The PS20

Bill Hayward

Bill Hayward Illustration: Lane Dupont Devil or visionary? You’ll find plenty of dealers who are eager to take sides regarding LBM’s greenest executive, Bill Hayward. Some are irritated by his adding “Chief Sustainability Officer” to the titles of CEO and president that he already holds at Monterey, Calif.-based Hayward Lumber. A few regard his creation of the nation’s first solar-powered truss plant as pretty much a publicity ploy. And lots of people in lumberyards and the timber industry fume over his role as chairman of the Forest Stewardship Council’s U.S. branch. But to others, Hayward is a pathbreaker with unvarnished enthusiasm for green construction and a flair for innovative thinking. (Example: Hayward’s sales reps often drive hybrid vehicles instead of pickup trucks.) More than any other dealer this past decade, he has shown it’s possible to be green and turn a profit. And along the way, he has been among the leading voices within the LBM industry in making dealers understand how they can help Americans live in healthier, more energy-efficient–and yes, more sustainable–homes.

–Craig Webb

Activant Eagle Software

Lumberyards are homes for the workhorse, not the showhorse, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the computer software that dealers use most: Activant’s Eagle line. Competitors might snipe at Eagle for maintaining a user interface that looks at first glance as if it belongs in a museum, but much of the dealer public doesn’t care: Activant says more than 2,000 building material dealers and home centers use Eagle, and the company is up to version 18 of the software. To some observers, Activant lacks backbone for its decision to keep wringing life out of an old system (and collecting fees for it) rather than stopping support and forcing customers to go to newer, ultimately better software. Defenders argue that Activant is giving dealers what they want, and if dealers don’t choose to spend over 0.5% of their revenues on tech, then they’re getting what they want. Meanwhile, Eagle keeps on flying.

–Craig Webb

The Optimizer

Developed in Europe in the 1970s, brought to the United States in the 1980s and continually perfected since, software and scanning technology known collectively as the optimizer have enabled timber mills to scan logs and determine within seconds how to saw them in the most efficient, most profitable way. Newer versions go further by automatically grading and stamping the lumber. The optimizer has helped boost the return on mills’ investment and no doubt kept lumber prices lower than they would have been otherwise. But optimizers also made it possible for timber companies to get usable lumber out of younger, thinner, trees rather than the bigger, older and generally more wain-free stuff they had cut before, as well as hew closer to a grade’s bottom limits. Sawmills today gear their systems for trees that are 20 inches down to as little as 6 inches wide. Are 2x4s worse now than they were a generation ago? If you say yes, blame the optimizer.

–Craig Webb

We Don’t Do Sticks

You don’t have to focus on lumber to be a success in the LBM business. Companies that zeroed in on roofing product sales have proven there are big dollars to be gained. Look to ABC Supply, Beacon Roofing, and Bradco, all of which gained sales or held their ground in 2008 as the housing market collapsed. All built solid, multi-billion-dollar companies in good times and bad, becoming perennial powerhouses in the top 10 of the ProSales 100. Look as well at this year’s Dealer of the Year: Erie Materials of Syracuse, N.Y. Although Erie’s 10 locations might not operate in the hottest bed of housing activity, the roofing and siding specialist grew sales by 7.5% to $173 million last year. Discussing the state of the industry, a dealer told us, “You still have to fix a leaking roof.” Right you are!

–Andy Carlo