November 2011 Table of Contents

Our annual celebration of achievements in technology, marketing, and facility design highlights three grand prize winners and five merit award recipients worth emulating. Read more

The quoting process at Florida's Raymond Building Supply used to be slow and messy, and it often left employees in the dark. Read more

A proposal by the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB) to reduce certain load values of Southern pine by as much as one-third will face a second hearing on Jan. 5. If approved then, some fear the change could lead to stoppage or delays of scheduled projects, re-designs of current projects, and a reduction in the value of dealers' Southern pine inventories. Others say those claims are overblown. Read more

Everyone wants to be noticed, and being listed on the "find a dealer" service of a manufacturer's website can be a great way to bring in business. But some dealers are discovering it's much harder to place their names on vendors' websites than they had expected. Read more

Brandon Smith is everywhere for Potter's Ace Home Centers, a 19-store operation based in a town of just 2,000 people on the Cumberland Plateau. Not only is he the spokesman in the company's television and radio commercials, but he visits all of the company's locations every two weeks. Read more

Deck pros share 10 railing design tips to take your customers' decks to a higher level Read more