Prosales articles from January 2005

Prosales archives from January 2005

OSI Sealants: a seamless partnership with dealers.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... OSI Sealants Inc. is a leading manufacturer of caulks, sealants, adhesives and wood patching products with more than four decades of experience in developing and supplying the highest quality products. Professional builders across North America...

Fresh perspectives: from our Dealer of the Year to our new design, we honor 2005 as a year of positive change.(Editor's Notes)
January 1, 2005... January is always one of my favorite issues of PROSALES to produce because it marks the start of another exciting year and serves as the platform to announce our Dealer of the Year. And this year it's been even more rewarding than usual because...

Excellent award.(Returns)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... We have been very impressed with your PROSALES Excellence Awards over the past three years and always look forward to reading about the innovators in our industry each November. Now that we have actually received one of the Awards, I can tell...

Calendar.(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... Orgill Spring Market / Feb. 800.347.2860; www.orgill.com... Northwestern Lumber Assoc. Iowa Lumber Convention / March 3-4 / Des Moines, Iowa / Contact: 800.331.0193; www.nlassn.org.... ENAP Annual Meeting and Tradeshow / March 3-5 / Nashville,...

Under fire: litigation sparks call for investigation of insurance broker fees.(ProWatch)
January 1, 2005... The insurance industry was hit with a blow in October when allegations of bid-rigging and kickbacks surfaced. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a state civil lawsuit against Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world's largest insurance...

Smarter buying through software: Big Buck Lumber boosts accuracy and efficiency with an automated lumber pricing system.(Tech Trends)
January 1, 2005... At one time or another, most commodities buyers have been frustrated with the inefficiency and lack of precision inherent in manually gathering lumber price and availability information, negotiating prices, and closing deals. Four years ago, it...

Fun in the sun: heading to the 2005 International Builders' Show in Florida? Check out our guide to some of the products and programs you'll find at the year's premier home building event.(ProWatch)
January 1, 2005... It may still be the deep freeze of winter for many dealers, but in Orlando, Fla., builders and dealers alike will be basking in the sun and the promise of increased sales at the 2005 International Builders' Show, Jan. 13-16. This year's show...

Timberlake Cabinet Co.(Editor's Product Pick)
January 1, 2005... The Void Door Cabinet option allows builders to create bookcases and cabinets for open storage of kitchen wares, collectible& media, and books, sans doors. Accent moldings give the open cabinets a finished look as well as a touch of...

Huttig buys Texas Wholesale.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... Huttig Building Products announced it has signed a letter of intent to purchase Dallas-based Texas Wholesale for $16.5 million. The move will provide the St. Louis-based millwork and building materials supplier with its first full line...

Strober acquires Moore's.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... Brooklyn, N.Y.-based pro dealer The Strober Organization announced on Nov. 8 that it has acquired Moore's Lumber and Building Supplies, a 19-yard dealer based in Roanoke, Va. Moore's had 2003 sales of $185 million. "The acquisition of...

LACN inducts officers, distributes awards.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... During its annual convention in San Francisco, Nov. 4-6, the Lumber Association of California and Nevada (LACN) inducted its new officers: Greg Moss of Moss Lumber Co. in Redding, Calif., is the new president; first vice president is Jim Taft...

Style Solutions acquires Fypon, SBR buys Dixie-Pacific.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... On Nov. 12, Archbold, Ohio-based millwork manufacturer Style Solutions announced the purchase of its competitor Seven Valleys, Pa.-based Fypon. "When it comes to product awareness, the Fypon name has a leading edge. Style Solutions is known for...

BMHC keeps rolling.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... Already coming off of a second quarter that saw its most lucrative financial performance to date, San Francisco-based pro dealer and construction services firm Building Materials Holding Corp. (BMHC) again reported record-breaking quarterly...

AZEK[R] Trimboards salutes Curtis Lumber.(Dealer of the Year)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... AZEK[R] Trimboards congratulates Curtis Lumber and its employees on being named PROSALES Magazine's "Dealer of the Year." Curtis Lumber, with its main office in Ballston Spa, NY, is a unique lumber chain, still family owned and operated after...

84 Lumber exceeds $3 billion sales mark.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... Beating its 2003 sales record of $2.65 billion, Eighty-Four, Pa.-based building materials supplier 84 Lumber set a new company record of $3.2 billion for 2004, solely reflecting its store sales. The company has exceeded its record sales for 11...

Carter Lumber opens wall panel plant.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... Kent, Ohio-based Carter Lumber opened a wall panel plant in Salem, Ohio, in December. Carter Woodcraft Salem provides wall panels in 17- and 20-foot lengths at a maximum of 10 feet 3 inches high. Custom-built sizes also will be available. The...

Hancock Lumber applauded for public service.(Yard Notables)
January 1, 2005... Casco, Maine.-based Hancock Lumber was recently named Donor of the Month by Camp Sunshine, a Casco-based resort providing week-long, free-of-charge retreats for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Following a September...

Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC).
January 1, 2005... Bill Hayward, president, CEO, and chief sustainability officer of Monterey, Calif.-based Hayward Lumber, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC) the council announced in its newsletter. Hayward...

Habitat for Humanity International.
January 1, 2005... Paul Leonard becomes the new CEO of Americus, Ga.-based Habitat for Humanity International. He replaces Millard Fuller who will remain on board as the founder president.

Lafarge North America.
January 1, 2005... Herndon, Va.-based construction material supplier Lafarge North America announced a $75 million upgrade of its gypsum drywall plant to be completed in 2006. The expansion will double the plant's capacity.

Wood Truss Council of America (WTCA).
January 1, 2005... Madison, Wis.-based Wood Truss Council of America (WTCA) inducted Richard Brown, president of Oxford, Ga.-based Truss Systems, and Andy Schwitter, president and CEO of Truswal Systems Corp. in Arlington, Texas, into its Hall of Fame. Inductees...

Emery-Waterhouse.
January 1, 2005... Emery-Waterhouse, a Portland, Maine-based hardlines distributor, has created a new position, director of pro sales, to enhance service to retailers supplying professional contractors. The position will be filled by Craig Wetmore, an 11-year...

Talent pool: dedicated dealers and active manufacturers and services members create an ideal industry partnership.(NLBMDA Briefings)
January 1, 2005... Every once in a while within lucky associations, a member will surface who has a tremendous amount of talent, knowledge, enthusiasm, and, more importantly, is willing to share his or her wisdom with others. The National Lumber and Building...

Calling all vendors: attention vendors! Opportunity is knocking. Don't miss it.(NLBMDA Briefings)
January 1, 2005... In this period of rapid industry change, lumber dealers face many of the same challenges and opportunities whether they are small independents, regional chains, or national in scope. We, as manufacturer and service providers, can better...

Perfect execution: beating the competition can be easy if you commit to excellence and deliver on your promises.(New Dimensions)
January 1, 2005... A good friend of mine, Casey Voorhees of the Western Building Material Association, begins some of his training sessions with the following advice: To beat 80 percent of your competition, simply show up. To beat 85 percent, show up on time. To...

Huttig Building Products: constructive solutions since 1885.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... With 120 years of service spanning three centuries, Huttig Building Products is established as a leading supplier of millwork and building materials to pro dealers. From humble beginnings as a sawmill operation to a modern corporation with 43...

A market-based approach to sustained profitability.(Huttig Building Products)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Since 2003, Huttig Building Products has made dramatic changes to enable closer, market-driven relationships with its more than 10,000 dealer customers. By adding locations and capacity, serving new markets, introducing a broader range of...

Moving forward as partners in success.(Huttig Building Products)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Huttig Building Products is already the only national wholesale distributor of both millwork and building materials focused on pro dealers. But that doesn't satisfy, Huttig. To build on its mutual success and profitability, Huttig is adding...

Join us.(Huttig Building Products)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Throughout its long history and into the 21st century, Huttig Building Products continues to respond to the needs of its dealer customers, helping them grow profits in an increasingly competitive industry. Huttig's goal is to supply...

Speaking words of wisdom ... Your business philosophy should acknowledge that you can't satisfy every customer.(Firing Line)
January 1, 2005... Question: What Beatles song describes the following situation? Mike is a customer of ours who works exclusively in our market area. Here is a list of things Mike doesn't like about our lumberyard: * The location of the framing lumber...

Analysis paralysis: technology and software are giving us more operations data than ever before. Get organized and establish parameters to avoid information overload.(Dispatch)
January 1, 2005... Today's information technology (IT) systems are capable of providing LBM dealers and other construction businesses with more information than we ever dreamed of. At the touch of a button, we can look at sales, margins by item, margins by...

Personal touch: great sales managers create powerful sales environments by developing individual coaching relationships.(Sell Sheet)
January 1, 2005... If there is anything in today's business environment that is harder to find than quality salespeople, ii Ls a wealth of sales management skills. Sales managers throughout the country express frustration about the performance of their sales...

Integrity[R] posts strong growth for PA lumberyard.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Moyer Lumber & Hardware is an "old fashioned" lumberyard. With 90 percent of their business generated from trade-oriented customers, Moyer specializes in windows and doors and lumber packages. "What keeps our business strong is the fact...

Always on the move: never setting for second-best, Curtis Lumber continues its track record of success by pushing the pro dealer limits of customer, corporate, and industry investment and stewardship.(2004 Dealer of the Year)(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... It's not easy beating Jay Curtis to work in the morning. The president of Ballston Spa, N.Y.-based Curtis Lumber--now 18 units strong with the November 2004 acquisition of seven-yard competitor Webb and Sons--has usually already scanned his...

Expanding options: as the insurance market shows some signs of softening, dealers will be able to control inflated costs and obtain better coverage if they address the critical elements that policy writers evaluate.
January 1, 2005... Brad Eiffert wasn't quite sure he'd heard the insurance reps correctly. After years of scrambling to find liability and workers' compensation coverage, the vice president and co-owner of Boone County Lumber Co., a single-location dealer with 35...

Component craze: once a high-risk, untested alternative to stick-framing, components are now near-necessities to many a builder's--and dealer's--profitability.(Market Matters)
January 1, 2005... Even if you could find it on a map, Mead, Neb., (pop. 564) is probably the last place you'd think of as a poster town for factory-built framing components. But it's where Randy Johansen, a former stick-framer, now operates a state-of-the-art,...

Sound effects: commercial trends in acoustical ceilings are trickling down to the high-end residential segment.(Product Monitor)
January 1, 2005... High ceilings have become the norm in new homes, but few builders consider the negative acoustical effects--namely sound reverberation that high ceilings can produce. What's more, many builders may not be aware of the range of acoustic ceiling...

Digital edge.(Product Monitor)
January 1, 2005... The newest software packages and applications provide tools to help you run a more effective and efficient business. Here are a few of the latest applications to hit the market. Designed for pro-oriented LBM dealers, Esti-Mate version 4.5...

Tarkett wood.(Interior Products)
January 1, 2005... A Legacy solid wood flooring is just 3/8 inch thick but offers performance comparable to that of a 3/4-inch-thick product, the maker says. Its lower profile allows it to transition more easily to other flooring types. The prefinished flooring...

Atlas homewares.(Interior Products)
January 1, 2005... B Part of the Curb Appeal Collection, the Avalon series of entry door hardware features house numbers, a lighted doorbell button, and a doorknocker. Avalon is designed as an updated version of "Streamlined Moderne" styles and is available in...

Desa heating.(Interior Producs)
January 1, 2005... C FMI'S Georgian Masonry wood-burning fireplace provides the look and feel of traditional masonry, but features the maker's Snap-Lock system of labeled templates and precut and labeled bricks for easy and quick installation. The all in one...

WireTracks.(Interior Products)
January 1, 2005... D The WireTracks channel and compatible WindsorOne Baseboard moldings are designed to provide a flush-installed wiring and molding solution for homes with plaster walls. The WireTracks-compatible WindsorOne moldings are routed to accept a...

Laticrete.(Interior Products)
January 1, 2005... E Developed for installation on walls, in narrow-joint applications, and floors, SpectraLock Pro Grout features a longer working time of 80 minutes, improved workability in hot weather, greater stain and chemical resistance, and reduced haze...

Declaration of independents: despite extreme variations in pro dealer size, scale, and market focus, every business in the industry remains ultimately united.(Viewpoint)
January 1, 2005... Louisville, Ky., businessman Don Burch--who has owned and operated a local outdoor goods store for 26 years--was driving down one of the city's main commercial avenues when he caught sight of a stark, black-and-white billboard on the back of a...