March 24, 2010

Advertisement

NEW EDITION: 21 WAYS TO A BETTER 2010, FROM BOISE CASCADE ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS Now available for Boise EWP dealers to hand out, the 2010 Boise Cascade Builder Idea Book for green, more profitable homebuilding. Included are multiple ways for your builder customers to profit with more efficient design, accurate estimating, elimination of wasteful cutting errors, less framing time, even the ability to accommodate last-minute plan changes profitably. Plus green building with SFI-certified, NAHB Green Approved, sustainable Boise Cascade Engineered Wood Products. Click here to download the free booklet or call 800-232-0788 for a supply of brochures.

ProSales Names 2010 Editors’ Choice Winners, Hot Finds from IBS

ProSales unveiled today its Editors’ Choice winners for 2010—the 15 products we liked most out of all the building materials introduced to the market over the past 12 months. The Editors’ Choice winners are:
• Quick Qurve Plates from Flex-Ability Concepts
• The Fiber-Classic Mahogany Collection of fiberglass doors from ThermaTru.
• The Bordeaux Line from Timberlake Cabinetry.
• Milwaukee’s Hackzall mini reciprocal saw and its motorized coppertubing cutter.
• Trex Transcend decking.
• Three reflective roofing products: Tamko Lamarite slate composite shingles, Owens Corning Duration Premium Cool asphalt roof shingles; and CertainTeed Landmark Solaris solar-reflecting asphalt shingles.
• Osmose MicroPro treated lumber.
• The Elements line of cabinets from Armstrong World Industries.
• Empire Level’s e100 digital level.
• Lenox T2 Technology reciprocal saw blades.
• Jeld-Wen’s Juniper Door collection.
• Ansell Ltd.’s Cut Protection Glove.
View Winners

Hot Finds from the International Builders’ Show. Those picks:
• Senco Fusion 15- and 18-gauge finish nailers.
• The newly refined tape gun for Huber Engineered Woods’ ZIP System of structural roof and wall sheathing.
• New designs for Simpson Door’s Mastermark line of exterior wood doors.
• Georgia-Pacific’s DryPly plywood subfloor.
• New colors for Tamko Lamarite slate composite shingles.
• Simpson Strong-Tie’s LSCZ connector.
• Tiger Claw’s Tiger Jaw tool for installing hidden deck fasteners.
• Perfect Products’ DoorSaver II door stop.
• The Push Out French Casement window in Marvin’s Ultimate Casement line.
• Clopay’s new line of fiberglass and steel entry doors.
• PGT’s 2200 Series vinyl windows.
• A new design for Schlage’s SecureKey locks.
• LifeTime Lumber decking.
• PowerBoost coating on Paslod’s 3- and 3-1/4 inch nails.
• Merillat’s CoreGuard, a new sink base cabinet.
View Hot Finds

Advertisement

Versatex Trimboard presents the Product brochure Versatex Trimboard now offers a product brochure that contains all trimboard products in one booklet for free. Thus making it easier for builders, architects and contractors to find products all in one source. It contains attractive product images, image ideas and The Advantages to using Versatex. Click here to download this free booklet or call 724.857.1111.

U.S. Lumber Demand To Rise 6.1% in '10--WWPA

U.S. demand for lumber will increase 6.1% this year to 32.9 billion board feet and another 9.7% in 2011 to reach 36.1 billion board feet, rebounding from 20-point declines the previous two years that left 2009 with the lowest production levels since World War II, the Western Wood Products Association forecast. The trade association based its outlook in part on expectations that housing starts will climb 11.9% this year to reach 618,000 and then rise another one-sixth in 2011 to 719,000 units.
More

Millman Unit Buys North Pacific's OH, IN Distro Center

A federal district judge in Oregon approved Millman Lumber Co.'s purchase of North Pacific's building material distribution facilities in Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis. The sale is part of the dismantling of North Pacific after the Oregon-based distributor defaulted on a $30 million debt.
More

Also in ProSales’ March/April Issue: Products News, Selling Tips, and More

• Pump Up the Volume--Sell a new product with both your head and your heart, experts advise. Here's how. Story
• Cheaper, Greener, More Focused—There was a notable decline in new product introductions over the past 18 months, but that looks to be over. Suppliers are focusing on three key trends. Story
• Delay Tactics—You might think your cuts in inventory didn’t do any harm to your business, but remodelers have noticed the change. Story
• Trust, But Verify—A new alliance created by regional LBM associations aims to help ensure that products can stand up to their claims. Story
• ProWatch: It Doesn’t Compute--Lots of dealers would dump their IT System, our survey finds, but others are happy. Story
• Build It Right: Installing Windows--It isn't rocket science, but installing windows requires a keen attention to detail and the use and sequence of the right components and practices. Follow Rich Binsacca’s 12-step guide to do it right. Story
• Dispatch: Ground Zero—Jim Enter believes the best way to create the perfect lumberyard is to start small … really small. Commentary
• Editor’s Notes: Tool Time--Success isn't just about stocking a product; it's about knowing that product, I argue in my latest commentary. And these days, that knowledge is more valuable–and marketable–than ever. Editorial
• Sell Sheet: Counter Revolution: The qualities that may best sell a new product can't always be found in its specs, Rick Davis says. Commentary
• New Dimensions: Trash Talk—Some sales pitches are so amateurish they get tossed out immediately, Mike Butts says. Are yours? Commentary
• My Yardsticks: Glenn Miller—His address may read Tempe, Ariz., but given the fights this dealer has survived, Tempe looks more like Tombstone. Profile
• Yard Notables--IRS Tax Breaks / US LBM Purchase / Stock Aims To Buy Dealer / 84 Lumber Sales Fall / More... Story

Advertisement
	Times are tough. How do you KNOW you've done all you can do to cut expenses and grow revenue? How do you KNOW your salaries are in line? Building Material Operations Comparison program, presented by the Regional LBM Associations. Cost: $200. Value: Priceless. Contact your state or regional association to participate.

Senator Urges EPA To Delay Lead Rule

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., urged the Environmental Protection Agency to delay the April 22 implementation date of a new rule intended to reduce the creation of lead dust when renovation occurs in homes built before 1978.
More

Ply Gem Swings to 4Q Operating Profit

Ply Gem Holdings swung to an operating profit of $12.1 million from a year-earlier $10.2 million loss in the fourth quarter even though sales for the maker of exterior building products dipped 8.5% to $214.6 million. For all 2009, operating earnings more than doubled to $40.1 million despite the 19% drop in net sales to $951.4 million.
More

WebbThreads

When the Mountain States Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association decides on a theme for its annual Expo, it commits to it wholeheartedly. Thus it was that visitors to this year’s MSLBMDA Expo were treated to “A Space Odyssey—The Sky’s the Limit.” Showing off their ray guns are MSLBMDA executive vice president Geri Adams, Diana Simpson of R/W Specialties, MSLBMDA field rep Larry Bujaci, and MSLBMDA office manager Melissa Lewis. “The Expo really was fun with high energy in the new venue that we were able to sell out,” Adams reports. “Everyone seemed to have a great time and our vendors were happy, which is always a real plus–I would have hated having to disintegrate anyone with my ray-gun.”
• One day after Huth Lumber closed up shop in Cottonwood Falls, Kan., it reopened as Shep’s Lumber and Hardware. Wichita, Kan., native Danny Shepard bought the facility.
• The corporate parent of White House (Tenn.) Home Center has filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of federal bankruptcy laws. The company plans to reorganize and re-emerge as a surplus warehouse with lumberyard and hardware store. Story
• Happy 100th anniversary to Gove Lumber Co. of Beverly, Mass. Sandy, Bruce and Barry Gove are the fourth generation of the same family to run this business.
• Britain’s Wolseley Plc, which held onto its North American lending group when it sold 51% of Stock Building Supply last year, reported that the lending arm recorded an operating loss of $4 million in the six-month period ended Jan. 31. Story
• The Sustainable Forestry Initiative has launched a petition drive urging the U.S. Green Building Council to change its credit for wood certification under the LEED program to include more than just wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. USGBC recently issued its third draft proposal setting standards for wood certification groups, and SFI didn’t like it. Story
• Also, SFI named Oregon state forester Marvin Brown as chair of SFI’s board of directors.
• Richard C. Post joined Wolf, the distributor, to serve as sales manager for New England and upstate New York.
• A lumberyard in Vancouver, British Columbia, has been temporarily closed after two of its employees were discovered illegally growing marijuana on the premises. Story

Industry/Product Briefs

• Fypon introduced the PVC Unassembled Column Wrap in an Economy Plain Style.
• Jeld-Wen unveiled a Builders Clad-Wood Sliding Patio Door that comes with optional blinds between the glass and Low-E glass with argon to increase energy efficiency.
• Activant Eagle has been validated Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) compliant by Trustwave. PA-DSS is the security standard set for software security vendors by the PCI SSC.
• Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors received the 2010 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award.
• Ply Gem introduced new energy efficient Ply Gem Windows Premium 1000 Series vinyl new construction and replacement windows for the western United States.
• DMSi staff, spurred in part by a two-for-one match by the company, have donated a total of $42,000 to relief efforts in Haiti.

Advertisement
	Subscribe to ProSales Magazine – for free. Every issue of ProSales magazine is packed with profiles of LBM dealers and distributors like you, the latest new products, sales techniques that really work, plus in-depth news and industry analysis you won't find anywhere else. Don’t miss a single issue -- apply now for your free subscription.

Do you have a question, a tip, or a sage piece of wisdom? Feel free to contact ProSales' editor, Craig Webb, at

And don't forget you can find previous ProSales Business Updates online!