September 25, 1921 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



35 



Plywood Ad Campaign Money Pledged 



President oi Plywood Association Is Perplexed by Disposiilon of Furniture Manufacturers to 



Produce Their Own Plywood 



The practical details of their participation in the $50,000 nation 

 wide veneer and plywood advertising campaign were arranged by 

 the members of the Plywood Manufacturer** Association at a meet- 

 ing in the Drake Hotel. Wednesday. Sept. I 4. The members present 

 unanimously endorsed the report of the trade extension committee, 

 made by E. V. Knight, of the New Albany Veneering Company, 

 New Albany, Ind., chairman, and pledged themselves for half the 

 cost of the campaign. The other half will be borne by the National 

 Veneer & Panel Manufacturers' Association. 



Mr. Knight read the preliminary schedule for the campaign, 

 enumerating the different publications which will be employed to 

 tell the big story. Prominent in the list is the "Hardwood Record." 



Mr. Knight argued at length for immediate action authorizing 

 procedure with the campaign and led the way in individually sign- 

 ing for his company his pro rata of the fund. This action w^as 

 followed by every other member present, thus making the Plywood 

 support unanimous as well as assuring it financially. 



Mr. Knight then introduced Mr. Clendenin, who presented his re- 

 search report, findings and recommendations on the Plywood side 

 substantially as follows : 



Liberal Support Given 



"This movement is largely indebted to the trade press, and very 

 conspicuously to the editorial support of the "Hardwood Record" 

 and the several furniture journals for their exceptional and gen- 

 erous co-operation in giving liberal space to the research develop- 

 ment up-to-date. They have given us more than mere columns, 

 they have given us pages and pages, not to mention the very 

 handsome embellishment of fine illustrations in the various articles 

 w^hich they have so kindly published. The result of this is already 

 apparent. Other journals are copying the matter and unusual 

 comment has follow^ed their lead clear along the line. 



"Now on the Plywood side we are again indebted to the Forest 

 Products Laboratory for many interesting scientific articles and 

 technical notes, tests and reports on the subject of Plyw^ood and its 

 various properties as compared with ordinary wood. It would 

 require extended space to recount the volume and importance of 

 this material, suffice it to say that we have now in hand a com- 

 plete and exhaustive analysis of this whole subject in all its bear- 

 ings, authorities which are unquestionable and final in demon- 

 strating the superiority of Plywood in its many present uses, not 

 to mention a most surprising catalogue of potential utilities includ- 

 ing marine uses and installations, export shipment cartons, kitchen 



cabinets, car roofs and panels passenger, freight and street; ice 



cream cabinets, filing cabinets, lockers, desks, portable buildings 

 and garages, roofs, cabroofs, sample cases and tool chests, mine 

 cages, elevator panels, outdoor sign boards (billboard and poster 

 display), refrigerators, besides many and various new automotive 

 and aviative applications." 



Plywood in Export Traf^c 



Mr. Clendenin here read reports from various authorities on 

 export traffic, special reports from the marine field and also an 

 important direct communication on Plywood written by W. M. Mix, 

 president of the Dodge Manufacturing Company, makers of the 

 famous Indestructo Trunk, which he declared one of the greatest 

 examples of the use of Plywood for utility purposes — and stronger 

 than steel, Mr. Clendenin also called attention to the reports cov- 

 ering recent action by the Chicago Department of Police in adopt- 

 ing Plywood bodies for patrol wagons as against steel, same having 

 been found under test to be bullet proof and bandit proof. Still 

 other rapidly developing uses for Plywood emphasized in Mr. Clen- 

 denin's report were: The immense market for this material among 



the dry -dock and repair yards where vessels are constantly being 

 reconditioned." Mr. Clendenin enumerated several dry-docks 

 and trans-oceanic lines employing Plywood, both for liners and 

 transports. He cited the case of the well known Leviathan, re- 

 cently towed to dry-dock for this expressed purpose. One special 

 authority was quoted for the statement that during the months 

 of July and August alone one manufacturer of Plywood shipped 

 seven carloads of that material to one dry-dock. 



The lightness of Plywood for construction features aloft was 

 particularly stressed, increasing a vessel's capacity for freight very 

 appreciably. 



Mr Clendenin's report was unanimously adopted and he was 

 authorized to proceed with his further investigation and research 

 on this subject and to report back at the next meeting. 



The association then took up the direct-mail-campaign proposed 

 by Mr Clendenin, also the ways and mean for raising and appor- 

 tioning the campaign fund, all of which was approved. 



It may be brieHy stated that the material reported at this meet- 

 ing in support of the Plywood side of the advertising campaign was 

 fully up to that previously reported on Veneer and it was the 

 unanimous expression of the members that when completed this 

 matter should be reduced to booklet form for follow-up uses by 

 the association, by the Plywood Trade Extension Bureau and by 

 the individual companies in the Plywood business. 



A review of the current state of the plywood industry was deliv- 

 ered at the general meeting by T. D. Perry of the Grand Rapids 

 Veneer Works, Grand Rapids, Mich., president of the association. 



One of the most important matters touched on in his address 

 was the present tendency on the part of the furniture manufacturer 

 to produce his own plywood. Mr. Perry said this disposition was 

 perplexing in view of the fact that labor is plentiful and the need 

 for maintaining his skeleton organization is important. "It is your 

 president's firm view," he said, "that a well operated plywood 

 plant can produce plywoods at a profit and sell them at what it 

 would cost the furniture factory to make them." He then quoted 

 the expert opinion of W. H. Coye, cost consultant of the Allied 

 Furniture Trades, to the effect that a manufacturer of furniture is 

 justified in making his own plywoods only if his requirements are 

 large enough to operate a complete department full time, and then 

 only if using a large variety of plywoods. 



Text of Mr. Perry's Address 



In full, the text of Mr. Perry's address is as follows: 



"Roger W. Babson has aptly said that business is convalescent. 

 In other words, the symptoms of disease have left the patient and 

 complete recovery is largely a matter of building up vitality and 

 vigor. The danger period is by no means over, but the stagnation 

 or death that occasionally occurs indicates a lack of reserve strength 

 to recover. The message is distinctly encouraging, but the period of 

 convalescence means tremendously hard work on the part of every- 

 one to restore each member company and our association to its 

 normal degree of health and strength. Neither a waiting policy, 

 nor a shut down, nor a campaign of radical price cutting will avail 

 much. All are extreme. 



"There is not enough business to go around — there probably 

 is not half enough — but there is something for everyone who will 

 go after it in the right way. Large losses must be accepted on in- 

 ventories, and 'frozen merchandise stocks' must be turned into 

 money. Salesmanship is again necessary; economy must be prac- 

 ticed along both labor and material lines; salaries and wages must 

 follow the cost of living; production must become efficient. 



"Whether or not there are too many or too large production 



