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lN ATTENDANCE at the recent spring meetings of the Southern Forest Products Association and the Southern Pine Council at the Peabody Hotel, Memphis, Tn. (left to right): (1) Steven Anthony, Clary Anthony, Jr. (2) Gayle Barns, Clayton Barns. (3) Jeremy Plaisance, Richard Kleiner, Jim Loy, Nancy Loy, Eric Gee. (a) Nan Jones, Ross Lampe, James Malphrus, Tom Jones. (5) Brian Greber, Pat Patranella, David Kellam, Mike Warren. (6) Ken Kellums. (7) Jane Yancey, Dick Yancey, Jr., Rich Gouldin, Jr. (8) King Cole, Alex Hopkins. (9) Mike George, Cathy Marx, Tarun Bhatia. (10) Harry Hardin, Lany Lewis, Joe Henley. (11) Dave Mason, Doug Burgin, Jeff Easterling. (12)Jim Kaake, Kelly McCloskey. (13) Tami Kessler, Carolyn Moynan, Ewell Smith. (14) Elaine Galt, Ed Galt. (15)Tom Rice, EthelRice. (16)Joe Elder, Cindy Barsalou, Randy Barsalou. (17)Vicki O'Neill, Buddy Klumb. (18) Clif Jones, Rick Warner.
Kevin Rooney, ex-Trus Joist Corp., is new to engineered wood products sales at Willamette Industries, Inc., Ruston, La. Rick Larkin is a new wildlife biologist.
Ron Brill, executive v.p. and chief administration officer, Home Depot Inc., Atlanta, Ga., plans to retire March 2001. He has been with Depot since 1978. Mark Baker has been appointed executive v.p. and chief operating officer. Lynn Martineau, Western division group president, succeeds him as group president-MidSouthern divisions.
Richard Boorman has joined Burk Lumber Sales, San Antonio, Tx., and is promoting the TimberTech line.
Brad Pender, ex-Hawkins Lumber Co., has been appointed sales mgr. of Diversified Wood Products, Mobile, Al.
Larry Tubbs has been appointed v.p., national sales & marketing for Conner Industries, Inc., Fort Worth, Tx. A former l}-l/2-year employee, he rejoined the firm after a three-year absence.
Frederick Patton "Pat" Douglas, Mayfair Window & Door Co., L.P., Lafayette, La., has been named eastern regional sales mgr., responsible for sales east of the Mississippi River.
Robert Ostrov has been appointed chief administrative officer and general counsel of TruServ Corp., in charge of the legal and human resources departments.
Jack Holshue is store mgr. of the new Home Depot in Hendersonville, N.C. At the new store in Waco. Tx.. Neal Brown is store mgr., Jim Fau co-mgr., and Jason Stallings and Rowdy McMurray are sales associates.
Alan Davenport, ex-Wickes and 84 Lumber, has been named v.p. of national sales and marketing for Builders FirstSource, Dallas, Tx. Lora Kellogg has been promoted to v.p. of marketing at Scotty's, Winter Haven, Fl. Mary Middleton has been promoted to buyer of home fashions.
Theresa Anderson has been promoted to senior v.p.-operations & merchandising support for Lowe's Cos., North Wilkesboro, N.C. Thomas O'Malley, Tosco, has been elected to the board.
D. Ray Ball, Jr., president, Ball Homes, has been appointed to the board of DlYonline.com, Lexington, Ky.
Jim Roe has joined 84 Lumber, Morehead, Ky., as mgr. trainee. Loretta Armstrong and Shelia Tyler are cashiers at the new store in Dickson, Tn.
Robert D. Rudow has been named v.p. of sales & marketing for Egarden.com, Raleigh, N.C.
Scott H. Muse has been named president and ceo of Lighting Corp. of America, Spartanburg, S.C.
Craig A. Hindman, DuoFast, has been elected chairman of the board for the International Staple, Nail and Tool Association. Mark Kania, ISM Fastening Systems, was elected vice chairman. Other elected committee chairman: Henry Schniedermeir, Paslode, technology committee; Anthony Muto, Senco, legislative and legal advisory, and BiffRoberts, Senco, public relations.
Richard B. Witaszak, ex-executive v.p. and chief financial officer, Fred's Inc., has been appointed senior v.p. and chief financial officer of Payless Cashways, Inc., succeeding Raymond P. Springer, who departed in December to join an Internet start-up company.
Carl Spencer, Gulf States Paper Co., Moundville. Al.. was named Best Overall Grader at a recent grading contest sponsored by Hood Industries, Waynesboro, Ms., and Timber Products Inspection, Conyers, Ga. Jasper Lumber Co., Jasper, Al., won Best Overall Team. Other winners: written testdimension: Eddie Gurganus, Jasper Lumber, l st; John Burroughs, Jasper Lumber, 2nd; Ben Fuller, East Alabama Lumber Co., Lafayette, Al., 3rd; visual testdimension: Spencer, lst; Greg Arnold, Hood Industries, 2nd; Daryl Stevens, Hood Industries, 3rd; visual test-wide dimension: Larry Smith, Hazelhurst Lumber Co., Hazelhurst, Ms., lst; Spencer, 2nd, and Eddie Waller, Gulf States Paper Co., 3rd.
Mitch Crews, Woodstock Mills, Scottsdale, Ky., was elected president of the Kentucky Forest Industries Association, Frankfort Ky. Alan Richardson, Wayne Dry Kilns, Monticello, is now v.p., and Dean Carter is secretary/treasurer. Directors: Carl Dickerson, Dickerson Lumber Co., Glasgow; Joe Fields, Fields-Ashby Lumber Co., Fulton; Tom Broadfoot, Westvaco, Wickliffe, and James Wells, Greentree Forest Products Inc., Wrallingford. Shelia Rush, Graham & Hammer Lumber Co., Hestand, was named Outstanding Communicator of the Year.
Rich Margosian has resigned as president of the Composite Panel Association after 15 years with the group, the last six as president.
Byron Potter, president and ceo, DW Wholesale, DeSoto, Tx., has been elected chairman of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. Tim Dunlap was elected secretary/treasurer to the executive board of Associated Building Material Distributors of America, Inc.
Jim Bosler is a new product specialist at InCom Distributor Supply.
Steve Tyahla is the new chairman of the board of the Lumbermens Credit Association, Inc., publishers of the Red Book. David Tyahla is now executive v.p. Ryan Jarrett Broome, receiving supervisor, Lowe's, Valdosta, Ga., wed Frances Stephanie Gupton Jan.29 in Valdosta, followed by a honeymoon in London and Paris. Maude Lynn is preparing a dramatic reading for the annual company picnic at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.
Where Single D-l-Yers Mingle
Whether one credits like-minded shoppers, store ambiance or the chain's free building and renovation courses, Home Depot is scoring a cupid's bulls-eye with singles nationwide.
Stories of love and romance found amid lumber and hardware are being reported from Depots nationwide, according to the New YorkTimes.
In Wilkins Township, Pa., for instance, one middle-aged Depot shopper got down on bended knee to propose to his girlfriend, whom he had met the year before in that very same store. Choking back tears of joy, the woman accepted, much to the delight of store employees and shoppers who cheered the happy coupleto-be.
The chain was even voted one of the Top 10 places to meet men by the readers of Delaware Today magazine, some of whom said the home improvement giants are particularly "single-friendly" because they attract other common-minded souls.
According to one shopper, "You couldn't find a better place to meet someone you have something in common with."
Ace Pushes Standardized Operations
In an attempt to boost its market share and stem competition, Ace Hardware Corp. plans to overhaul its strategic practices.
Dubbed "Vision 21," the program entails participating Ace stores to adopt standardized operating and merchandising procedures based on practices at the chain's most profitable units.
"The foundation of this program is to foster and ensure that certain characteristics o[ Ace stores are consistent so that all of our customers enjoy the optimum retail experience no matter what Ace store they visit," said David Hodnik, president and ceo. "In addi- tion, having similar processes and technologies among all Ace retailers means that our owners can focus on the customer rather than developing administrative practices."
The Oak Brook, Il.-based buying group estimated its market share of the home-improvement industry to be roughly 87o, almost identical as in 1989.
Conversely, in that same period, Home Depot and Lowe's Cos. have increased their market share to 30%.
"If we wait too much longer, we'll be facing retirement as a business model," Hodnik observed.
More Lumber In Your Futures?
Hoping to provide another tool for hedging the price risk of buying lumber, the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange is considering adding contracts for the North American lumber
Termite Conference
A conference about building homes and other structures to resist Formosan termite invasion will be held May 3l-June I at the Radisson Hotel, Baton Rogue, La.
Hosted by the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the conference will include information about the pest and its habits. Instructions about how to renovate existing structures to resist the insect will also be discussed.
"This particular termite is not only voracious, but it is sneaky," said LSU AgCenter entomologist Dr. Dennis Ring. "It is difficult to detect until it has wreaked considerable damage. It is difficult to get rid of."
The Formosan termite first came to the U.S. in the 1940s and has now spread throughout the southeastern states and west to California.
industry.
The Exchange is working with C.C. Crow Publications to study the feasibility of offering derivative, nonagricultural "products which are relevant to the lumber industry and regionally based," said Terry James, chairperson of the new product development committee.
Portland, Or.-based market reporter Crows is surveying industry firms to gather input to be used in designing the contracts. Currently, the nonprofit WCE, Canada's only agricultural futures and options exchange, offers futures contracts on oats and field peas, as well as both futures and options contracts on canola, flaxseed, feed wheat and western barlev.
Cypress Plant Making Grade
Elder Forest Products, Crowley, La., has revised the names of various grades under which the firm ships its cypress lumber, according to owner Donald Elder.
"If one studies current grading rules covering cypress lumber, they will quickly see that current grades as written are simply not suitable, in many instances, for remanufacturing/processing products for home construction, remodeling, commercial or architectural use," said Elder. "Some grades were completely eliminated from the rules book, among other changes. We offer not just a piece of cypress lumber, but are doing our dead level best to offer a complete program."
Elder said that his olant must have the raw material to produce a wide range of products.
"When our products go out the gate they are unique because we guarantee everything to be 100% usable," he said. "Current grades and their names are not representative of our products. We developed a set of 'finished product' rules and the result has been on trial for several months, and now we have decided to go all the way."
As an example of how the plant's grades are different, Elder said, "As written in the rules, when applied to our bevel and bungalow sidings, the Selects & Better grade is fully two grades lower than our new C2F (clear two face) grade. When relating this same grade to S4S stock, our new Cabinet & Finish Grade S4S is one grade higher."
He said that customers in need of cypress that is clear on one face for paneling or wainscot pattern can use the new CIF (clear one face). "Our new Quality takes the place of the #1 and #2 Common rule book grades for patterns that may contain knots," he added.
The final two new grades are Yard Grade for patio, nursery, agricultural and fence work, and the Dex grade for covering 2" roof decking.
Hit The Road, Jack!
Federal officials have proposed rules that will close some existing forest roads and make it tougher to build new ones.
Reportedly, over 380,000 miles of roads wind through national forest lands, mostly in California and the West. Of these, only 20Vo can be maintained, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which said the majority of the roads are crumbled and causing environmental damage.
While the Clinton Administration issued a moratorium last year on building roads on 50 million acres of roadless national forest land. a final decision on how much land will remain roadless is expected later this year.
The new regulations emphasize maintenance and reconstruction of existing roads rather than new ones, said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, much to the delight of environmentalists.
Loggers, on the other hand, claim the proposals are helping to run them off federal land.
Top Builders Forego Old Growth
Under seige by environmentalists, two of the nation's largest home builders, Kaufman & Broad and Centex Corp., agreed to phase out the use of old growth wood products.
After convincing retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's to agree to stop selling old growth, enviro groups such as the Rainforest Action Network identified home builders as their next target. Protesters at the International Builders Show in January threatened to begin demonstrations at Kaufman & Broad and Centex new home developments across the country if within two months the firms didn't give in.
Updated Industry Reference Books
A pair of North American softwood forest products industry reference guides are available from Random Lengths.
The 2000 Big Book contains addresses, phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses and Web site information of over 8,100 U.S. and Canadian softwood firms, including 3 I,000 key personnel.
The Yearboo,ft provides 11-year price histories of over 200 lumber and panel products, housing starts for 19691999, interest rates from 1995-1999,1 1-year price histories of North American exports and shipping volumes by species and destination.
The Big Book is $219.95 and the Yearbook costs $42.9s.
Proper Phone Etiquette
Ever wondered if you or your staff are communicating effectively with your customers on the phone?
The following guidelines from Wells Fargo Bank can help make any customer call a success:
(1) Answer the phone by the third ring, greet the caller and offer your firm's name plus your own.
(2) Give the caller your undivided attention by listening carefully before asking them how you can help.
(3) When placing a caller on hold, be sure to explain why you need to do so, give an estimated time and ask for permission. Make sure they agree to wait too!
(4) Limit the number of people a caller must speak to by training your staff to answer any question-from a product inquiry to order status.
(5) If the caller requests to speak with someone who is unavailable, ask how you can help. If you must take a message, estimate when the message will be returned.
(6) When concluding the call, repeat any actions you are going to take for the caller and ask if you can help in any other way. If not, thank the caller, and let him or her hang up first.
American D-l-Yers Not $hy
American home improvement budgets average $2,888, a 57a gain over 1999, according to the American Express Retail Index.
Of 1,000 surveyed homeowners, '197o said they plan to pay for their projects with cash, up from 69Vo last year; l57o wtll finance the work using tax refunds, whlle l3%o will use credit cards.
Consolidations Create Giants
The rapid number of worldwide consolidations has quickly changed the ranking of global lumber companies, according to Wood Markets.
Consequently, U.S. companies are being displaced as the world's largest and most dominant lumber producers.
Weyerhaeuser improved its lead as the world's largest softwood lumber producer in 1999 by acquiring MacMillan Bloedel, increasing capacity ro more than 5.5 billion bd. ft.
After Big W come five tightly grouped firms with capacity ratings between 2.55 and 2.7 billion bd. ft.
The proposed UPM-Kymmene/Champion International merger finished second with 2.7 billion bd. ft., followed by StoraEnso of Finland whose acquisition of Austria-based Schwieghofer enabled the firm to produce roughly 2.7 billion bd. ft.
Georgia-Pacific Corp. came in fourth with 2.65 billion bd. ft., and Canfor Corp. surged into fifth place with 2.55 billion bd. ft., thanks to its late-1999 purchase of British Columbia's Northwood.
International Paper rounded out the top six, with 2.55 billion bd. ft.
Ace Ups Conservation Effofts
In the wake of the recent 30th anniversary of Earth Day, Ace Hardware has stepped up its ongoing Conservation Initiative.
Efforts include national retailer advertising and merchandising support, promotional events, and customer recycling programs to help retailers sell d-i-y products that reduce energy and water consumption or are made of recycled or less toxic materials.
According to retail merchandising mgr. Jimmy Alexander, "We've adopted the Earth Day motto of 'Shop Ace and Make Our World a Better Place' to let our customers know that many of the d-i-y products on the Ace retail shelves can help them save natural resources and money and protect our planet for the future."
Last year, for example, Ace's recycling program collected I I,000 lbs. of rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries, salvaging over 2,000 lbs. of toxic-heavy cadmium. A similar program to reclaim mercury by recycling fluorescent lamps is expected to expand nationwide by next year.
Among other programs: o Ace Kids Club features conservation projects; o Helpful Hardware Club for Ace customers has special conservation product buys and articles on conservation in its consumer magazine; o Monthly retail end-caps offer conservation item selections, and o Conservation-related products are highlighted in national circulars.
Atlanta is 1999's Permit Champ
To quote the old Frank Sinatra song, 1999 was a "very good year" for building permits, particularly in Atlanta, Ga., according to U.S. Housing Markets. The 10 metropolitan areas with the most singlefamily home construction permits last year were:
(l) Atlanta, Ga.
(2) Phoenix, Az.
(3) Chicago,Il.
(4) Washington, D.C. 28,529
(5) Dallas, Tx.
(6) Houston, Tx.
(7) Las Vegas, Nv.
(8) Riverside, Ca.
(9) Minneapolis, Mn. 18,319
(10) Charlotte, N.C.
U.S. To Produce Europallets
Shippers of goods to Europe, take note: Europallets may now be produced and repaired in the U.S., according to the European Pallet Association.
Measuring the standard 800mm x l200mm, the nine block Europallet is used throughout Europe and designated by the EUR marking.
Ready Europallet availability will help U.S. exporters and their customers comply with European environmental laws and avoid costly packaging taxes.
