California RedwoodrrIg2S

By R. F. Hammatt, Secraary-Manager California Redwood Association

The volume of Redrvood moved for the three-year period, 1923-1925, inclusive, was unsatisfactory. At the end of 1925, therefore. mills who are members of the California Redwood Association authorized a program of enlarged activity, a program which was to continue along certain carefully prepared lines for at least a three-year period.

The main objectives of this program were, first, to increase the volurne of business east of the Rockv Mountains. in order to rviden'markets and redistribute saies; and second, to maintain and increase Redwood's position in its home market-California.

There rvas included in this program a modest National Advertising campaign, with a ihoiough and carefully prepared direct-mail follow-up, having for its object the capitalization of our National Advertising by every retail lumber dealer in the United States who stocked Redwood. There rvas also included a co-ordinated effort to increase the sales efforts of individual Redrvood mills and an enlargement of Association activities along merchandising lines other than rvithin the fields of advertising and directmail efforts.

It rvas expected that major results u'ould not clearly be visible until after the expiration of the three-year period. It is, however, interesting to learn that definite and measurable results rvere obtained within that three-year period, as has been brought out by sumrnary made at the end of 1928, and. comparison betrveen the trvo three-year periods, 1923-7925, inclusive, and 1926 to 1928, inclusive.

Insofar as business east of the Rocky Mountains is concerned, the results were immediate and positive. "Eastern" business was increased by 23 per cent-over the three-year period, 1923-1925, inclusive-while the volume of building within that territory, and rvithin the period involved, increased less than half this amolrnt.

For California the results were negative rather than positive. Results showed, hor.vever, rvith amazing clearness that the tide of volume losses in California was stemmed: that volume of Redwood business for the three-year period, 19261928, was very much greater than was the corresponding volume of building.

The National Advertising conducted by the California Redwood Association at the behest of its member mills brought in, lvithin the three-year period, better than 7O,O0O direct inquiries. Ninety-four per cent (94%) of all the retail yards stocking Redwood throughout the United States "followed up" these prospects, names and addresses of whom were furnished to the retail yards at intervals of two weeks by the Association. And, at the end of the three year period, these retail yards reported to us that 6O/o' of those prospects, whose names rrye furnished to the yards. had actually bought Redwood through their local retail distributor.

During 1928 the activities of the California Redwood Association rvere bv no means confineC to National Advertis- ing; to co-operation with sales representatives of member companies; to co-operation with retail yards. Direct efforts rvere made to open nert' markets and. rvith the co-operation of the mills, one notable new outlet for Redwood was secured-an outlet involving the manufacture of structural grades and the use of Redwood in these grades for state and county highway timber structures.

Previous to 1928 the California Division of Highways had used Redr,vood but sparingly, and that only for minor purposes or for occasional structures located in the heart of the Redrvood belt. 'fhe reason for this, upon analysis, was obvious. Successfully to be used for this purpose timber must have far more uniform strength than may be found, in any species, rvithin the yard grades in which that species is commonly manufactured. Recognizing this fact, highrvay engineers in California as well as elselvhere, naturally confined their specifications to those species manufacturing recognized structural grades. And prior to the fall of 1928 structural grades in California Redwood rvere non-existent.

Starting with the premise that Redwood had sufficient inherent strength and had, in addition, unusual natural tlurabili.ty (a durabilitl' rvhicl-r is uniform throughout the entire cross section of every piece) the California Redwood Association took the inrtiative and, with the approval of its member mills and the co-operation of state and county highr,vay officials, there were developed practicable and rvorkable structural grades for Redr.vood.

These grades'were then brought to the attention of state and county highway engineers, and there resulted, rvithin the last three montl-rs ot 1928, a demand under which there rvas specified approximately 1,50O,000 feet of untreated but naturally durable Redr,r'ood for the use indicated.

This ner,v market was barely touched during 1928. It gives every promise of providing a real outlet for the product of the Redwood industry. Not only that but it carries rvith it, in the development of this market, the certainty that markets forlvood versus substitutes, rvithin the highrvay field, will be greatly widened.

Already, during the tirst half of 1929, orders have beefl placed rvith the Redwood mills for a larger amount of structtrral Redwood than was estimated, at the close of 1928, rvould be placed for the entire year ol l9D.

Another significant achievement for the Redwood industry may be credited to 1928: the estaltlishment of a "Department of Inspection and Grades" operated directly under the California Red.ivood Association, employing only experienced and competent inspectors, and engaged in the work of inspecting, at the mills, all orders for structural Redrvood, orders for Government material, and such other orders for lvl-rich mill inspection is demanded. It is entirely probable that, during 7929, the scope of the rvork of the Department of Inspection and Grades and the services r,vhich it may render to retail yards and to users of Red'rvood. may verv materially be increased.