Millwork Situation in Northern California

By H. W. Gaetjen, President and Manager Empire Planing Mill, San Francisco

The milhvork situation in the Northern section of California, I have found after a careful sllrvey, to be practically the same throughout; individuals,-in some portions seem to think that thdir conditions are difierent and harder than olh.tr, but this is not true, because competition- in this rvhole section right now is very keen, everyone being anxious to land orders.

Cutting and slashing prices, as i-" being. done norv, does not create more business; and taking orders at or belolv cost to create volume will not produce profits'

In the Bay Counties in 1926 *e *e.e handicappe9 Fy Jh: carpenters' .ttik". When this was settled we had looked forward to better business in 1927, but so far this year the volume of millwork business is belorv that of 1926, and' at a lorver price; so you can. readily see how the operating statements are going to read.

However, within the last month there has treen a noticeable increase and I believe that the balance of the year may be up nearly to our previous expectations.

In canvassing the architects, they are optimistic and all seem to have some work in Progress.

There seems to be plenty of money in the banks, but at Dresent they are oltei cauiious with their loans, which is iue, naturaily, to the many vacancies in flats and apartments, and the number of unsold homes.

Collections in general are very slow, .and it seems that the Millman is a--bout the last one to be paid; everyone seems to think the Millman can wait; they do not seem to realize that millwork is a combination of lumber plus labor, both of which must be paid for immediately.

I am pleased to read that the lumber industry- is to start an advertising compaign to sing the praises of wood. I sreater possibilities. A united lumber industry under the Bunr,.. of Uoo Hoo could be of great political and economic value to further legislation favorablC to our industry' It could further the sile of rvood products through thinking rvood and advocating wood products. "Nation's Business" cites: "What good is a trade association? Good enough to delav the salJof Dodge Brothers to Dillon Read & Company until the bankeri could be assured that membership in the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce could be transferred at once from the old company to the new one. To make that change certain, a hurried meeting o{ the directors of the Automobile Chamber was held in Buffalo at the home of Ah'an Maculey, president of the Packard, who was ill in bed. In fifteen minutes the thing was setiled, and the negotiations were on their way ag{1' Big things are trade issociations and growing bigger' Oil, do hope that the milhvork industry rvill j.oin h-ands. rvith them, because, as has been truly said, the millwork industry is the largest single outlet for lumber. gas and coal are fighting for the job-o! heating the country. Electric refrigeration and ice are fighting for-the job of cooling it. Wood and sheet steel, cement and structural steel ire at grips, white lumber and lumber suubstitutes are calling out the reserves."

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The encroachment of wood substitutes and of the specialty manufacturers are making a serious problem -for the planing mills. In the Past rnost of the work rvas let to a ntitt ai a full mill bid, but now it is being split up. This, I believe, is a detriment to the game and also to the contractor if he is sincere rvith himself, because anyone can realize a condition of three or four millmen on the same job, one passing the buck to the other whe-n things are. not iight, atrh the lontractor is paying for. the loss of time. Separation of millwork makes an unbalanced plant.

I am glad to say that through the medium of the Millrvork In-stitute of- California, the mill-owners have been brought closer together and that most of them in this section ire now usin-g a uniform system of accounting, which means all talking the same language in discussing costs, etc.

Group composite statements are now being made and sent to the niembers so that they can analyze them and compare them with their individual statements. Such cold facti, as seeing figures in the red, rvill naturally make prodtrcers realize that they cannot sell below cost.

I feel that the term "Milhvork" should be changed to "Building Woodwork," so that anyone rvill then know that the froducts of a planing mill are more than just planing and ripping lumber.

I am glad of this opportunity of expressing a f ew thoughts through your valuable journal, kno-wing that it will "reach a great- number of lumber manufacturers and users.

I say that the lumber executive and most particu-larly the manufacturer who does not see the value of Hoo Hoo and better still who does not make it his business to make Hoo Hoo serve this end is alone worthy of the condemnation that this cartoon in the Saturday Evening Post portrays'

Let us endeavor during the coming year to increase the scope of our activities and make our goal a united lumber industry. Joseph Cailyo, former Premier of France,-in an article btt hi" iemediei for the European chaos, adopted Beniamin Franklin's slogan in uniting the colonies, "IJn-ite or die-" Like Cailyo I believe this advice is still adaptable to us.