MLA LINE
Lumber Industry News Express
Vol. 9, No. 5 – March 1, 2010
In this issue:
Lead-Based Paint - Pre-Renovation Rules
MLA Area Meetings - Sign Up Today!
Operations Comparison, Salary Survey Program
Blair Collings Internship Available
Preparing... Makes Good Business Sense
The MLA office has received many inquiries over the past week regarding the lead-based paint rules involving renovation of homes built prior to 1978, which take effect on April 22nd. Good information is available on the EPA web site at www.epa.gov.
Specifically, you may want to review “The Lead-Based Paint Pre-Renovation Education Rule” at: http://www.ct.gov/ecd/lib/ecd/lead_pre_renovation_rule_-_contractors.pdf
This rule applies to contractors and anyone paid to perform renovations on homes built prior to 1978. In addition, it outlines obligations of landlords toward their renters. Homeowners performing their own renovations are not subject to the rules, but you may want to make them aware of the risks involved if small children are present in the home.
They can access the 19-page brochure, Renovate Right, on the EPA web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf
As a retailer, you have no specific obligations under the rule. The MLA is compiling a manual that outlines various facets of the program that you may want to have on hand. We’ll have copies available at the area meetings and will notify members as soon as it is available.
MLA Area Meetings
MLA is planning a series of meetings to update you on critical industry issues and legal concerns everyone should know. An attorney from the law offices of Seigfreid, Bingham, Levy, Selzer & Gee will be on hand to present important information for dealers – customer credit issues, wage and hour, succession planning, and more – and to answer your questions.
We’re taking our “show on the road” and will be in these cities on the dates shown. Meetings will begin at 10:30 a.m., will include lunch, and will be over at 2:00 p.m.
March 23 – Garden City
March 24 – Hays
March 25 – Kansas City
March 30 – Wichita
March 31 – Oklahoma City
April 1 – Joplin
April 6 – Jonesboro
April 7 – Hot Springs
April 20 – Moberly
April 21 – St. Louis
April 22 – Jefferson City
Click here for a registration form, then complete and return today. We hope to see everyone at an area meeting this spring!
LBM
Associations Launch Operations Comparison, Salary Survey Program
The “Cost of Doing Business” survey has changed. We’ve gone web-based along with other LBM associations to make entry easier, to make comparisons both regional and nationwide, and to provide immediate results. But, you need to act quickly as all data must be entered by April 1. Results will be available on April 2.
A brief video demonstration of the BMOC program is available at http://financials.gocsa.com/Tutorials/Overview/
Features of the BMOC program include:
· Web-based program with easy data entry. Definitions are provided for categories so that analysis makes “apples to apples” comparisons.
· System auto-computes many numbers and highlights potential errors to prevent typographical errors from ruining analysis.
· A secure environment that conforms to the high SSL standards required for e-commerce. Passwords are encrypted. Information is stored on a server that is ISO9001 compliant.
· More than 80 charts and graphs, many with industry benchmarks and tags showing which way you want your data to be trending.
· Ability to store your data from year to year, allowing you to see how you have improved (or not) over time.
· Created and managed by regional Lumber and Building Material associations dealers trust. The data is safe, secure and confidential.
· Combines cost studies and salary surveys into one program for less time and expense.
Cost for MLA members to participate in the program is $200. Click here for a downloadable registration form. All data must be entered into the system by April 1, and the final results will be available to participants on April 2.
BLAIR COLLINGS INTERNSHIP
AVAILABLE
The application and background information for the 2010 NLBMDA Blair
Collings Summer Internship in Government Affairs is now available by
clicking
here.
Applicants must have a high school diploma but not a four-year college
degree at the time of the internship. Applicants must have attained at
least 17 years of age but not more than 24 years, on or before June
1. Applicants must be the child or grandchild of a retail lumber and
building material owner or employee. The company affiliated with the
intern applicant must be a member of an NLBMDA federated association.
Applicants must be interested in the lumber and building material
industry and have demonstrated this interest in one of several ways:
Part-time or full-time employment in a lumberyard; enrollment in an
industry-related college curriculum; membership in an industry
organization for young people; attendance at an NLBMDA conference; or
verification from a sponsor that the applicant has firm plans to enter
their business in the future.
The deadline for applications is March 19. If you have a young person within your dealership that fits these qualifications, encourage their participation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
March 9-10
– Estimating & Take-Off Workshop, Sedalia, Mo.
March 15-17
– NLBMDA Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C.
March 23
– MLA Area Meeting, Garden City, Kan.
March 24
– MLA Area Meeting, Hays, Kan.
March 25
– MLA Area Meeting, Kansas City, Mo.
March 30
– MLA Area Meeting, Wichita, Kan.
March 31
– MLA Area Meeting, Oklahoma City
April 1
– MLA Area Meeting, Joplin, Mo.
April 6
– MLA Area Meeting, Jonesboro, Ark.
April 7
– MLA Area Meeting, Hot Springs, Ark.
April 20
– MLA Area Meeting, Moberly, Mo.
April 21
– MLA Area Meeting, St. Louis, Mo.
April 22
– MLA Area Meeting, Jefferson City, Mo.
Call the MLA Office – 800-747-6529 –
for additional information or email:
mail@themla.com
LUMBER NEWS –
QUICK GLIMPSES
OSHA Stepping Up Inspections… The agency has requested a 10% budget increase over FY 2009, and plans to hire 1,000 new employees. Jobs smaller than $1 million generally won’t get visited unless they’ve been reported or demonstrated “a violative condition,” Walterschied says. But simple economics — more inspectors, fewer big construction jobs — make the case for working by the OSHA books. Read more.
Source: Remodeling Business Update, February
17, 2010
CertainTeed to Settle… CertainTeed has announced its intention to settle a class action lawsuit over a line of asphalt shingles manufactured from 1987 to 2005. The organic shingles, made with a felt reinforcement material, were allegedly subject to premature failure or did not perform up to the expectations of end users. Read more.
Source: Home Channel News, Pro Dealer Digest,
February 17, 2010
Ace Stores to Sell Craftsman… Ace Hardware Corp. announced Friday that it has forged an alliance with Sears Holdings that will allow Ace Hardware’s network of more than 4,500 retail members to sell Craftsman branded tools and products.
According to Ace, about 100 retailers will begin selling Craftsman branded tools this May including hand tools, portable power tools, compressors, wet/dry vacs and tool storage units.
Source: NRHA eNewsletter, February 19, 2010
Slow Recovery May Lead to Shortages… Even as foreclosures continue to flood some of the worst-hit housing markets in the country, economists are beginning to sound the warning that today’s extremely low levels of new residential production could lead to significant housing shortages, especially among market-rate rental apartments, as household formation rates return to normal. Read more.
Source: NAHB Nation’s Building News, February
22, 2010
Sears to Close
Stores… Sears Holdings Corp. is
closing 21 poor-performing stores nationwide, with the bulk being Kmarts,
according to the Wall Street Journal. Sears will shut eight Sears stores and
the 13 Kmarts located in strip centers. Kmarts slated for closing include
stores in high-population areas like Cleveland, Jacksonville, Fla., and
Dayton, Ohio. Half the Sears stores being shut are in malls and the others
are free standing, and include locations in Houston, Texas, Plainfield,
N.J., and Wilson, N.C.
Source: NRHA Hardware Retailing
Newsletter, February 28, 2010
PREPARING…
MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE
We all face the risk of disaster – whether natural or man-made. As a business owner, you not only have your family and your home to worry about during these circumstances, you also are responsible for the safety of your employees and protecting your business. Preparing for these emergency situations makes good business sense.
No preparations to protect property can be complete without insurance coverage against potential damage and loss. As a business owner, you know you must purchase property and casualty insurance. It is important to know exactly what coverage you may need and what coverage is available to protect your property against a variety of the natural hazards it may be exposed to so that you are not underinsured or, even worse, not insured at all.
Another crucial element to getting back to business is a disaster recovery plan. Getting back to business after a disaster depends on preparedness planning done today. You’ve invested a tremendous amount of time, money and resources to make your venture successful, and yet, while the importance of emergency planning may seem self-evident, it may get put on the back-burner in the face of more immediate concerns.
Storing copies of important records such as site maps, building plans, insurance policies, employee contact information, computer backups, and other documents off-site is an important step to recovery. If that sounds like a huge undertaking, Federated offers clients and MLA members a unique program that can help. It’s called Open for Business® and it contains a variety of tools to help small business owners like yourself formulate a disaster recovery plan and reduce the potential for loss if disaster strikes—and reopen quickly should you be forced to close.
Start preparing now to improve the likelihood that your company will survive and recover. Do it for yourself. Do it for your employees.
This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.
MLA is proud to endorse….
“The best executive
is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done,
and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
We're here to help. Until next time....
MLA Staff
816-561-5323
800-747-6529
The opinions, views, and interpretations expressed in this publication do not constitute legal advice. Questions and concerns regarding your company’s compliance with Federal or State regulations should be directed to the appropriate Federal or State agency.