Prosales articles from August 2004

Prosales archives from August 2004

Add it up: if you're looking for the best networking and education in the industry, join us next month at the NLBMDA/PROSALES Industry Summit.(Editor's Notes)
August 1, 2004... Sometimes one plus one equals more than two. For example, in April PROSALES became the official publication of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA). This partnership of the industry's leading association and...

Book it.(Returns)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... Dear Rick Davis, Thank you very much for the copy of your book. I finally got around to reading it last Friday and I can't put it down. What a profound outlook on the truths of our industry and your idealisms are beyond excellent! You...

Award winner.(Returns)
August 1, 2004... PROSALES would like to congratulate contributing editor Pat Curry for winning a silver Award of Excellence for best feature article for the central-southeast region of the American Society of Business Publication Editors for "The Builder...

Elevating safety: NLBMDA'S "the forklift and you" operator training program is setting the stage for more fleet ops and safety programs.(Pro Watch)
August 1, 2004... James Schreiber is a forklift-video junkie. Over the years, the director of fleet operations and safety for San Francisco-based Building Materials Holding Corp. (BMHC) has seen them all. "I have a German video and it's the first day of an...

Tech trends: dealers leverage CAD to streamline the building process.(Pro Watch)
August 1, 2004... Building materials dealers are capitalizing on new features in computer-aided design (CAD) and related software programs to offer more automated services to contractors, who, as a result, are benefiting from having to make fewer decisions and...

Editor's product pick: flex-ability concepts.(Yard Notables)
August 1, 2004... Whenever a curved or radius header is required on a project, it either has to be custom-ordered (which can add cost or is built on the jobsite (and left untested for load-bearing strength and stability). But the makers of the Flex-C Trac...

Highley named Entrepreneur of the Year.(Yard Notables)
August 1, 2004... Thomas H. Highley, president and CE0 of molding and specialty millwork supplier The Empire Co., was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Western Michigan in the Business/Consumer Services category. Professional services firm...

Lamperts acquires two dealers.(Yard Notables)
August 1, 2004... St. Paul, Minn.-based Lampert Yards announced June 10 that it has acquired Sylvester Bros. Lumber in East Bethel, Minn., and West Metro Lumber in Corcoran, Minn. According to Lamperts president Daniel L. Fesler, the acquisitions will allow...

Beacon roofing hires senior vice president.(Yard Notables)
August 1, 2004... Roofing and building material distributor Beacon Roofing Supply has named Dick Lantz as senior vice president of sales and marketing. Lantz comes to Beacon from a long career at building products manufacturer Owens Corning, including most...

Western Red Cedar offers training.(Yard Notables)
August 1, 2004... The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association announced the launch of On-line Cedar School, a training resource that provides professionals throughout the supply chain with accessible and consistent information on key issues to the cedar business....

NAHB.
August 1, 2004... On June 30, NAHB increased its 2004 single-family and multifamily housing start forecast to 1.927 million, 91,000 more houses than forecast eight weeks earlier.

Kitchen Views, the Newton Center, Mass., showroom of Mansfield, Mass.-based National Lumber was featured on Discovery Home Channel's "House Lift".
August 1, 2004... Kitchen Views, the Newton Center, Mass., showroom of Mansfield, Mass.-based National Lumber, was featured on Discovery Home Channel's "House Lift" home renovation show in July.

Do it Best Corp.
August 1, 2004... Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op Do it Best Corp. has promoted hand tool product manager Michael Zadylak to global sourcing specialist, a new position designed to help identify and increase direct import opportunities from Asia. The company also...

SNE Enterprises.
August 1, 2004... Mosinee, Wis.-based SNE Enterprises named John Anderson national sales manager for Crestline Windows & Doors and Vetter Windows & Doors.

Merillat.
August 1, 2004... Adrian, Mich.-based cabinet manufacturer Merillat promoted John Czerwonka to group vice president of sales. Czerwonka previously served as west region managing director.

Save the date.(Yard Notables)(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... * Hanley Wood's JLC Live! / Sept. 15-17 / Columbus, Ohio/Oct. 29-30/Portland, Ore. Contact: 800.261.7769; www.jlclive.com * NLBMDA/PROSALES Industry Summit / Sept. 23-25 / The Breakers, Palm Beach, Fla. Contact: 800.634.8645;...

Learning curve: NLBMDA tackles industry training with new education committee.(NLBMDA Briefings)
August 1, 2004... The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association's (NLBMDA) newly formed Education Committee has set out on a mission to identify how the association can provide an education program to its membership that is cost effective,...

Behind the scenes.(NLBMDA Briefings)
August 1, 2004... NLBMDA would like to thank the individuals volunteering their time to the association's new Education Committee. They are: Jim Ayotte. NRLA; Gregg Brummer, BlueLinx; Doug Ford, Curtis Lumber; Donna George, Dunn Lumber; Tim Harris, Harris Ace...

In session: conference seminars aim to improve dealers' businesses.(NLBMDA Briefings)
August 1, 2004... 2004 NLBMDA/PROSALES Industry Summit The Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach, Fla. If you're like most lumber and building materials dealers, you are constantly looking for ways to increase your efficiency and improve your bottom line, and the 2004...

Mark your calendar.(NLBMDA Briefings)
August 1, 2004... Are you doing installed sales? Do you want to start? Join NLBMDA on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. EDT for "Reducing OSHA and Safety Liabilities for Installed Soles," a Training Without Travel teleconference, and ensure that your company is in...

NLBMDA advocacy corner.(NLBMDA Briefings)
August 1, 2004... Every Vote Counts. This November, voters in 34 states will elect U.S. Senators, and voters in all 50 states will choose U.S. Representatives and decide whether to reelect President George W. Bush. The Senate currently is comprised of 51...

Customer appreciation: you can never hear it enough: customer service is key.(New Dimensions)
August 1, 2004... I was having a conversation with a friend of mine. "I have more customers complain about me than I can count," he said, followed by, "And I'm sick and tired of retail customers." The only response I could think of was something like, "OK,...

Open for discussion: if you don't involve managers in the decision-making process, the lines of communication will become crossed.(Firing Line)
August 1, 2004... "What do you suppose he's doing?" Al asked me, studying Eric, the new hire. "Looks like he's standing around," I told him after taking a look. "That's what it looks like to me, too," Al said. Al shuffled his feet and adjusted his...

Tricks of the trade: it's never too late for a veteran salesperson to learn something new.(Sales Shorts)
August 1, 2004... They say you can't teach old dogs new Wicks. Fortunately for me, I get to work with people rather than animals. When Joe "Cat" Turner came into my office looking for a sales job, I have to admit, I was not all that impressed Especially when...

Command performance: to make powerful sales presentations, you need a carefully prepared and concise script.(Sell Sheet)
August 1, 2004... Making presentations may be a verbal skill, but it is not unlike writing a bestselling novel. To engage the audience, you need a detailed plot, an exciting ending, and an organized outline that breaks down the delivery of information into...

Grand openings: Kohl Building Products launches its Prosolution Center, the first in a series of larger showrooms catering to the specialty distributor's custom builders and remodelers in Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.(Profile)(Cover Story)
August 1, 2004... Kohl Building Products president Tom Kearse had one stipulation when he approved plans for a new showroom at the me-unit specialty distributor's Mechanicsburg, Pa., location: "I want to be wowed, but I want to stay within a budget," he told...

Office space.(Profile: Kohl Building Products)
August 1, 2004... Much like the projects they plan for their custom home builder and remodeler customers, Kohl Building Products' ProSolution Center uses a selection of vendor products to embrace a spirit of fashion and functionality in its own design. ...

Staying power: the key to finding and keeping the best employees is to develop a human resources culture that makes people feel appreciated and connected to the company.
August 1, 2004... After Donna George left her corporate human resources position at a bank with 24,000 employees to work for Dunn Lumber in Daytona Beach, Fla., she ran into her former mentor, who told her that she was "underachieving." After all, the...

Filling a void: an increase in infill housing projects provides new services and revenue opportunities for dealers.(Market Matters)
August 1, 2004... Take a drive through one of the older neighborhoods in your closest city's urban core and you might see something new... like a single-family house under construction, If you live in Jacksonville, Fla., for instance, you'd see 20 or more newly...

Changing rooms: kitchen cabinets may be the "showcase" pieces in today's homes, but cabinetry for other rooms of the house is a growing trend.(Product Monitor)
August 1, 2004... Although cabinetry will always be cost necessary in kitchens, builders are seeing increased demand for cabinetry installed throughout homes. Offering "other-room" cabinetry as an upgrade provides storage and increased value for homeowners,...

Blowing in the wall.(Product Monitor)
August 1, 2004... Spray-in-place insulation offers a variety of benefits, including competitive thermal performance and void-free cavities. Several manufacturers are adding spray-in insulation to their product lines, while others are improving their existing...

US technology.(Hot finds)
August 1, 2004... Made of 10 percent recycled thermoset high-strength plastic powder, SealTech Block architectural concrete masonry units have a non-porous, water-resistant surface. The blocks weigh 10 percent less than standard concrete masonry block while...

Finnforest USA.(Hot finds)
August 1, 2004... Finnforest Master Stair LVL Structural Stair Stringers are manufactured from tight-grained Finnish spruce and are designed to provide a cost-effective structural solution that minimizes waste. Available in lengths from 14 to 20 feet with a...

DriCore.(Hot finds)
August 1, 2004... Designed to manage moisture in basements and other below-grade rooms, the DRIcore engineered wood subflooring system combines a 2-foot-square engineered wood panel with a rigid, moisture-resistant polyethylene sheet with raised dimples. The...

Bostik Findley.(Hot finds)
August 1, 2004... Bostik GPS1 one-component moisture-cure sealant is designed to adhere to various roofing substrates and also can be used for general-purpose sealing of dissimilar substrates. The elastomeric urethane sealant has a low-odor, low-solvent formula....

Foster Products.(Hot finds)
August 1, 2004... Foster 42-42 Mold-Resistant Sealer is a fast-drying, water-resistant sealer that can he applied to construction materials such as trusses, studs, wallboard, plywood, plaster, cement blocks, and more to inhibit mold and mildew growth. The sealer...

Ultimate rewards: when backed with consistent quality and service, Loyalty Points programs and incentive perks can put a smile on your contractors' faces.(View From Big Building)
August 1, 2004... The grocery store next to my house is ancient. The building and product racks are about 50years-old and the parking lot is a nightmare. However, I like the employees who work there, I can't beat the location for stopping in on the way home from...