Matheus Lumber Co., Boise, Id.

Joseph Montgomery, ex-Meek’s Lumber, is new to outside sales at Berry Lumber Co., Sacramento, Ca.

William “Tony” Gonzales, ex-Atlas Building Solutions, has joined the inside sales team at Master Halco, Sacramento, Ca.

Bryan Noble, ex-James Hardie, has joined Nationwide Industries/ PrimeSource Building Products, Seattle, Wa., as western regional sales mgr.

Jimmy Bittner, Capital Lumber, Portland, Or., was promoted to sales/product mgr.-commodities.

Peter Jordan, ex-Champion Windows, is now Sandy, Or.-based territory sales mgr. for AZEK Building Products.

Troy Guthmiller has joined Do it Best Corp., as territory sales mgr. covering Montana and North and South Dakota. Scott Becher is a new territory sales mgr. for the Dakotas. William Tobin is a new outbound member services specialist.

Jordan McCarthy is new to Wyoming Building Supply, Casper, Wy., as a sales & design assistant.

Zachary Wich, ex-Diablo Tools/Freud America, has been named outside sales mgr. for the Southeastern U.S. by Nova USA Wood Products, Portland, Or.

Suzanne Steven has been appointed vice president of marketing at Rocky Mountain Forest Products, Wheat Ridge, Co.

Jay Row is now a lumber sales trader assistant at Jewett Cameron Co., North Plains, Or.

Dirk Myers has been named sales mgr. for Western Window, Boise, Id.

Lena Weingand has joined Pella Doors & Windows of Northern California, Hayward, Ca., as communications & marketing coordinator. Jennifer Ludwig is new to Pella Mountain West, Sandy, Ut., as retail project coordinator. Alexander Rubin is now in sales in Phoenix, Az.

Paul Thorne, LMC’s Northwest regional mgr., has been promoted to the buying group’s vice president of business development. He succeeds Joel Gelb, who is retiring after 25 years with the buying group. Jack Phipps has joined LMC as VP of technology.

Brian Leizerowicz, Western Window Systems, Phoenix, Az., has been promoted to Los Angeles-based VP of sales. John Tennant is a new custom sales rep in Phoenix.

Keith M. Jones joined the sales staff at Dunn Lumber, Redmond, Wa.

Andy Konieczka was named executive vice president-building products for Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, Ga. He succeeds Pat Boushka, who is now executive VP-packaging & cellulose. Boushka replaces Scott Light, who has retired after 25 years with G-P.

Gabrielle McQuay has been promoted to branch mgr. of SRS Distribution, Sandy, Ut.

Shannell McMillan was appointed general mgr. of Cook’s Doors & Windows, Lawndale, Ca.

Austin Wertas moved from inside to outside sales at SPEC Building Materials, Commerce City, Co.

Ryan Blitch has been promoted to Salt Lake City, Ut., area sales mgr. for HD Supply. April Tracey is new to sales in Las Vegas, Nv.

Jackson Mansi is the new warehouse operations mgr. for Big Sky Wood Products, Bozeman, Mt.

Andrew Deering has been promoted to Phoenix, Az.-based western regional sales mgr. for OMG Roofing Products.

Gordon Lundell has been appointed vice president of sales for DP Doors & Millwork, Belgrade, Mt.

Juliette Pryor has joined Lowe’s, North Wilkesboro, N.C., as executive VP, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary.

Norman Willemsen has stepped down after four years as CEO of Kebony.

Bob Baeppler, business development mgr., Viance, was presented the American Wood Protection Association’s 2023 Merit of Award during AWPA’s annual meeting in Tucson, Az.

Joel Lynch, Alaska-based area vice president for Builders FirstSource/ Spenard Builders Supply, will serve on the executive leadership committee for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Greater Washington Light the Night.

Peter Ganahl, CEO, Ganahl Lumber, Anaheim, Ca., is celebrating 50 years with the company.

Marcus Downe is handling close-outs and seconds for Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus

GETTING TO KNOW YOU— THROUGH NAWLA

THE NORTH AMERICAN Wholesale Lumber Association—like the industry it serves—is about people. People who, as they serve each other, end up with countless benefits in return. Meet a few of the individuals who have poured into NAWLA.

Steve Rustja is the vice president of trading at Weston Forest and 2023 chair of the NAWLA board of directors. While his term as chair just started in January of this year, his involvement in the wholesale lumber industry spans decades.

Tell me about yourself. What is your background and how did you get involved with wholesale lumber?

Hardly anyone grows up wanting to be in the lumber business, especially in Toronto. Everyone has a story of how they got involved.

I was first exposed to the lumber industry when I was about five years old and went to work with my father at Weston Forest. In the early 1970s, he left Weston to start a few of his own businesses. In 1985, he wanted to get back into the lumber business and bought a retail lumberyard where I worked part time during my senior year of high school and all the way through university. Once I graduated, I started to work full time in the family business and did every job: buying, selling, loading, delivering, sweeping the floor and cleaning the trash can. In 2000, my father decided to retire and sold the business.

I knew that I wanted to get out of retail and into wholesale, so I spoke with all the distributors in the Toronto area. I had offers from a few companies and was leaning toward one from a national distributor. I also met with Rick Ekstein, former president of Weston Forest. He told me that Weston is a place of opportunity for all and that there would be no limit to what I could achieve. “Heck, one day you could even be a partner,” he said.

In 2011, I was fortunate to become a partner at Weston Forest. I think I made the right choice.

What motivates you to continue on this career path and be a part of the wholesale lumber industry?

My primary motivator is friendship. I have made so many lifelong friends in this business. When my 20-yearold daughter took a summer internship in Vancouver last year, my wife and I were nervous to have her move to a city where she didn’t know anyone. When our Vancouver friends found out, many offered to be there for her if she needed anything. They even extended invitations to their houses for dinner.

The second motivator is honesty. I’m truly amazed at how much business is conducted on someone’s word. It’s unlike any industry I know of. You can’t buy a new phone without signing pages of documents, but you can buy millions of dollars of lumber on your word.

The third motivator is income potential. Many people have done extremely well in the lumber business, even before the last couple of record years. This isn’t something that is generally known if you are outside the industry.

In what ways have you seen the lumber industry evolve over the years?

The most obvious is consolidation on both sides of the equation: there are fewer suppliers and customers these days and likely even less in the future. This fundamentally changes how the industry operates and how markets behave.

What has been the most rewarding part of your career so far? Any “wow” moments that stand out to you?

In 2011, three of my colleagues and I were asked to join the executive team at Weston and were offered partnerships. Our lives and the direction of the company changed after that. We were given an amazing opportunity and took full advantage of it. Looking back on what we’ve accomplished, I am humbled and amazed.

(Continued on page 40)

Steven Rustja Weston Forest

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

Tell me about your involvement with NAWLA. How long have you been a member and what made you want to join?

I’ve been involved with NAWLA since 2001. For the first 10 years, I was just an attendee at the Traders Market. I remember walking into my first icebreaker activity not knowing anyone and feeling intimidated by the 1,500 people in the room.

In 2010, Rick Ekstein was on NAWLA’s executive committee and came to my desk one day. He said, “Guess what: you are joining the Traders Market committee.” My response to him was, “Really, Rick? I have so many other things I need to do and I’m just too busy.” This push was one of the best things that happened to me as my volunteer work allowed me to meet some of the most incredible people in the industry, learn how to operate our business better and develop myself as a leader.

My wife and I have been going to the Leadership Summit since 2011 and we have met so many people that we are fortunate to call friends. My kids even tagged along for almost a decade. This was important to me because they got to see what I did for a living and who I did it with.

What advice would you give to a new NAWLA member?

Do everything you can. What you get out of NAWLA is directly related to what you put into it. NAWLA isn’t just the Traders Market. Join the 10 Groups, take the educational courses, go to the Leadership Summit, watch the webinars, go to regional meetings. Get involved.

What sparked your interest to get more involved with NAWLA and become a volunteer on the NAWLA board of directors?

When I was second vice chair of the Leadership Summit committee, I was asked to go to a winter board meeting to give an update to the NAWLA board of directors. I knew then that I wanted become a board member and ultimately serve as chairman. I love the idea that I have an opportunity to impact the future of NAWLA, just as our previous leaders have done in the past.

As NAWLA’s 2023 chair, what goals and initiatives do you hope to achieve in your role?

Under the leadership of Bethany Doss and Bill Price, the NAWLA board of directors created a strategic plan, which gives us a roadmap for the next three years. Making sure we implement all of the strategies is important to me

The one initiative that I have wanted to achieve for a while now is to establish a mentoring program for our younger members. There is a saying that in your 20s and 30s, you are learning. In your 30s and 40s, you are earning. In your 50s and 60s, you are returning. I want to match up the learners with the returners.

What has been your favorite NAWLA moment?

Slamming the gavel to start the 2023 winter board meeting and being humbled that I was chairing the 131st meeting.

Dan Semsak Murphy Company

Dan Semsak never thought he would be working in the wood products industry until a phone call in 1993 changed his career plans forever. Almost 30 years later, he is now the director of engineered wood products for Murphy Co. in Eugene, Or., and an active member of NAWLA, currently serving as the chairperson for the Leadership Summit committee.

Tell us about yourself. What is your background and how did you get involved with wholesale lumber?

Not in my wildest dreams growing up did I think I would be in the wood products industry. I studied business and Japanese at the University of Montana.

In 1993, got a call from a company based in Boring, Or., called Vanport International. I was asked to interview and soon after, I accepted a job exporting metric-sized lumber to Japan. After the Japanese housing market collapsed in 1997, I joined Willamette Industries in their sales department. In 2002, Willamette was sold and I moved back to Montana to join Plum Creek as the lumber sales manager selling pine boards and studs. EWP became my calling again in 2006 when I joined Pacific Woodtech and later Murphy Co. in 2019, where I am currently the director of EWP.

What motivates you to continue on this career path and be a part of the wholesale lumber industry?

The relationships that develop are truly lasting and wonderful. I still have contact with people I had worked or competed with early in my career and I continue to make many friends in the industry. It remains a handshake business—mutual trust is often achieved as we are solving each other’s needs.

In what ways have you seen the lumber industry evolve over the years?

The market cycles can be game changing from company consolidation at all levels of the supply chain to openings and closings of businesses. Exporters have turned some of their expertise into importing or changed their focus solely to the North American market. The biggest changes have come from a blurring of the lines between manufacturing, secondary processing, distribution, buying co-ops and retail.

What has been the most surprising part of your career so far? Any wow moments that stand out to you?

I have always been surprised by the humility of most of our industry leaders. Many of them are very willing to help along the way, they admit mistakes, and they work to develop the industry’s future leaders. I have had a few mentors over the course of my career that have cheered for my success and have been there for me with sage advice when I needed it most. The “wow” part has really (Continued on page 42)

been the amazing number of opportunities in our industry, particularly as the baby boomers have approached retirement age.

How long have you been a NAWLA member and what committees have you served on?

I have been a member of NAWLA since 1999. When I went to my first Traders Market, I was like a kid in a candy store. I was blown away by the number of networking opportunities before, during and after the show hours.

Around 2002, I joined the education committee and in 2007, I moved to the Traders Market committee, where I became chairperson. I served on the NAWLA board for six years, two of those were on the executive committee. After that, I joined the membership committee for a brief period before becoming vice chair, and later chair, of the Leadership Summit committee.

What advice would you give to a new NAWLA member?

Get involved with the organization. It is a great way to build valuable relationships.

What’s been your favorite NAWLA moment?

It is ongoing. It’s been great having the opportunity to meet with decision makers, leaders and owners, and getting to know those in our industry personally, too.

What advice do you have for those that are attending a NAWLA event for the first time?

Don’t just focus on the show floor hours to connect with people. Plan to meet others during meals and before and after show hours. The show hours are only a fraction of the networking opportunities.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Things are constantly changing. Learn to roll with it and adapt quickly. Stay positive.

KayCee Hallstrom

Zip-O-Log Mills, Inc.

KayCee Hallstrom is no stranger to the industry, having grown up working for the family business, Zip-O-Log Mills. Now VP, she is a fourth-generation industry professional dedicated to the trade.

Tell me about yourself. What is your background and how did you get involved with lumber manufacturing?

My great-grandfather started Zip-O-Log Mills, Inc. in 1944 and I started working there in 2012. I had worked in the office and out in the plant while I was in high school in the summers.

What motivates you to continue on this career path and be a part of the lumber manufacturing industry?

The people I work with and have met in the industry. Plus, I enjoy the variety of challenges and problem solving it provides.

Tell me about working for your family’s business. What is it like to be a part of a multi-generation team?

Working for the family business has its challenges just like any other business. You’re not only navigating different generations working together, you’re also navigating family events outside of work together, too. However, it is unique to have the perspective of the generation before you just down the hall to talk to. It is important to keep business as business and personal as personal.

In what ways have you seen the lumber industry evolve over the years?

The mass timber movement has really taken off in the last couple of years in the United States, and it is refreshing and exciting to see public opinion about wood shift to being a positive in construction and daily life. Another evolution is the continued advancements in technology used to process wood from the forest to packaging. We are also seeing new technology in trucking, which will help make jobs more appealing.

What has been the most rewarding part of your career so far? Any wow moments that stand out to you?

The relationships I have made with others in the industry, which have helped shape me into who I am today. When I joined my 10 Group in 2013, I had no idea I would not only be making great connections in the industry, but also some great friends.

How long have you been a NAWLA member and what made you want to join?

My first NAWLA event was Wood Basics in 2012. I then joined my 10 Group in 2013, participated in the Executive Management Institute in 2015, joined the scholarship and education committees in 2019 and 2022 respectively, and was voted into YELP in 2020. I’ve been attending Traders Market and the Leadership Summit since 2013 as well as participating in webinars over the years. Zip-O has been an active member for many years prior to me joining, and I was encouraged to join because of the history but also to create my own connections and take advantage of the education opportunities.

Tell me about volunteering with NAWLA? Why do you volunteer? What do you get out of it?

Initially, it was a way for me to get involved in some way to make connections. Now I have a passion for it and wish to continue my involvement to create great experiences for others. With volunteering, I get a sense of community—we all have a common goal and passion for the industry, not just our individual companies.

What advice would you give to a new NAWLA member?

Talk to your supervisor to get permission to participate in a 10 Group to get started, and participate in Wood Basics if you are new to the industry or sales. You get what you put into NAWLA; be an active participant and the possibilities are endless.

What’s been your favorite NAWLA moment?

Any time I am with my 10 Group. MM

JOIN NAWLA THIS SUMMER— LIVE AND IN PERSON

with wholesale and manufacturer professionals in the forest product and lumber industries. See the list of upcoming regional meetings below and register at nawla.org.

Vancouver Regional Meeting

Wednesday, May 10 Vancouver, B.C.

Southeast Regional Meeting

Wednesday, May 17 Birmingham, Al.

Portland Regional Meeting

Thursday, June 1 Portland, Or.

Minneapolis Regional Meeting

Thursday, Aug. 17 Dellwood, Mn.

Northeast Regional Meeting

In partnership with the 2023 NELMA Annual Meeting

Today, Wood Basics companies and employees have the chance to invest in the future. Whether it is a new employee just starting in the industry or a veteran who is moving into a new field, the course will provide the student and company with the resources to succeed.

Wood Basics is a four-day immersion class that includes both classroom training and field operations. The curriculum encompasses the entire spectrum of the forest products industry: from seed to tree, from production to sales.

Registration for Fall Wood Basics opens soon.

2023 Traders Market

SPRING WOOD BASICS returned this month, just in time for many of NAWLA’s regional and educational events to kick off. Be on the lookout for invitations from NAWLA on the upcoming events as you plan out your own 2023 calendar.

Regional Meetings

Connect locally with NAWLA as it tours across regions of United States and Canada each year for regional meetings. Each regional meeting provides opportunities for networking and education

Thursday, Sept. 20 Rockport, Me.

Fall Wood Basics

NAWLA Wood Basics Course started in 1981 to educate and develop a skilled workforce for the forest products industry. More than 1,500 professionals have graduated from the course since its inception, representing a broad cross section of the industry. Since that time, the curriculum has evolved with the industry in areas such as technology and global trade.

Since 1996, Traders Market has held a unique position among lumber and building material trade shows as the only one focused almost exclusively on the lumber supply chain. Unlike other shows, the exhibitors are almost always manufacturers of lumber and lumberrelated products, not machinery or other equipment providers.

Traders Market returns for 2023 in Columbus, Oh., with eight hours of trade show floor time to buy, sell and network, several hours of industry education and an all-star keynote. Registration opens in June so make plans to join NAWLA in Ohio this November! MM

– Find out more and register for upcoming events at nawla.org.

CAPITAL KICKS OFF CUSTOMER EVENTS

Capital, Chino, Ca., enjoyed a hearty turnout for its first Boards, Brews & Screws event of the year—held March 9 at The Brews Hall in Torrance, Ca.

A mix of dealer associates, contractors and architects made it out to the event to learn about some of Capital’s key vendors and what they have to offer.

VANCOUVER DEALER HANDS OUT CRYPTO BONUSES

In search of innovative ways to retain entrylevel employees, Shur-Way Building Center, Vancouver, Wa., has been handing out bonuses in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was the first and is considered the best known cryptocurrency.

Late last year, Shur-Way revamped its Christmas bonuses to be based on performance, and to be paid out the following April in Bitcoin. Similarsized crypto payments for each worker will deposited into a group fund in the second and third trimesters. The company will control the general fund until, in time, it disperses it to employees in escalating portions.

CAPITAL’S Southern California staff was out in force.

CUSTOMERS could learn more about vendors and their wares, such as TruExterior trim and siding from Boral.

SAMPLES, brochures, goodies and a wealth of information were offered on the many products Capital carries.

Redwood decking

Composite decking, Railing & Accessories Posts, beams and boards

Composite decking, Railing & Accessories

SEISMIC TESTING OF TALLWOOD BUILDING SETS RECORD

With new building codes recently updated to permit more high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the U.S., many have questioned how such buildings would fare in earthquakes.

The Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure TallWood project is investigating the

resilience of tall timber buildings by simulating a series of large earthquakes on a full-scale, 10-story mass timber building this spring— the world’s tallest full-scale building ever tested on an earthquake simulator, or shake table. The research project is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

“Mass timber is part of a massive trend in architecture and construction, but the seismic performance of tall buildings made with these new systems is not as well understood as other existing building systems,” said Shiling Pei, principal investigator and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Colorado School of Mines.

Pei’s team, which includes both researchers and practitioners, designed a 10-story tall, mass-timber rocking wall lateral system suitable for regions susceptible to high earthquakes. This new system is aimed at resilient performance, which means the building will have minimal damage from design level earthquakes and be quickly repairable after rare earthquakes.

“The rocking wall system consists of a solid wood wall panel anchored to the ground using steel cables or rods with large tension forces in them,” Pei said. “When exposed to lateral forces, the wood wall panels will rock back and forth—which reduces earthquake impacts—and then the steel rods

QUAKE TESTING is underway on a 10-story mass-timber structure, shown in this rendering by Lever Architecture.

will pull the building back to plumb once the earthquake passes.”

Due to this seismic movement induced by the rocking system, resilience-critical nonstructural components within and covering the building, such as the exterior façade, interior walls and stairways, are in for a big ride.

“Resilient design must also account for the building’s nonstructural systems, which are not part of the structural load-resisting system, but play an important role in the building’s function and its ability to recover after the earthquake,” said Keri Ryan, a project co-investigator and engineering professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The project team focused on

to allow occupants to safely exit and first responders to continually access all floors of the building.

“These assemblies have been designed with a variety of new and innovative details that are intended to accommodate the floor-to-floor movement without damage,” Ryan said. “Many of these details have never been tested in a rigorous building setting.”

The tests started in April at the University of California, San Diego outdoor shake table—one of the two biggest earthquake simulators in the world. Located at UCSD’s Englekirk Structural Engineering Center, the facility is part of the NSF’s Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure.

dom—longitudinal, lateral, vertical, roll, pitch and yaw.

The combination of largest payload capacity in the world, an outdoor setting and the newly added six-degrees-of-freedom shaking capability make the UC San Diego shake table a powerful and unique facility—and the only one in the world where the Tallwood tests could happen.

Tests will simulate earthquake motions recorded during prior earthquakes covering a range of magnitudes, from 4 to 8, on the Richter scale. This will be done by accelerating the table to at least 1g, which could accelerate the top of the building to as much as 3gs. For reference, fighter pilots experience

cally reject such an offer. As a result, the buyers face ‘adverse selection’—the only sellers who will accept $750

play as the places where life’s best moments and memories can happen. We are encouraging designers, homeowners and other creators to explore greater possibilities for their spaces with Eldorado Stone as part of that transformation.”

“Smart buyers foresee this problem. Knowing they could be buying a lemon, they offer only $500. Sellers of the lemons end up with the same price they would have received were there no ambiguity. But the peaches all stay in the garage. “Information asymmetry” kills the market for good cars.”

ELDORADO REFRESHES BRAND

Structural wood panel buyers rely upon qualified inspection and testing agencies like the APA to routinely test and certify the quality of the products they buy. This creates an incentive for individual panel producers to “push” the standard. A passage from Ackerloff’s famous paper:

HARD MAPLE is popular throughout the Glacial Region.

supplies of small-knot, dense, Douglas fir veneers). The “market for lemons” is likely having a major effect on the size of this market today.

Overcoming the Market for Lemons

provider of e-catalog and configurator solutions, extending DMSi’s portfolio of industry-specific solutions that help dealers and distributors grow their businesses.

and fall seasons with cold winters, which allow that growth to be gradual—hardwoods from the Appalachian region feature tight growth rings, strong fibers, and consistent colors and grain textures. This leads to strength, durability and beauty in the lumber, in addition to excellent width and long length characteristics.

How can individual panel producers overcome this “lemons market” problem, their industry’s “race to the bottom,” and depressed industry sales levels? They can offer company-specific product performance guarantees.

A diamond icon has been the foundation of Eldorado Stone’s brand story since its beginnings but has now evolved even further within the company’s narrative.

Primary species include ash, cherry, hard maple, red oak, soft maple, white oak, basswood, beech, birch, walnut, poplar and hickory, which are great for high-end furniture, millwork, cabinetry, doors, flooring and paneling, and more.

“There are many markets in which buyers use some market statistic to judge the quality of prospective purchases. In this case there is an incentive for sellers to market poor quality merchandise, since the returns for good quality accrue mainly to the entire group whose statistic is affected rather than to the individual seller. As a result there tends to be a reduction in the average quality of goods and also the size of the market.”

Eldorado Stone, San Diego, Ca., is rolling out a new brand narrative that imagines the long-lasting memories and moments that can be created inside of a newly designed space. Through a refreshed logo, website, new brand colors and other visual elements, Eldorado Stone encourages the idea that designing and personalizing an indoor or outdoor space can be the start of something beautiful.

long, frigid winter climate, coupled with a short summer season, produces hardwoods with very tight growth rings. This creates lumber with outstanding color and fine texture, which is ideal for applications ranging from furniture, cabinetry and doors to flooring, paneling and more.

This region supplies nine primary, widely used species, including: ash, basswood, cherry, hickory, hard maple, red oak, soft maple, white oak and walnut.

The new logo emphasizes a more contemporary approach with a nuanced, yet timeless font treatment. The iconic diamond has also been reinterpreted to convey the multifaceted character of the brand’s products and the spaces they help to create, and it is positioned prominently next to the brand name while the new tagline “The Start of Something Beautiful” completes the design.

Appalachian Region: Superior Quality

Spanning several states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, the Appalachian region produces a wide range of hardwoods species—all with one thing in common: superior quality.

Another approach is to more aggressively brand products. In either case, the mill’s products need to be clearly differentiated from their competitors’; as we discovered earlier, industry-wide, third-party quality certification is important but not sufficient. Like car buyers, panel buyers won’t chance paying peach prices when they may actually be buying a “dressed up” lemon.

No matter the region they come from, there are many North American hardwoods species to choose from. The decision as to which one to use comes down to the application and overall quality and look of the project.

The acquisition includes the Millwork Development E-Catalog, a quote and configuration application specializing in complex configured items such as doors, windows, and stair parts. The Millwork Development E-Catalog generates branded quotes, orders, and catalog pages, as well as composite images of the configured products.

For some structural panel producers, product differentiation requires a major change in company culture. For instance, it is very difficult to produce innovative, differentiated products for the end use market if the company doesn’t also adapt a different supplier-buyer mindset. Supplierpartners are often critical to the structural wood panel producer’s differentiation.

Eldorado Stone is a division of Westlake Royal Building Products.

“Millwork Development provides the leading set of tools to the millwork industry,” said CEO Cal German. “The innovative platform provides enhanced configuration, imaging and eCommerce solutions. We’re excited to combine our resources to deliver the next generation of industry-leading products to our customers.”

As industry competition comes to focus more and more upon only one of the “4P’s of marketing”—price— “lemons” tend to proliferate and industry sales volume tends to decline.

DMSI ADDS E-CATALOG SOLUTIONS

Thanks to the region’s climate conditions—warm summers that assist with tree growth, and cooler spring

“For over 50 years, Eldorado Stone’s premium stone and brick veneer profiles have pushed the boundaries of possibilities for creating beautiful spaces,” said Sarah Lograsso, director of marketing & product design. “Now, we want to inspire the industry to see the spaces where we live, work and

When the industry is young, industry production technologies vary little and raw materials are relatively homogeneous (e.g., OSB), this isn’t a major problem. But it is a serious problem when the inspection and testing agencies find it difficult or impossible to keep up with a very rapidly changing industry. An example would be today’s overlaid Douglas fir plywood industry. There are rapid changes underway on both the demand side (e.g., much higher alkalinity concrete mixes are now essentially “pulping” conform panels) and on the supply side (e.g., much reduced

DMSi Software, Omaha, Ne., has acquired Millwork Development, a

HPM ACQUIRES INTERIOR SOLUTIONS SUPPLIER 87ZERO

In a major expansion of its product lines, services and facilities,

–Roy Nott is president of Surfactor Americas LLC, Aberdeen, Wa., a German-owned producer of overlays, glue films, and press cleaning films for the global wood panel industry, with manufacturing operations in Finland, Germany and Malaysia. Reach him at roy.nott@surfactor.com.

The beauty of the forest is yours to sell

Wide

Big Creek Lumber’s sawmill, in Davenport, CA, produces a wide variety of redwood lumber products to independent wholesalers, stocking distributors, and remanufacturing facilities. Big Creek is well known for producing high quality redwood products

Full,

Quality,

CHERRY is among the major hardwoods of the Appalachian Region.

– Don Barton is vice president of sales and marketing for Northwest Hardwoods, Tacoma, Wa. (northwesthardwoods.com).

ARCHIECTURAL stone/brick veneer manufacturer Eldorado Stone has refreshed its logo, website and tagline.

HPM Building Supply, Keaau, Hi., has acquired 87ZERO, a Honolulu-based firm specializing in custom cabinetry, architectural elements, furniture, fixtures, appliances, and global sourcing and manufacturing of interior products.

The acquisition establishes a new division called 87ZERO by HPM that will service large-scale projects for developers, hoteliers and contractors as well as provide affordable luxury interior solutions for homeowners. HPM also plans to leverage 87ZERO’s global manufacturing relationships to develop and source products to serve both the high-end and affordable housing markets.

“The opportunity to add 87ZERO to our HPM ‘ohana’ came about because of the values we have in common as much as a desire to expand our services for Hawaii’s construction and housing market,” said Jason Fujimoto, HPM president and CEO. “87ZERO and HPM first connected through our shared passion for helping to build more attainable housing for Hawai‘i families. We saw the potential to combine our strengths, create new, innovative

solutions for our community, and provide an even more seamless, one-stop shop for customers at every price point.”

Founded in 2007, 87ZERO is known for its work in condominiums, commercial and hospitality facilities, and singlefamily residences. Across two showrooms spanning 5,300 sq. ft. in the N’ Lama Kukui Lifestyle and Design Center—HPM’s first showrooms on Oahu—87ZERO’s product lines include their own Italian-crafted SmartCucina cabinetry line as well as global kitchen brand Ernestomeda and premium appliances from Bosch, Gaggenau, Miele and Thermador. With manufacturing partners in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Italy, Germany and the U.S., 87ZERO provides custom interior solutions and architectural elements.

87ZERO’s 15-member staff has become part of HPM’s team of more than 500 owner-employees throughout Hawaii.

“As part of HPM, we are looking forward to bringing 87ZERO’s capabilities and signature product

lines to all islands,” said Sanford Hasegawa, founder of 87ZERO and now president of 87ZERO by HPM. “We’re excited for this new chapter of growth with the backing of HPM’s full-service building supply and local manufacturing operations. Together, we provide a compelling offering across the full spectrum of the market, from pros to consumers, from plans and supplies to interiors and finishing, and from luxury to affordable homes.”

BEACON PURCHASES BAY AREA DISTRIBUTOR AI ROOFING

Beacon has completed the acquisition of Al’s Roofing Supply, Hayward, Ca.

Al’s has over 40 years of history serving the San Francisco Bay Area, operating four branches in Hayward, Newark, San Carlos, and San Jose. “We are thrilled to announce that Al’s is joining Beacon,” said AI general manager Kevin Lewis. “This next chapter of our history will enable us to continue serving our loyal customers and to grow by bringing the benefits of Beacon’s footprint and network.”

Composite Fascia Board Fastener

WOOD SOURCING ONLINE TOOL LAUNCHED

The American Wood Council has released a new, first-of-its kind online tool designed to help users better understand where their wood products are coming from and the safeguards in place throughout the supply chain to ensure sustainability measures.

The tool will provide greater insight into the sourcing of wood products used in low-and zero-carbon construction. The pilot project of the website was funded by the Softwood Lumber Board and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities funding.

The new Wood Sourcing Tool tells the sustainability story through the incorporation of data based on a wood product’s mill grade stamp or region, information critical to tracking a specific product’s journey from the forest to the end user.

It also features a set of frequently asked questions about sustainable forestry and regional facts about wood sourcing—information that can give users broader understanding about the wood products being used in buildings across the country.

“As questions around the sustainability of fiber supply continues to grow alongside interest in mass timber in commercial construction, this online Wood Sourcing Tool promises to provide regional, robust data that will provide assurances being sought by the architect, engineering and construction communities,” said Rachael Jamison, AWC vice president of markets & sustainability.

The sourcing data on the site is based on the ASTM

D7612-21 standard, which offers a robust and objective framework for identifying wood product sources. Fiber sourcing data is provided by AWC member companies with manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and is updated on an annual basis, with 2021 data the most recent available and shown on the site.

When assessing the sustainability of wood products, there are three categories that are applied: Non-Controversial, Responsible, and Certified. Each gives different assurances of the practices that take place in the forests where the wood is grown and at the manufacturing site.

AWC represents 86% of the structural wood products industry and the nearly half-million men and women working in mills across the country.

Wood Treating Service with a Superior Preservative Selection

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL’S new Wood Sourcing Tool tells the sustainability story through the incorporation of data based on a wood product’s mill grade stamp or region, information critical to tracking a specific product’s journey from the forest to the end user.

ALL-IN-ONE DECK KIT

Fortress Building Products’ new customizable Deck Kits include steel deck framing, decking, railing and hardware in a complete package for a simplified deck category ordering experience and installation process. The kits include everything needed to build a standard 12’x12’ deck: Evolution steel deck framing, Apex capped bamboo-PVC composite decking, Al13 Plus aluminum railing, Hulk fasteners, color-matched screws, and related hardware.

Customers can choose from a free-standing configuration or an attached-deck option, and can opt to include Fortress’ compatible steel stair system.

FORTRESSBP.COM

(866) 323-4766

2-IN-1 TURBO CUT-OFF BLADE

Diablo Tools’ new diamond segmented turbo masonry cut-off blades provide extreme durability, longer life, and faster cuts in concrete and brick.

Designed to fit standard arbor sizes and X-Lock interface, the blades deliver up to 30% faster cuts and up to four times longer cutting life vs. standard diamond cut-off blades. No need to choose between blades that offer either a quick cut or a clean cut—the new 2-in-1 design delivers both.

The blades are designed with minimal gullet space between their proprietary segments to provide the perfect balance between speed and cleanliness of cut. The SPEED-Edge slot design aids in debris removal and reduces vibration and side friction. With a hardened blade body design, the blades provide the perfect ratio of debris removal and superior quality cuts while delivering longer life than standard blades. Unique castellations on the blade help remove debris and keep the blade cool when cutting. The blades feature 60% taller segments containing superior quality diamonds, along with an ultra-durable bond to the blade body for extended blade cutting life.

DIABLOTOOLS.COM

(800) 334-4107

FIBER CEMENT ARTISTRY

James Hardie is introducing the Hardie Artisan Profile Series, a wood-look fiber cement siding for classic lap, shingle, or board and batten styles. Features include a larger format of plank, mitered corners, and unique joints for dramatic shadow lines to deliver an elevated style with an upscale touch.

JAMESHARDIE.COM

(888) 542-7343

SEASHELL SHADE

Tangent Technologies is offering an all-new dimensional woodgrain pattern for its sustainable recycled HDPE lumber: Seashell.

The unique pattern—Tangent’s eighth—works beautifully in coastal settings as well as being a contemporary look for the backyard patio.

TANGENTMATERIALS.COM

(630) 264-1110

MUTED COMPOSITE SCREWS

Simpson Strong-Tie has added two new color options to its line of Deck-Drive DCU Stainless Steel Composite screws designed for fastening PVC and composite decking or trim to wood framing and wooden roof sleeper assemblies, as well as for fastening PVC and composite cladding to wood framing.

The new Light Tan and Light Gray options have been formulated to pair with lighter colors that provide cooler deck surface temperatures in warm climates. They are among a wide range of colors, matched to blend with decking from most major manufacturers.

For superior corrosion resistance in marine or high-exposure environments, the new colors come in Type 305 or Type 316 stainless steel. The screws can be purchased in bulk or collated for use with the Quik Drive auto-feed screw driving system.

STRONGTIE.COM/DCU

(800) 999-5099

BELOW-GRADE INSULATION

Atlas’ new EnergyShield XR polyiso insulation is specifically engineered to provide continuous insulation for foundation walls and under slab use.

The polyiso rigid foam board is comprised of a closed-cell structure with impermeable, durable facers that offer a high R-value per inch of thickness and resists moisture absorption, providing an effective material to insulate in all climates. Its capacity to serve as a vapor retarder, high compressive strength and ease of handling makes it a high-performing solution for building foundations.

With a standard compression strength of 25 psi, it’s exceptionally durable, resisting pressures from backfill while durable facers offer added impact protection.

WALL.ATLASRWI.COM

(800) 677-1476

HIDDEN FASTENER

Grip-Rite’s new Ninja Hidden Deck Fastener brings strength, stability and speed to grooved deck board installations.

The patent-pending design features Compression Fit levers that hold the clip in place to quicken board installation, after which serrated teeth hold boards in place. Their universal fit means the same clip may be used to create multiple deck patterns straight, diagonal or herringbone with a seamless surface finish.

GRIP-RITE.COM

(800) 999-8500

REINFORCED VINYL CLADDING

New CERTAplank Single 7” Reinforced Siding from CertainTeed combines the durability and strength of vinyl with the authentic appearance of realwood siding.

Offered in 10 colors, the reinforced vinyl siding reportedly is lighter and easier to handle than wood, fiber cement, or wood composites, and features an extrathick panel and reinforced foam backer that provides the rigidity you’d expect from a hardboard cladding.

CERTAINTEED.COM

(800) 233-8990

HIGH-CLASS BI-FOLD

Marvin has launched the Elevate Bi-Fold door, a contemporary new scenic exterior door with a versatile design that is uniquely suitable for remodel or replacement applications in smaller spaces. It is designed with a warm wood interior and Ultrex fiberglass exterior.

Design options for the Elevate Bi-Fold door include up to seven panel options with a maximum size of 22 ft. wide and 8 ft. high. It can operate as bi-parting or unidirectional, and is available in six standard colors accompanied by two handle styles in six hardware finish options.

MARVIN.COM/ELEVATEBIFOLD

(888) 537-7828

COLD LAP ROOFING TAPE

CertainTeed has added Arctic Edge Flintlastic SA Cold Lap Tape to its line of innovative roofing products, reportedly marking the first approach to solving self-adhered modified asphalt cold weather issues with all-season rolls.

The use-as-needed auxiliary tape is engineered to significantly boost adhesion in temperatures between 35°F–49°F and is designed for low-slope residential and commercial applications. When warm weather returns, Arctic Edge can be easily stored and saved for up to one year until temperature drops warrant its use.

CERTAINTEED.COM

(800) 782-8777

METAL FRAMING FASTENER

The Grabber SuperDrive Mach1 from Grabber Construction Products is the first collated system explicitly designed to meet the demands of onsite and offsite light-gauge steel frame construction, offering unparalleled speed, precision and efficiency.

The new collated system easily attaches to a Makita or DeWalt impact driver, versus a screw gun. Features include a no-slip tip, reversible feed track (for right- or left-handed workers), SureLock fine depth adjustment, quick removal strap, as well as a compact and durable design that includes pass-through spaces for the impact driver’s LED lights. The new tool is compatible with Grabber’s SuperDrive 7/16” to 7/8” collated screws.

GRABBERPRO.COM

(800) 477-8876

DECK JOIST & LEDGER TAPE

National Nail’s CAMO brand is adding an extra layer of protection for the deck substructure, with CAMO Joist + Ledger Deck Tape.

The self-adhesive butyl tape creates a waterproof membrane to protect wood deck framing against moisture, which can lead to rot. It self-seals around fasteners, blocking the pathway of water into wood. Apply the tape to the top of joists and ledger board, between joist hangers and ledger board, between rim joists and fascia, and between framing and joist hangers.

Securely bonding to wood framing, one 65 ft. roll covers approximately 75 sq. ft. of deck framing. The tape comes in three sizes: 1-5⁄8” wide for single joists to fully cover tops of 2x wood joists; 3-1⁄8” wide for use with double joists; and 6” wide for ledger and rim joists.

CAMOFASTENERS.COM

(800) 968-6245

WHAT A RELIEF

Rhythm, Island Stone’s new collection of dimensional stone tiles, incorporates modern manufacturing techniques with precision machinery to offer a new take on the popular wedge design relief.

Rhythm’s prominent design attribute lies in the smooth transition between the highest and lowest point of each slender tile strip. The elimination of rugged, angular joints at the apex creates a softening effect, while highlighting the natural stone.

Offered in a honed finish and a choice of four colors (Crystal White, Sandstone Grey, Sandstone Mint, Sutra Black), the 3-1/8”x15-3/8” tiles are suitable for indoor and out, including walls, kitchen backsplashes, fireplace walls, and pool/spa water features.

ISLANDSTONE.COM

(800) 371-0001

MULTIPURPOSE WOOD SCREW

FastenMaster has launched the MVP Multipurpose Wood Screw designed for framing, interior remodeling, cabinetry and more.

MVP features FastenMaster’s exclusive double-lead SureStart point for a fast start, and the TORX ttap drive system provides a stable, wobble-free installation. The fastener also features a durable ProjectLife Coating that delivers superior corrosion protection for the life of the project and a SureSink Head that countersinks into the wood without compromising clamping force.

MVP fasteners are available in six sizes from 1-1/2” through 4” in half-inch increments, and come packaged in small packs of 100, project packs of 250 to 500 depending on the length, and in bulk quantities of 1,250 to 2,000 fasteners depending on the length. A free TORX bit is provided in every box.

FASTENMASTER.COM

(800) 518-3569

888-807-2580

Bend, OR www.pelicanbayfp.com

DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS

Colton / Fontana / Modesto / Salinas / Stockton, CA

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Framing Lumber / Pallet Stock / Industrial Lumber / Softwoods

Hardwoods / Cedar / Fencing / Decking / Redwood

Custom Cut Stock / Treated Lumber / Tile Battens

3-Hole & Slotted Vents / Custom Cutting / Remanufacturing

Heat Treating / Fire & CCA Treating

“Focused on the future with respect for tradition”

FINE PREFINISHED PANELS

Royal Plywood Co. has introduced Chêne Noyer, a collection of prefinished, ready-to-install European oak and American walnut veneer panels.

The panels’ rich, warm tones, unique grain patterns, tactile finish, and durability make it the ideal choice for any distinguished project, residential or commercial. The wire-brushed finish offers a range of light and heavy texture.

The thorough color matching process guarantees consistency and precision.

CHENE-NOYER.COM

(562) 404-2989

DATE BOOK

Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with sponsor before making plans to attend.

North American Wholesale Lumber Association – May 8-11, Wood Basics Course, Vancouver, B.C.; www.nawla.org.

Orgill – May 8-21, summer online buying event; www.orgill.com.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative – May 13-19, annual conference, Vancouver, B.C.; www.forest.org.

LIGNA – May 15-19, woodworking fair, Hannover Fairground, Hannover, Germany; www.ligna.de.

Southern California Hoo-Hoo Club – May 17, speaker meeting/golf, Brookside Golf Course, Pasadena, Ca.; www.hoohoo117.org.

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association – May 17-19, Cedar Summit, Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort, Victoria, B.C.; www.realcedar.com.

Sacramento Hoo-Hoo Club – May 18, reception & BBQ dinner, Grass Valley Courtyard Inn, Grass Valley, Ca.; May 19, annual golf tournament, Alta Sierra Country Club, Grass Valley, Ca.; www. hoohoo109.org.

Portland Wholesale Lumber Association – May 19, Logs to Lumber, SDS Lumber, Bingen, Wa., and Carson Mill, Carson, Wa.; www. portlandwholesalelumberassociation.org.

PCBC – May 24-25, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Ca.; www. pcbc.com.

Decorative Hardwoods Assn. – May 24-26, annual meeting, Wyndham Grand, Clearwater Beach, Fl.; www.decorativehardwoods.org.

North American Rail Shippers Association – May 24-26, annual meeting, Chicago, Il.; www.railshippers.com.

North American Wholesale Lumber Association – June 1, Portland regional meeting, Amaterra Winery, Portland, Or.; www.nawla.org.

Forest Products Society – June 6-8, international conference, Morgantown, W.V.; www.fpsconference.org.

Forest Economic Advisors – June 7-8, Global Softwood Log & Lumber Conference, Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver, B.C.; www.getfea.com.

Western Hardwood Association – June 9, annual Golf Classic, Riverside Golf Club, Chehalis, Wa.; www.westernhardwood.com.

South Bay Home & Backyard Show – June 9-11, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, Ca.; www.homeshowconsultants.com.

Western Wood Preservers Association – June 11-13, summer meeting, Coeur d’Alene Resort, Coeur d’Alene, Id.; www.wwpinstitute.org.

National Lawn & Garden Show – June 13-14, Chicago, Il.; nlgshow.com.

Riverside Home & Garden Show – July 14-16, Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, Ca.; www.homeshowconsultants.com.

West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association – June 15, Northern California golf tournament, Chardonnay Golf Club, American Canyon, Ca.; www.lumberassociation.org.

World Conference on Timber Engineering – June 19-22, Oslo, Norway; www.wcte2023.org.

Bridge City Hoo Hoo Club – June 23, 60th annual golf tournament, Forest Hills Golf Club, Cornelius, Or.; pdxhoohooclub47.company.site.

Window & Door Manufacturers Association – June 27-29, technical & manufacturing conference, Minneapolis, Mn.; www.wdma.com.

Southern California Hoo-Hoo Club – July 19, initiation meeting/golf, Los Serranos Country Club, Chino, Ca.; www.hoohoo117.org.

AWFS Fair – July 25-28, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Ca.; www.awfsfair.org.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association –July 26, annual golf tournament, Fossil Trace Golf Club, Golden, Co.; www.mslbmda.org.

Orgill – July 31-Aug. 13, summer online buying event; www.orgill.com.

WCLBMA SO. CAL. GOLF TOURNEY

Nic Matute. [5] Kobie Jacobs, Danny Sosa, Jen Burford, Steve Knight. [6] Jason Allen, Bobby Fisher, Victor Salvatierra,

Phil Tachiki. [7] David Rodriguez, Carl Suderman, Chuck Hendrickson, David Baron. [8] Brandon Wert, Jorge Espinoza, Eliazar Guzman, Jonathan Shelton. [9] Brian Kiphen, Zoey Stapenhorst, Robert Rosales. [10] Jeff Scott, Sam Sanregret, Pete Ganahl, Jeff Logue. [11] Madison Miller, Chad Burge. [12] Jeni Selis, Tony Rodriguez. [13] Valentina Saltalamachia, Jackie Vega. [14] Barbie Molina, Leo Delgado. [15] Chuck Casey, Augie Venezia. (More photos on next two pages)

WEST COAST Lumber & Building Materials Association headed to a new site for its Southern California golf tournament on April 13—Strawberry Farms Golf Club, Irvine, Ca. [1] Jeff Norihiro, John Pasqualetto, Scott Middaugh, John Seely. [2] Frank Gonzalez, Sean Cummings, Josh Orr, Dave Fraser. [3] Glenda De Frange, Jacqueline Palazzolo, Stephanie Barrios, Julie Van Groningen. [4] Jon Hagen, Rick Deen, Eric Matute,

photos on next page)

IRVINE GOLFERS (continued from previous page): [16] Juan Guzman, Ryan Lauterborn, Larry Christensen, Damien Simpson. [17] Pat Connolly, Brandon Saubert, David Mellstrom, Paulo Sitolini. [18] Clyde Jennings, John Allen, Carlton Jennings, Pete Meichtry. [19] Deonn DeFord, John McConlogue, Scott Sexton, Keith Hitchcock. [20] Dan Farnum, Tim Dickison, Stephen Susdorf, Barry Mihogener. [21] Bret Visciglia, Zach George, Chris Larocca, Tim Huff.

[22] Ryan Jamison, Josh Coyne, Colin Klein, Frank Benjamin. [23] Spencer Loose, Jared Klopfer, Darryl Loewen, Rex Klopfer. [24] Gabe Delgado, Brent Morehouse, Jon Muller, Jerry Best. [25] Steve Stone, Cameron Rankin, Tyler Wood, Frank Huerta. [26] German Martinez, Luis Montes, Frank Saldana, Jerry Bold. [27] Robert Vera, Jim Kamineski, Marwan Salem, Dan Lucero. (More

WCLBMA GOLF (continued): [28] Hugo Lepe, Alex Pabich, Josh O’Quinn, Thom Wright. [29] Jon Gauger, Matt Deitchman, Danielle Lyle, Michale Ochoa. [30] McKenna Duley, Sarah Starnes, Chris Lindsay, Kenyon Harmon, Jason Sumter. [31] Robby Ligtermoet, Karim Bedran, Steve King. [32] Bret Marchael, Chip Barker, Matt Perine, Jake Peppard. [33] Pat McDonald, Mark Mahoney, Harry

Grigorian, Van Udall. [34] Sheldon Doss, Kevin Magers, Adam Doss, Jason Schulze. [35] Jim Nicodemus, Jesse Jackson, Kelly Lyon, Jack Butler. [36] Daniel Hines, Sergio Paz, Dave Vejar, John Vattuone. [37] Grant Pearsall, Victor Fresca, Dave Vigil, John Mayhew. [38] Ian Souza, Matt Fink, Vaughan Barker, Gavin Morris, Mack Satterfield. [39] Huyvu Lam, Marc Spitz, Orville Cote.

Photos by The Merchant

Rick Michael Manning, Reno, Nv.-based territory salesman with Redwood Empire, Morgan Hill, Ca., lost his life in an auto accident on March 24—one week after his 50th birthday.

He was a 1997 graduate of Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences with a degree in wood products. He began his lumber sales career in the Midwest, and had been with Redwood Empire/Pacific States Industries since February 2020, selling redwood lumber products in Northern California, Northern Nevada, and Lake Tahoe.

At the time of his accident, Rick and friends were driving to Phoenix to spend the weekend watching spring training baseball games in Tempe and Peoria, Az.

James Draper, 70, longtime Idaho lumberman, passed away April 1.

After attending Boise State Univer-

IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

(Continued from page 27) more autonomy and flexibility in how they do their jobs. Many managers succeed in positions similar to those they supervise so feel they know the “best and only way” to accomplish a task. However, allowing employees to experiment and find what works best for them gives them buy-in and could result in a more efficient and productive process.

• Provide regular job-skills training so employees know the latest expectations and work methods. Assist employees to develop job-related skills even if they are not traditionally associated with the position, such as learning a new language. Pay for employees’ licensing, certifications, professional development, and continuing education, asking them to share some of what they learn with others to multiply the return on investment.

• Develop objective performance management tools to have employees set SMART goals, document job expectations, and track their performance. Reward high-achievers with increases, promotions, and empowerment. Assist employees with potential by giving them more

sity, Jim started his 50-plus-year lumber industry career with Hoff Lumber Mill, Horseshoe Bend, Id., before moving on to Boise Cascade, Idaho Pacific Lumber, and BMC West. He spent the last 15 years of his career working for Franklin Building Supply, Boise.

David Franz William Ramos, 65, owner of J&D Lumber Services, Placentia, Ca., died March 18.

He entered the lumber industry in the late 1970s, working for yards in the Chino area before starting his own brokerage in 2004.

Dean Alan Martin, 56, lumber trader for BlueLinx, Englewood, Co., April 3 in Littleton, Co.

After graduating from high school in 1985, Dean followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the lumber industry. He began his career in 1984 working for Diamond Lumber Co.

frequent communication and training. Remove low-performers to eliminate the stress, burden, and toxicity that they can cause.

Making institutional changes takes a lot of work and is a long-term commitment which may involve disruptive decisions such as ending established practices or letting go of employees who do not fit the vision. Taking deliberate action to include all employees in the company’s journey will make them feel valued leading to higher engagement, productivity, and retention and will make your company more attractive to prospective employees, allowing you to develop a strong, successful workforce to represent and grow to your company now and in the future. MM

PAIGE McALLISTER

Paige McAllister, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is vice president for compliance with Affinity HR Group. Reach her at (877) 660-6400 or contact@ affinityhrgroup.com.

and, through a series of corporate acquisitions, would later work for BMC West, Boise Cascade, All-Coast Forest Products, Cedar Creek, and BlueLinx.

Lawrence Christopher “Larry” Powers, 94, formerly branch manager for the old O’Malley Building Materials, Nogales, Az., died March 12.

A 1st lieutenantt and communications officer in the U.S. Army, he fought in the Korean War.

Javier Oliva Gonzalez, 72, retired lumber salesman for J.D. Fields Lumber Co., Gardena, Ca., died of cancer on March 30.

John Michael “Mike” Gwartney, 82, retired vice president with Boise Cascade, Boise, Id., died March.

During high school, Mike worked in his grandparents’ hardware store and father’s welding shop. After receiving a degree in finance in 1963 from the University of Idaho-Moscow, he joined Boise Cascade, retiring in 1999 as vice president of human resources and labor relations.

Edwin Ochs Pohle, 88, formerly of Southern Lumber, San Jose, Ca., died Dec. 2, 2022.

Ed attended San Jose State University, then spent two years in the U.S. Army. After his discharge, Ed returned to SJSU to earn a bachelor’s degree in business in 1958. He worked in sales for FMC Corp., U.S. Steel, and the family lumber business—Southern Lumber—before entering the securities industry. He retired in 1996.

Shannon Patrick Jaeger, 73, co-owner of Madrid Inc., Pico Rivera, Ca., died Jan. 2.

A master woodcrafter, he earlier worked for Boyd Furniture, Commerce, Ca., from 1980 to 1995

Bruce Lipke, professor emeritus of University of Washington and founding director of CORRIM (Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials), died on Feb. 14. He was 89.

Bruce was one of two founding directors of CORRIM and served as its president for 14 years. A professor in UW’s College of Forest Resources, he also served as a director of the Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR) and the Rural Technology Initiative (RTI).

FLASHBACK: 1988 LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEES

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS ago, ads touting retailers would beat any price were everywhere. Merchant Magazine columnist Wally Lynch was not a fan, and argued against the policy in our May 1988 issue:

“The other day, the conversation turned to our industry’s currently in-vogue ‘Lowest price guarantees.’ Anyone who is anybody seems to have such an underwriting.

One recently published guarantee reads as follows:

Guaranteed Lowest Prices!

If any identical advertised item in any current legitimate ad is lower than our advertised price, we’ll slash 10% off their price; rain checks are not used.

Advertisements must state current retail price, specific manufacturer, and model number. Sorry, closeouts and clearances do not qualify.

Obviously the implementor of this policy is admitting and announcing that others might have lower prices. ‘Don’t worry, however, because our customers are always protected. Just be sure that the simple rules are obeyed and you’ll be better off with us.’

Can you imagine retailers like Sears, General Motors or McDonald’s jumping into this price demonstration gutter and the “me-tooism” depicted?

Let’s look at a customer wanting to believe and participate in such nonsense. The purchase considered is a $39.95 chrome, single-handle faucet. The first thing he has to do is to check everyone’s rules before deciding where to buy.

Next, he buys the faucet at the store offering the second lowest price; let’s say $39.95. He drives 20 miles to get the price, but nails the store for $4. If every retailer had the same price the same weekend, the customer could nail every merchandising operation in town.

With such guarantees you don’t necessarily have to catch someone higher priced that weekend. You can spend each weekend forevermore searching the newspapers for a legitimate lower price. Then you can drive 20 miles to get your $4 if you can locate someone to approve your claim and you happened to pick the right item to begin with. Just make sure that the manufacturer’s name and stock number are in the ad you are using to prove your point.

A full-page ad costs about $25,000 in the Los Angeles Times and it takes advertising in 28 newspapers to cover the

New York trading area. Can you imagine a retailer accommodating a competitor’s ‘lowest price guarantee’ at such costs?

The dealer contemplating this King-of-the-Price-Hill arena should be aware that no one, absolutely no one, can get all the business. Such policies demand challenging, no matter how ludicrous or costly they are, for no other reason than nuisance value by competing retailers.

There are positive ways to deal with competition. In the days before the computer did everything, the first thing you learned in retailing was to have a stack of pre-printed “as advertised” show cards on hand. Your assignment was to read competing ads daily and then, before the boss got in the next morning, mark the price for every identical or similar item in the store on a card and place it by the item. The customer and the store benefited in part from everyone’s ad.

A second way is to be sure that your staff takes money from each customer and lets him know he is appreciated in the process. Nothing will open your eyes to the significance of this more than testing it at your store and/or at a competitor’s.

Go into any department and stand there until a store employee comes up to try to get some money by selling you something. Get a stranger to do it in your store and you do it in someone else’s operation. You ‘II both spend lots of down time wondering.

Finally, value demonstrations to get people into the store go on daily and, on occasion, are loss leaders. But for the most part, one formula is to drop the price of the top of line to just above the best selling price point in the assortment. The value is obvious to the customer and leaves the merchant with some margin dollars when the sale is made.

Another method is to pass on the cost savings that suppliers intermittently provide to retailers on well-known best-selling items.

The trick is to keep your eye on the customer first and then your competitors.”

Wally Lynch Wally Lynch

The May 1988 front cover of The Merchant Magazine spotlighted GeorgiaPacific’s redwood lumber.

“Growing beyond measure.”