National - Miller Publishing Corporation

For 85 years, Beard Hardwoodshas relied on the “4P’s” for success:Product - People - Progress - Pride. If you’re already a customerof ours, you’re probably already aware of this. If you’re not,we’d like to show you what a positive difference this combinationcan mean to your business.WE BUY AND SELLHardwoodsIMPORTS: Mahogany, etc. EXPORTS: Oak, Poplar, Ash, etc.Dry Kilns (400,000 ft. capacity) Greensboro, N.C.P.O. Box 13608 Greensboro, NC 27415-3608(336) 378-1265 FAX: (336) 379-0863web site: www.enbeard.com e-mail: jbeard@enbeard.comSALES:Tom Beard, John Beard, Jay Cindric, Aaron Fouts,Pete Green, Derick Shular, David WilsonKeith D.Peterson &Company,Inc.Insurancefor the forest products industry708 Milam Street, Suite 300101 E. Grace StreetShreveport, LA 71101-5499 Richmond, VA 23219-1741(318) 221-0547(804) 643-7800708 Milam Street, Suite 300101 E. Grace StreetFAX (318) 424-7516FAX (804) 643-5800Shreveport, LA 71101-5499 Richmond, VA 23219-1741(318) 221-0547(804) 643-7800FAX (318) 424-7516 www.keithdpeterson.com FAX (804) 643-5800NOFMA NOTES - ContinuedPerspectives on Management and Operations (new ways ofapproaching management issues; non-capital intensive operationsupgrades to improve yields and reduce costs, new machinery toreduce overhead and gain a competitive edge).The meeting is open to members and non-members alike and wetruly hope you’ll consider joining us. Contact me directly attlocke@nofma.org for more information.UPDATE ON IMPORTSNow, thanks to NOFMA’s efforts through the HardwoodFederation, for the first time ever, we can identify wood flooringimports (some of them, anyway) in the International TradeCommission’s statistics on U.S. product imports. In solid, unfinishedwood flooring, we can identify the total amount coming in, aswell as species breakouts for Jatoba, Ipe, Santos Mahogany andCumaru. We’re also able to identify the total amount of prefinishedsolid and the total amount of engineered having a solid wood core.Data for the first two months of 2008 in these products looks likethis:Product Imports, First Two Months of 2008Solid unfinished Jatoba................................................3,153,360 sfSolid unfinished Ipe........................................................563,253 sfSolid unfinished Santos Mahogany ................................354,832 sfSolid unfinished Cumaru .............................................1,229,087 sfSolid unfinished all other species ................................4,433,704 sfTotal solid unfinished ..................................................9,949,514 sfSolid, prefinished, all species ......................................9,011,214 sfEngineered, solid core, all species...............................1,307,093 sfTotal for two months, all flooring..............................20,052,543 sfAnnualized Total......................................................120,315,258 sfKeep in mind, these numbers are for the first two months of 2008only and they exclude whatever engineered flooring with coresother than solid wood (thicker than 6 mm) is being imported.The Customs Bureau continues to treat wood flooring imports asa Priority Trade Initiative, which means the scrutiny that uncoveredmore than $35 million in uncollected tariffs during the first sixmonths of the investigation will continue indefinitely. NOFMA willcontinue to be diligent about ensuring that the rights of domesticproducers are upheld and the international trade that is defining ourindustry is conducted on a level playing field.To that end, we look forward to the release later this summer ofthe ITC’s Section 332 Investigation into competitive factors affectingthe world’s wood flooring and Hardwood plywood industries.But we’ll save that for a future column….•HMA & SOLID HARDWOOD PROMOTION - Continued from page 18Oak Partnership and Hardwood Council – provided updates on 2008initiatives and issues, and their impact on the Hardwood lumber industry.With so much concern about the economy, members were eager tohear Lawrence Chimerine, noted economist, share his ideas on shorttermcyclical and long-term structural changes of the economy, andhow that affects home building, home sales, and the Hardwood industry.The ever-changing marketplace was addressed by John Wadsworth,managing director of Intermark, Ltd., who traveled from England toaddress the topic of exporting. His message was simple: For thosealready exporting, stick with it. For those who don’t, now is the timeto start. He provided attendees with a number of reasons in favor ofexporting.On the practical and entertaining side was Tom Fife, managementand human relations speaker, who spoke on how to maximize yourworkforce. Fife provided important information that listeners couldimmediately apply to their businesses. His topics included missionstatements, employee suggestion systems, referral systems to bring on74 Hardwoods Have Versatility