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[The prepared statement of Mr. Perdue follows:] 

 Prepared Statement of Donald R. Perdue 



Dear Senator Pressler. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the U.S. 

 Senate Small Business Committee on September 4, 1993. 



Perdues, Inc., manufactures promotional bedroom furniture which we sell 

 throughout the continental United States; we have also exported to Canada, Mexico, 

 and Puerto Rico. The business was started in Montana in 1970, a plant was added in 

 Kentucky, and in 1987 we moved to South Dakota. At that time, we had $3 million 

 in gross sales with 50 employees. We have grown to $25 million in sales and ap- 

 proximately 220 employees, with a payroll of $4,600,000. Our delivered price is one 

 of the lowest in the Nation for furniture of this quality and, by design, we have one 

 of the highest labor costs. Our employees average $10 per hour plus fringe benefits 

 including health insurance. I mention this because of the corporation's desire and 

 obligation to our employees to supply them a living wage so they can be independ- 

 ent in their lifestyles. 



We are consistently working to obtain the lowest possible price for raw materials 

 (i.e., particle board) that is available in the private competitive market. During the 

 time I have been in business the price and availability of raw materials has been 

 reasonably stable, within the normal fluctuation of inflation and market pressures. 

 Since August 1992, the price of %" particleboard has increased from $175 per thou- 

 sand to $250 per thousand or approximately 43 percent, which is predictable when 

 large quantities of timber are taken from the market. This precipitated our need to 

 raise our prices. Let us not forget that a price increase from a manufacturei be- 

 comes a doubling factor to the consumer. 



We purchase material from mills throughout the United States and our consump- 

 tion last year was 15 million board feet. In addition to the price increases we have 

 also experienced shortages and early this summer we were forced to close our plant 

 and send our employees home for 1 week as we were unable to purchase board. Raw 

 material, at this time, has become somewhat more available due to a softness in the 

 economy, as a result of the conduct of the Clinton Administration. However, I am 

 cautioned by all the mills that their raw materials are scarce and that I could be 

 put on an allotment basis at any time. 



The furniture industry is very competitive and I cannot compete with manufac- 

 turers from countries with reasonable environmental concerns if ours become un- 

 reasonable. The people who are opposed to multiple use tell us — that jobs lost in the 

 timber industry will be replaced by employment in tourism. I would hope that if the 

 time comes when I will have to close my plant because of lack of raw materials, one 

 of these people will be available to explain the advantages of a minimum wage job 

 to the employees of Perdue Woodworks. 



Senator Pressler. Well, I thank you very much. 

 Mr. Honerkamp, Bill, go ahead. 



STATEMENT OF BILL HONERKAMP, PRESIDENT, BLACK HILLS, 

 BADLANDS AND LAKES ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Honerkamp. Senator Pressler and staff, my name is Bill 

 Honerkamp. I speak today as president of South Dakota's Black 

 Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association. That's a trade association 

 that is comprised of some 560 small business enterprises in western 

 South Dakota. Their common bond is recreation, tourism, and vaca- 

 tion traffic. In other words, other people's fun and recreation, is 

 our business and livelihood. Our customers will spend about $250 

 million in the Black Hills this year. And more than 16,000 Black 

 Hills citizens — you earlier quoted a South Dakota figure — but more 

 than 16,000 Black Hills citizens are employed in the visitor indus- 

 try. 



The Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association does not sup- 

 port the Forest Service's recommendations arising from the RARE 

 II studies, which propose the creation of a Sand Creek Wilderness 

 along the State line, nor the Beaver Creek Wilderness near Sturgis. 



