Vol. 7, No. 21 – October 13, 2008

 

 

In this issue:

Complying with the FTC 'Red Flag' Rule

Vote in the MLA Election 

Plan to Attend 2008 Fall Fling

Real Estate and Inventory Auction

Paul Hylbert to Chair NLBMDA

Save the Date

Energy Star Program Under Fire

Employees Say No Fear of ID Theft in Workplace

U.S. Senate Approves Bail-Out Plan

Financial Rescue Plan Signed by President

Participate in Special Survey

Ainsworth to Close Minnesota OSB Plant

Housing Market's Predicted Effect on Lumber Production

Help Your Team Win - With Stay Bonus

Today's Quote

 

 

COMPLYING WITH THE FTC “RED FLAG” RULE

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued regulations (“Red Flag Rules”) requiring entities that meet the definition of “creditor” to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs, as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003. The programs must be in place by November 1, 2008, and must provide for the identification, detection, and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities — known as “red flags” — that could indicate identity theft.

 

A business is a “creditor” if it:

 

(1)    regularly extends “credit,” including deferring payment by customers for the provision of goods and services; and

(2)    maintains a “covered account.”

 

The rule requires those creditors to develop a written program that identifies and detects the relevant warning signs — or “red flags” — of identity theft. These may include, for example, unusual account activity, fraud alerts on a consumer report, or attempted use of suspicious account application documents. The program must also describe appropriate responses that would prevent and mitigate the crime and detail a plan to update the program. The program must be managed by the Board of Directors or senior employees of the creditor, include appropriate staff training, and provide for oversight of any service providers.

 

NLBMDA has created a sample program, which your business can adapt for compliance.

 

Click here for a copy of the sample program. For more information, contact NLBMDA at 800-634-8645.  

  

VOTE IN THE MLA ELECTION!

 

Ballots for the election of officers and directors to fill vacant positions were mailed to members last month. If you have not completed and returned your ballot, be sure to do so by the Thursday, October 16 deadline. One representative from each MLA-member company is eligible to vote. If you have any questions, please contact MLA at 800-747-6529.

 

 

 

PLAN TO ATTEND 2008 FALL FLING

NOVEMBER 6-7

  

Plan now to attend this timely program that will help get your company on track or continuing in the right direction in 2009. The big national election will be history, and it will be time to move forward and make plans for 2009. The room reservation deadline is October 16, so call the Hampton Inn & Suites Country Club Plaza right away to be assured you have a place.

 

The “Fall Fling” is the Annual meeting of MLA members. Thanks to members’ enthusiastic response, we are continuing this outstanding event and it keeps getting better. This year’s seminar on Friday, November 7, will be “Benchmarking for Excellence” – a  fact-filled half-day program presented by Mike Butts of LBM Solutions. This seminar will provide the independent lumberyard with the tools necessary to benchmark or “baseline” their entire operation.

 

This will enable the team to design and begin the implementation of a continuous process improvement program. Process improvement is not becoming 100 percent better in one area, but rather, identifying areas that call for improvement and making incremental adjustments that enable a business to reach its ultimate goal.

 

Some of the areas covered are efficiency in the delivery and operations areas (identified by most builders as their chief complaint), along with accurate price comparison, financial analysis and comparison with similar operations across the country. As an additional program note, contractor customer service issues and customer account management are also discussed.

 

Both dealers and associate members appreciate the opportunity to mingle with one another and to exchange ideas.  Again this year, we’ll have a casual yet highly informative and educational event that will be well worth your time. Valued at $225 per person, members’ attendance is complimentary. Please plan to participate in this exciting event.

 

For more information, call Olivia at 800-747-6529, or visit our web site at www.TheMLA.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ProBuild CEO Paul Hylbert, Jr. to Chair Association

 

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) today announced its new slate of elected officers at the ProDealer Industry Summit in Chantilly, Va. At the association’s annual meeting, the NLBMDA Board of Directors elected Paul Hylbert, CEO of ProBuild, as the association’s next chairman, replacing outgoing chair Harold Baalmann of B&B Lumber Company, Wichita, Kan.

 

“I am honored to serve as chairman of NLBMDA,” said Hylbert. “I want to thank my colleague and friend, Harold Baalmann, for generously giving his time and resources to the NLBMDA in the last year and I realize he has given me big shoes to fill.” Outlining his priorities for the coming year, Hylbert continued, “We have done significant listening and work to understand what is most important to serve the industry going forward. Our focus will be on doing a few things well; on legislation and regulation, on growing NLBMDA’s voice of the industry to advance our policy agenda, and on bringing dealers, manufacturers and suppliers together for top-quality business and networking meetings, just as we are doing here at the ProDealer Industry Summit.”

 

Hylbert serves as Chief Executive Officer of ProBuild, the nation’s largest Pro Dealer. The company operates 550 locations in 40 states, with 450 lumberyards, 50 component plants, almost 50 millwork shops, serving homebuilders, repair and remodeling contractors, general contractors, sub contractors and project oriented consumers. Hylbert also serves on the Advisory Board at The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, is on the boards of Denison University, The City of Hope, and The Homebuilding Community Foundation.

 

“I am thrilled for Paul to take the reigns as Chairman. He has been in this industry since 1966 and he has the experience to move NLBMDA forward during this critical economic time for dealers.” said NLBMDA President Michael O’Brien. “I also thank Harold Baalmann for his strong guidance and commitment to NLBMDA over the past year.  We could not have gotten to this point without Harold’s visionary leadership and tireless commitment to this organization.”

 

Also elected to the Executive Committee for 2008-2009 were:

 

 

Source: NLBMDA, October 1, 2008

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE

 

Nov. 6-7 – MLA Fall Fling – Kansas City, Mo.

March 3-4, 2009 – Estimating & Blueprint Reading

 

Call the MLA Office – 800-747-6529 – for additional information or email: mail@themla.com

 

By now, all MLA Members should have received a copy of the 2008 Dealer Directory and Buyer’s Guide. To order another copy, complete our handy order form. Click here for details.

 

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Energy Star Program Under Fire… The EPA's Energy Star product labeling program has been getting some flak lately. In its October 2008 issue, Consumer Reports (CR) criticized the program as being too lax in its product performance testing, too dependent on manufacturer self-reporting, too passive in policing manufacturer claims, and too slow to develop and implement higher product standards. The program "hasn't kept up with the times," the article states. (Read the complete article here.)

 

Source: Stephani L. Miller, Custom Home Online, cited in ProSales Green Newsletter, September 24, 2008

 

Employees Say No Fear of ID Theft in Workplace… Despite rising concerns over identity theft, 88% of employees are confident their company protects their personal information from identity theft, according to recently released results from the American Payroll Association's "Getting Paid in America" survey.
 
The survey's results indicate a strong employee confidence in the current methods used by employers to secure sensitive information such as social security numbers, wages and salaries, and bank account numbers.

The "Getting Paid in America" survey was held in conjunction with APA's annual public awareness campaign, National Payroll Week (NPW), held annually the week of Labor Day. More than 45,180 employees responded to the survey, providing insight into how workers are paid in America. For complete results, visit http://www.nationalpayrollweek.com/documents/2008FinalSurveyResults.pdf
 
Source: American Payroll Association, cited in NACM e-News Weekly Update, September 30, 2008

 

U.S. Senate Approves Bail-Out Plan, Includes Timber Payments in Proposed Funds… The Senate voted 74-25 to approve the controversial bail-out plan of the U.S. financial markets. Included in the Senate's version is money for those rural counties in the West suffering from logging cutbacks. Specifically, the bail-out approved by the Senate extends $3.3 billion in timber payments for another four years.

 

Source: LBM Daily, October 3, 2008

 

Financial Rescue Plan Signed by President…  On Friday, President Bush signed the financial rescue plan passed by the House and Senate after modifications adopted in the Senate allowed party leaders to secure enough votes in the House to overcome an earlier defeat of the bill. Final passage capped 12 days of legislative work, beginning with the Treasury Department’s first unveiling of a three-page proposal Sept. 21 and culminating with the 451-page bill cleared on Friday. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson’s core plan to address the ailing credit markets remained largely unchanged. It would give the Treasury Department broad authority to buy $700 billion worth of troubled assets, mostly mortgage-backed securities, in a bid to clear up the books of financial institutions and encourage them to start lending again. Lawmakers qualified that plan with a parceling out of the spending authority, executive compensation limits and oversight requirements. The final bill was assembled in the Senate and extended a number of expiring tax provisions.  Another key change the Senate made was an expansion of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage to $250,000 per bank account, from $100,000 currently.

 

Financial Rescue Plan Includes NLBMDA-supported Energy Tax Credit.  The financial rescue plan also includes a number of tax provisions of importance or interest to the LBM industry.  Most notably, the NLBMDA-supported energy efficiency tax credit has been extended for 2009. Contractors receive a credit for energy-efficient new homes that achieve a 30 percent or 50 percent reduction in energy consumption. The credit is $1,000 for homes meeting the 30 percent standard and $2,000 for the 50 percent standard.

 

The law also renews the so-called Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch by increasing the AMT exemption to $46,200 (individuals) and $69,950 (married) for tax year 2008.

 

NLBMDA members with questions may contact Frank Moore at frank@dealer.org.

 

Source: NLBMDA, October 6, 2008

 

Special One-Week Survey: How Is the Credit Crunch Hurting You? How is the freeze in the credit markets and the distress among banks hurting lumber and building material dealers, distributors, and manufacturers? To find out, ProSales seeks your participation in a special survey on how the crisis is affecting you. Click here to take the online survey. Please note that this is a survey for manufacturers, too, not just dealers and distributors. Also, unlike past polls, we’re not asking for any identifying information this time, so you can write honestly without fear of your words coming back to haunt you. And because we all need to know quickly about what’s going on, this survey will be open just ONE WEEK, closing Tuesday, Oct. 14. We’ll give a full report of what we learned in next week’s ProSales Business Update.

Take the survey

 

Ainsworth to close Minnesota OSB plant … Lumber producer Ainsworth will temporarily shut down an OSB mill located in Bemidji, Minn., according to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

 

The company said a drop in housing starts has dramatically reduced the need for OSB products in the United States.

 

Ainsworth idled a nearby plant in Cook, Minn., in January, which is expected to remain closed through 2009, the newspaper noted. Another plant in nearby Grand Rapids, Minn., was also idled over the summer.

 

The Vancouver, B.C.-based lumber producer said it will revisit plans in October for the Bemidji facility, which employs around 140 people.

 

Source: Home Channel News ProDealer Digest, October 8, 2008

 

Housing Market's Predicted Effect on Lumber Production… Figures put out by Western Wood Products Association (WWPA) demonstrate that lumber production in 2007 ebbed lower than any other time in the prior ten years, largely due to the plunging U.S. housing market. Market observers predict that the reigning economic climate will likely continue to dampen lumber production in 2008.

 

Source: LBM Daily, October 9, 2008

 

Help Your Team Win – With a Stay Bonus

 

When you first started your business or took over the role of leader-owner, you either started out as a “team of one" or had to gain the respect of a team that was already there. Either way, you accepted the challenge and built today’s winning team.

 

What makes your team play well together? Most likely, it’s not What—it’s Who. You are the difference between a great bunch of individual stars and a championship team.

 

Visualize

 

What would happen to the team if you were not there—perhaps removed unexpectedly by a premature death? How do you see the team finishing out that first year after they lose you? Visualize the team with you off the roster—the first week, the first month, the first year. Do you see any pain, uncertainty, indecision, mistakes, infighting, turnover, or losses? 

 

Most business owners easily visualize lost revenue and higher expenses. Few anticipate damage to the team. Those who do see the risks create contingency plans to not only hold the team together, but hold it together as a winning unit. One such contingency plan is a Stay-Bonus program. 

 

Stay Bonus Program

 

A stay bonus program is a prearranged plan—with prearranged funding—that enables the business to install generous bonus agreements with key employees after the unexpected death of the active business owner. It enables the business to reward key employees for toughing it out and keeping the business prospering even after they have lost their best player, coach, and team captain. 

 

As an example, a stay bonus plan could prearrange funding—through a key person life insurance policy on the business owner—to provide two key employees with a $100,000 bonus each if they stayed the first year and also delivered the same profits as before the owner’s death. (All terms regarding bonuses—amounts, timing, conditions, etc.—can be customized.) 

 

Take some time to visualize that first year and consider a stay bonus program to help your team win.

 

 

This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.

MLA is proud to endorse….

 

 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

“There are two ways of meeting difficulties; you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them.”   -- Phyllis Bottome (British novelist)