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February 29, 2008

Putting the Pieces Together at Midyear Meeting

The topic of “green” and how it’s coloring the forest products industry will be a focal point at this year’s Midyear Meeting May 14-15 in New Orleans, La. Also high on the agenda will be discussions and reports about progress with the Southern Pine Council’s “Raised Floor Living” campaign. The meeting begins with a bus tour of two local raised floor projects to which SPC members are donating materials.  One of the projects – which are being constructed by New Orleans builder Toni Wendel – will be featured on a “green building” tour to be held in conjunction with the National Green Building Conference, set for May 11-13, also in New Orleans. The Midyear Meeting bus tour will wind up at SFPA’s headquarters, where members will view recent renovations and enjoy lunch. Then it’s back to the Westin at Canal Place where the SPC portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. Click here for a tentative agenda with more details. Meeting registration materials will arrive soon by e-mail. Meanwhile, rooms can be reserved at the Westin by calling 866/527-1381. Tell the reservation clerk that you are with the SFPA Midyear Meeting to receive a special room rate of $185 plus tax (applicable for rooms booked no later than April 11). Also, please note that members of the SFPA Executive Committee will meet during the afternoon of May 13, the day before the Midyear Meeting begins, and the Board of Directors meets on May 15.

For more information, contact Dianne Breaux at 504/443-4464, ext. 225, or by e-mail at dbreaux@sfpa.org.

2008 Ad Schedule Launched

A more diverse collection of audiences will be seeing Southern Pine messages in leading trade publications throughout 2008. Though heavily focused on promoting the merits of raised floor systems, this year’s advertising schedule also targets marine construction professionals and more deck builders.

Some 11,000 truss and component manufacturers reading Structural Building Components are viewing a new full-page ad touting Southern Pine’s superior properties. The ad urges readers to “do the math” and see that the answer is Southern Pine for optimum performance and cost savings. Deck building professionals are reminded of treated Southern Pine’s excellent service record, availability and economy with a new array of one-third-page ads appearing in Professional Deck Builder (circ. 25,000), Deck World (circ. 14,000) and a new semi-annual publication titled Deck Contractor that reaches 21,000 deck builders and remodeling contractors. More than 40,000 in the marine construction trades are seeing treated Southern Pine messages in Marina Dock Age, plus Parks & Recreation, the member journal of the National Recreation and Parks Association.

More than a dozen promotional spots in trade journals including The Journal of Light Construction, Construction Specifier and Coastal Contractor remind specifiers, architects, engineers and builders about the online resources available at www.southernpine.com. Invitations for dealers to join SPC’s online product locator are appearing in 2008 issues of ProSales and Building Products Digest.

Homebuilders will be encouraged to “Rediscover Raised Floor Foundations” with ads in monthly newsletters and magazines published by homebuilder associations in Lafayette and metro New Orleans in Louisiana, the Biloxi/Gulfport area in Mississippi, the Orlando and Pensacola areas in Florida, and the metro Houston area in Texas.

“SPC’s 2008 schedule is a value-oriented program, reaching the greatest number of key audiences to complement related priorities,” comments Richard Wallace, SFPA’s vice president of communications. For more information, contact Richard at 504/443-4464, ext. 236, or by e-mail at rwallace@sfpa.org.

Wood Associations Join Forces to Grow Nonresidential Market

As a member of the Wood Products Council, SFPA recently joined forces with wood associations across North America to launch WoodWorks – a campaign to grow the nonresidential market for wood in the United States. WoodWorks provides support from design through construction for engineers, architects, general contractors and others considering the use of wood in nonresidential buildings. WoodWorks offers free education and training regarding building codes and technical support to address issues such as fire, wind, durability, sustainability and cost.

The program is being launched in three initial markets, including Georgia and the Carolinas in the Southeast, California in the West, and Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin in the nation’s North-central region. Upcoming events in the Southeast include a workshop on issues related to nonresidential wood design on March 25 in Atlanta, Ga., and a Wood Solutions Fair on March 27 in Charlotte, N.C. Nominations are also being accepted for the first Southeast Wood Design Awards, which will be presented at the Wood Solutions Fair. The deadline for entries is March 11.

Success of the WoodWorks program will be measured by project and against volume and opinion benchmarks. The anticipated increase in total consumption is at least 20% for lumber and 10% for panel within five years and 70% and 25% respectively within nine years. According to research done by the U.S. Forest Products Lab, FP Innovations – Forintek Division and others, these increases represent less than 15% of the total incremental gains possible, which indicates that the opportunity to continue to gain share for decades is substantial.

For more information, to exhibit at the Charlotte Wood Solutions Fair or to nominate someone for a wood design award, visit www.woodworks.org.

SFPA Welcomes New Member

SFPA welcomes Delta Computer Systems Inc. of Vancouver, Wash., as a new Associate member. Incorporated in 1982, Delta provides high-performance electronic controls for industrial applications and is known for its motion control technology. In the mid-70s, Delta used servo hydraulic motion control to precisely position logs, cants and lumber products for the most efficient cut. In the mid-80s, the company introduced its first motion controllers and in the mid-90s, launched its RMC100 Series. Delta’s customers include many SFPA members. Bill Savela, P.E., will represent Delta with the association. Bill can be contacted at 360/254-8688 or by e-mail at bsavela@deltacompsys.com.

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