WCMA continues to serve the components industry.

This year marks the beginning of the Wood Component Manufacturers Association's 68th year of service to the North American dimension and components manufacturing industry. Over the years, the WCMA has implemented many programs and activities in its ongoing effort to meet the changing needs of our member companies. The WCMA will continue to focus on helping its members improve their sales and profitability with emphasis on the critical areas of yield improvement, production costs and marketing. Many research, promotional and educational activities are planned for the benefit of WCMA members and the wood components industry.

The association was organized in 1929 for the purpose of establishing rules and commercial standards for the hardwood dimension manufacturing industry and to aid in the development of the industry. The association was initially known as the Hardwood Dimension Manufacturers Association (HDMA) and was established to distinguish itself from the hardwood lumber industry. At that time, most members were producing cut-to-size dimension boards.

In 1984, the association's name was changed to the National Dimension Manufacturers Association (NDMA) to reflect the association's growing, national membership base. In 1996, the association changed its name again to the Wood Component Manufacturers Association to recognize the broader range of wood component products manufactured by its member companies.

WCMA MEMBER MATCH PROGRAM

Sales inquiries from component buyers are received by the WCMA office on a daily basis. The WCMA's Member Match Program is a computerized membership database retrieval system that provides prospective buyers with a list of all WCMA members who can produce the specific component products they need. This computer-generated list can immediately be faxed to the component customer.

A copy of the WCMA's Wood Components Purchasing Guide and Membership Directory is also sent to these buyers. The specifics of each sales inquiry are forwarded to all WCMA members for follow-up.

DOMESTIC TRADE PROMOTION

The WCMA sponsors several promotional programs for the purpose of promoting the general demand for wood component products and generating more business for our members. Our promotional activities include:

* WCMA-sponsored advertising in the annual buyers guide and directory issues of the leading trade publications;

* Distributing our Wood Components Purchasing Guide to component buyers and users through our direct mail program;

* Exhibiting at the major woodworking trade shows in the United States;

* Support of and participation in the promotional activities of The Hardwood Council.

WCMA WOOD COMPONENTS PURCHASING GUIDE

The WCMA publishes an annual Wood Components Purchasing Guide devoted to the WCMA, our member companies and the component manufacturing industry. The purchasing guide serves as a handy reference source for component buyers and users as it identifies those WCMA members who can produce the specific component products they need. This purchasing guide includes an alphabetical directory of all WCMA member companies with information on the type of products they produce along with their special woodworking capabilities and available species of wood.

The Wood Components Purchasing Guide also includes articles on a variety of important topics including how to specify wood component products, improving yields, reasons for buying components, trend toward outsourcing component parts, make vs. buy study results and how the dimension manufacturing industry efficiently utilizes the forest resource.

WCMA RULEBOOK

The WCMA publishes the "Rules and Specifications for Dimension and Woodwork."

The rulebook covers dimension grading rules, tolerances and claim procedures. These rules provide specification guidelines for dimension and wood components for domestic and export trade. Most dimension and component buyers follow the WCMA guidelines when specifying their component products.

U.S. WOODWORKING TRADE SHOWS

The WCMA exhibits at several major woodworking trade shows held in the United States. The purpose of exhibiting at these trade shows is to promote the general demand for wood component products and meet with prospective dimension and component buyers and users to help them identify those companies who can produce the component parts they need.

The WCMA displays the various products produced by our member companies and distributes the latest Wood Components Purchasing Guide to interested component buyers and users who stop by the booth. A large number of sales leads are obtained at these trade shows which are passed on to all WCMA members for follow-up.

The WCMA exhibits at these U.S. trade shows on a regular basis:

* International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair (IWF), Atlanta, GA

* Woodworking, Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair, Anaheim, CA

* Mid-West/Grand Rapids Woodworking & Furniture Supply Fair, Grand Rapids, MI

* Wood Technology Clinic & Show, Portland, OR

EXPORT TRADE PROMOTION ACTIVITIES

The WCMA has been an active participant in many overseas trade missions, trade shows, educational seminars and other market development activities as a member of the American Hardwood Export Council since the council's inception in 1984. As a result of these export promotion and education activities, U.S. hardwood dimension exports have increased from only $25 million in 1984 to more than $300 million in 1997. Nearly two-thirds of all WCMA member companies are now involved in exporting component products, according to the latest WCMA Dimension & Component Industry Market Study.

The WCMA exhibits with the American Hardwood Export Council at several major international trade shows held in promising overseas markets. Exhibiting at these trade shows allows us to generically promote all U.S. hardwood products and help overseas hardwood buyers identify suppliers who can provide them with the products they need.

INDUSTRY RESEARCH AND MARKET STUDIES

The Association conducts a number of technical and market studies to help identify potential new markets and improve a firm's competitive position. The WCMA's annual Wage & Benefit and Cost-of-Doing-Business surveys allow our members to compare their costs of doing business with other member companies. An in-depth Dimension & Component Industry Market study is also conducted every year to identify and measure the various market segments for the wood component products industry. These valuable studies are available to all participating WCMA members.

Every dimension manufacturer knows how much a minor change in yield can affect its bottom line. According to the latest WCMA Cost-of-Doing-Business Study, the cost of materials (mostly lumber) now accounts for over 50 percent of the cost of producing component products. As a result, dimension manufacturers must focus on their yield improvement efforts to keep their costs down and remain profitable in a highly competitive market.

In an effort to assist our members in this area, the WCMA has undertaken a yield benchmarking study. The Northeastern Forest Experiment Station has been working with WCMA members to establish optimum yield practices for rough mills. Two yield improvement matrices, one for cross-cut rough mills and one for rip-first rough mills, have been developed. The next step will be to collect additional yield performance data (lumber grade mix, dimension part sizes, etc.) and correlate this information to reach conclusions on how different processing systems impact yields.

WCMA studies are very valuable to dimension and component producers and provide assistance in the critical areas of product costing, technology adoption decisions, measuring yield improvement and guiding cost reduction efforts.

WCMA MEETINGS AND SEMINARS

WCMA Annual Meetings are held every spring. The 1998 Annual Meeting will be held in Myrtle Beach, SC, from April 4-7. Our Annual Meetings include an educational program designed to cover important topics of interest to dimension manufacturers including:

* Component industry market trends, forecasts and strategies;

* Technological advances in woodworking machinery and equipment;

* Employee compensation and benefit plans;

* Cost accounting methods and procedures;

* Yield improvement opportunities and techniques;

* Forest resource and environmental issues;

* Complying with government regulations;

* Worker safety, health and productivity; and

* Export market trends and opportunities.

PLANT TOURS

Every Fall, WCMA members tour the production facilities of several dimension, component and related woodworking companies. These plant tours provide WCMA members with a unique opportunity to observe other woodworking manufacturing operations and exchange ideas in a friendly atmosphere. Whenever possible, educational seminars are conducted in conjunction with our plant tour events to keep our members up-to-date on current production technologies and methods.

The 1997 WCMA Plant Tour Event will be held September 28-30.

For more information on the association contact the:

Wood Component Manufacturers Association 1000 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite A-130 Marietta, GA 30068 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]

or visit the WCMA's Web Site at: www.woodcomponents.org

GOALS OF THE WCMA

The WCMA is a progressive, internationally recognized association of wood component manufacturers. The Association conducts many promotional, educational, research and legislative activities for the benefit of its members and the entire industry. The major goals of the WCMA are to:

* Develop and promote a general demand for the industry's products and services;

* Promote a friendly exchange of ideas among those engaged in the wood components manufacturing business;

* Collect and distribute useful economic and technical information concerning industry trends and developments;

* Serve as a Business Referral Clearinghouse by responding to sales inquiries received from dimension buyers and passing this information on to our members;

* Establish and maintain standard rules for the measurement and inspection of dimension and wood component products;

* Cooperate with other wood product trade associations and appropriate government agencies to promote and protect the interests of our industry.

1997-98 WCMA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

APRIL 26-29: 1997 WCMA Annual Meeting, Marco Island, FL.

MAY 2-6: Exhibiting at Interzum '97, Cologne, Germany.

MAY 28-31: Exhibiting at Construction Materials and Equipment Fair '97, Osaka, Japan.

JUNE: 1997-98 WCMA Wood Components Purchasing Guide.

JULY 31-AUG 3: Exhibiting at Woodworking, Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair, Anaheim, CA.

SEPT. 28-30: WCMA Annual Plant Tour Event, Eastern Pennsylvania area.

NOV. 6-7: Exhibiting at Midwest/Grand Rapids Woodworking & Furniture Supply Fair, Grand Rapids, MI.

MARCH 25-27, 1998: Exhibiting at Wood Technology Clinic & Show, Portland, OR.

APRIL 4-7: 1998 WCMA Annual Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.

JULY: 1998-99 WCMA Wood Components Purchasing Guide.

AUG. 20-23: Exhibiting at International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair, IWF '98, Atlanta, GA.