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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



June 25. 1921 



■American Walnut 



We manufacture both lumber and veneers 

 from selected logs grown in the famous 

 Iowa walnut district. The result is our 

 product possesses unusual merit, being 

 favored by Nature with a most beautiful 

 grain and color, ^e will appreciate a list 

 of your needs in both lumber and veneers 

 of walnut. 



DES MOINES SAWMILL CO. 



10th and Murphy Streets Des Moines. Iowa 



An Open Letter to Veneer and Plywood Makers 



The committee which was selected by the National Veneer & 

 Panel Manufacturers Association, at its semi-annual meeting in 

 Chicago on June 14, to direct a $50,000 campaign of national 

 advertising, has issued an open letter to veneer and plywood manu- 

 facturers in this and the Plywood Manufacturers Association, 

 asking their support of the campaign. This letter was signed by 

 G. O. Woriand of the Evansville Veneer Company, Evansville, Ind., 

 who was named chairman of the Plywood Trade Extension Com- 

 mittee. The letter follows : 

 Gentlemen: 



That there is an over-production of veneer and plywood, is a 

 recognized fact. We must reach out beyond our present source 

 of consumation and stimulate the desire and demand for our 

 product. 



The public must be educated as to what veneer and plywood 

 really is. We must remove the prejudice that exists, and to the 

 ultimate buying public prove that veneer and plywood construction 

 is a modern and superior construction, that adds beauty, strength 

 and lasting qualities to the finished product in w^hich it is used, and 

 removes a possibility of splitting, shrinking, swelling and warping. 



All objection to veneer and plywood as used in its primitive 

 application can be and is being overcome, and the consuming public 

 must be educated to that fact. When this is done, we can be 

 sure of increased demand for our product, and many new uses 

 can be found for it if we will by concerted effort go after them. 



Substitutes are continually after us, why let them gain trade 

 that might be ours by going after it? Steel and other metals, 

 fiber board, wall boards and various compositions, have all taken 

 a very substantial amount of trade from our industry, when a 

 goodly part of it might have been prevented, had we had a trade 

 extension organization. 



It does not follow that the adoption of substitutes for wood and 

 veneer plywood was on account of superiority, but in most in- 

 stances rather on account of publicity engaged in on the part 

 of substitutes, and a lack of organized effort to present our 

 counter argument. 



The most striking instance of superiority of plywood construc- 

 tion over all competition was in the airplane, where plywood won 

 on its merits solely, and through no associated assistance of our 

 industry. Since this victory of plywood, there has been an im- 

 mense interest awakened on the part of the automobile trade for 

 tops, bodies, dashes, wheels, etc., as well as by other trades that 

 begin to see possibilities. 



Our substitute competition is aware of this, and a number of 

 them are organized to fight for their products. If we want it 

 we must enter into the lists and present our case. 



The opportunity for the architectural and standardized wood 

 panel for interior decoration is ripe for us, and needs only organ- 

 ized effort to secure. With modern methods of application and 

 special moldings, this may be made a very attractive field for vol- 

 ume, as it will be stock material that can be manufactured in antici- 

 pation of orders, instead of specially ordered, as most of our busi- 

 ness now is. 



There are numerous inquiries now being made as to the pos- 

 sibility of plywood for new uses, and with a centralized bureau, 

 these may be followed up, research be made, and the use of our 

 product extended. 



The law of supply and demand is as immutable as the sun 



and moon, as regards the value of our product. There is already 



established a capacity for overproduction for present needs and 



demand. Not only would it be illegal, but impossible to curtail 



{Continued on page 42) 



