New South Construction Supply eNews - March 2007

Dear Friends:

After a slow start to the year in January and February, business has picked up appreciably in March. I don’t know if it’s going to continue at this pace, but if it does, we will have the kind of great year that the “experts” have been predicting. I hope that you’re having a good year, as well, and that you are not too affected by the residential housing slump.

A story in the Wall Street Journal this week said that the consensus of economists who follow the housing market is that the housing slump is not over, and the bottom has not been found yet. I hope they’re wrong, but I do believe that the market needs to make more of a correction to get rid of the excess inventory in the housing market caused by all of the “flippers” and speculators, who caused the housing bubble in the first place.

Last week, we mailed out the signup forms for our 2007 President’s Club Trip, which will be held March 5-9, 2008 in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Signup forms were sent out to all customers who purchased over $25,000 from us in 2006. If you did not receive a signup form and want to participate in the incentive travel promotion this year, simply let me know, and I’ll get the forms to you immediately. We already have had a large number of customers sign up for the 2007 promotion, and we look forward to taking an even larger group to Puerto Vallarta than the group that went on the cruise with us this past February. Click on the following link to learn more about the resort we’re staying at in Puerto Vallarta: http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/pvrmx-casamagna-marriott-puerto-vallarta-resort/.

As we’re talking about the trip promotion, I wanted to announce the following suppliers as featured suppliers for the month of April for our trip promotion. Featured suppliers for the month of April are Sandell Manufacturing and Raven Industries. Your purchases of Sandell and Raven products in April will earn double points towards your trip quota. In other words, for every dollar of Sandell and Raven products that you purchase in April, you will get credit for two dollars of purchases toward your trip quota. Also, please be aware that you get double points for orders PLACED in April for Sandell and Raven products, no matter when you take delivery of the products in 2007. So, look at your upcoming jobs, and place orders as far out as 12/28/07, and you will get double credit for these orders.

For our customers in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and the Savannah, Georgia area, here are some pictures of our new branch, which is under construction in the Hardeeville Industrial Park in Hardeeville, SC.

The branch is only three miles off I-95 at exit 5 on the other side of the interstate from where our current branch is located. This branch is roughly double the size of our current branch. It will feature a 5,500 square foot showroom stocked full of hardware, power tools, safety supplies, and other products that you need for your jobs so you don’t have to go to a dreaded “big box” store when you are picking up other supplies at our branch. This branch is scheduled to be open in early May, and I thought you might want to see how it is progressing.

Price increases keep coming, so see below for the latest information that we have been able to glean from our key commodity suppliers:

The worldwide price of scrap steel continues to be at record high levels. Scrap has increased $79.00 per ton over the past 30 days! Much of this increase is attributed to the worldwide demand for steel, especially in China. The result of the increase in the price of scrap steel continues to drive the price of rebar, welded wire mesh, masonry reinforcing, ties, and metal bar supports upward. Many analysts expect the steel industry to see price levels at or near the 2004 record by mid summer.

Nucor has already announced a $55.00/ton price increase on rebar that will go into effect April 1st and other domestic mills have followed their lead. Analysts expect domestic mills to increase prices another $20.00 to $30.00/ton effective May 1st and increases are expected to continue through early to mid summer.

As stated in last month’s newsletter, the welded wire mesh industry increased prices the first of March by 8% to 10%. Most manufacturers have announced a price increase the first of April. The increase will once again be in the 8% to 10% range.

Masonry reinforcing manufacturers have announced an increase of 10% effective the first week in April. Another increase is expected sometime in May or early June, but at this time there has not been an announcement of how much this increase may be.

Although demand remains relatively weak, polyethylene manufacturers increased prices in March by approximately 4%. With the price of fossil fuels having increased drastically over the past 6 to 8 weeks, resin manufacturers increased prices the first week in March. Due to the increase in the cost of resins, polyethylene manufacturers will increase prices another 4% to 5% by April 1st.

Prices for thru wall copper flashings have declined by approximately 5% over the past month. Although prices have declined, this may be short-lived, as the worldwide price for copper has begun to move upward recently.

Below are links to one story and two attachments that may be of interest to you. One is called “Building Slump? Not on the Commercial Side.” This talks about how the commercial construction industry is still booming despite the residential slow down. The other link takes you to “Quick Facts” about the construction industry, which may be of interest to you. Lastly, there is a link to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) tables, which many of you tell me are handy for you to show to owners for whom you are doing projects so they can see how the price of most of the products you use have escalated.

This month’s featured suppliers are as follows:

  • QC Construction Products is one of the leaders in the decorative concrete market. They have a full range of decorative concrete products, including stamps, sealers, color, and shake hardeners. Their newest product is called “Newlook.” Newlook is a product that takes tired and faded decorative concrete and makes it look better than brand new. It’s easy to apply, and it’s also inexpensive. If you have a project that includes an area with faded, old, decorative concrete, you may want to propose this to your owners as a way to make the decorative concrete look brand new.
  • Hoffman Diamond Products makes the Grizzly line of diamond blades. Hoffman blades are produced domestically, but they are competitive with even the most aggressively priced import blades, and they generally last much longer than the import blades. If you use diamond saw blades and have not tried a Grizzly blade, please call your local New South branch and ask to try one.
  • Raven Industries makes a broad variety of polyethylene products, as well as vapor barriers. If you have a job coming up that requires any sort of vapor barrier, be sure to get a price on Raven products from your New South sales rep.

This month’s management story is entitled, “Getting Time on Your Side.” In today’s hectic world, none of us seem to have enough hours in the day. This article has quite a few tips on how to put more hours into your day, and I think that’s something we all need!

In closing, as always, thanks for your business and support. I would consider it a personal favor if you would let me know anytime we fall short of your expectations.

Sincerely,

Jim Sobeck
President
(864) 325-6518
jim.sobeck@newsouthsupply.com
This month we are featuring the following suppliers:

 

Newlook by QC is a non-acrylic, non-acid, VOC free water-based concrete stain.

Newlook by QC is available in Solid Color Stain (to completely cover existing concrete) or Color Enhancer (for depth and faux finishing) to meet the needs of any project.

Newlook by QC is a revolutionary water-based stain that enhances existing concrete with completely non-hazardous materials. Newlook by QC does not react with the concrete, but penetrates the surface without changing concrete texture to ensure consistent, controllable color, every time. Available in 80 standard colors.

Contact your nearest New South branch for more information about this great new product.

Hoffman is the oldest diamond tool manufacturer in the United States. Today, after more than 100 years, we are proud to have remained a privately held; American-owned and operated diamond tool company.

Hoffman has pioneered the manufacturing of diamond tools, starting with hand setting of diamonds to impregnated diamond bits and saw blades. We are currently utilizing the latest developments in diamond bit and blade technology, including computerized furnacing, manufacturing, laser welding and assembly. Our manufacturing capabilities and processes are constantly improving to meet our customers' demands.

Quality, integrity, and customer service are the driving forces behind Hoffman Diamond Products today, as they were when the company started over 100 years ago.

Contact your New South Construction Supply Branch for more information.

Hoffman has the KNOW HOW; New South has the CAN DO.

Raven Industries

VaporBlock® Under Concrete Slab Vapor Retarder

VaporBlock® is a high performance vapor retarder designed to control moisture migration under concrete slabs and foundations. Produced from state-of-the-art polyethylene resins that provide superior performance properties that far exceed ASTM E-1745 (Plastic Water Vapor Retarders Used in Contact with Soil or Granular Fill Under Concrete Slabs) Class A, B and C. High tensile strength, unequaled puncture resistance, low moisture vapor permeability as well as resistance to decay make VaporBlock one of the most effective underslab vapor retarders on the market today!

 

Getting time on your side
by Rick Phillips

Can you spare a moment? If not, take the time to read the ideas below. Many claim time management is simple; just use common sense. Unfortunately, tackling a human-behavior issue like time management with common sense is like taking on a stealth bomber with a sling shot.

Attacking the habits
Most of us are conditioned by a lifetime of bad habits and poor time discipline. The good news is we can learn to manage our selling time and increase our effectiveness.

Before you begin, you must ask if you are ready to commit to establishing the disciplines necessary to make this change? If not, don’t waste any more time reading this. If yes, the following 20 ideas will help.

Idea #1
 Track your time. Identify how you use your time by keeping a log of your activities for two weeks. Write down what you do every 15 minutes. Seeing where your time goes is an eye-opening experience.

Idea #2
 Plan your time. But above all, work your plan. Even a flawed plan, put in action, will create more results than a great plan you never put to work. Get busy, inertia is your biggest enemy.

Idea #3
 Just say no to anything that does not contribute to sales. It is too easy to waste time on the urgent instead of the really important.

Idea #4
 Spend your time wisely. Don’t waste your time on unprofitable accounts. Weed out your least profitable accounts. Spend that time with accounts that deserve your attention and will reward it with more profitable sales.

Idea #5
Know the value of your time. Decide how much money you want to make this year and divide that by the total number of hours you will work. That will tell you how much your time will be worth if you meet your income goal. You will need that figure for the next step.

Idea #6
Know the value of each customer. Calculate your weekly income from each customer and the time devoted to earning that much commission from that customer (the time it takes to get to customer A until you leave and are on your way to customer B). If your income target is $60 per hour and you spent 30 minutes to earn $60, this customer is a +2 customer. If you spent an hour and only earned $30, this customer would rate a -2 this week.

Idea #7
 Maximize your penetration of existing accounts. It is much easier and less time-consuming to increase sales to someone who is already buying than it is to find a new customer.

Idea #8
 Remember, you can’t save time, you can only use it more effectively. Arrange your territory so your calls are geographically logical.

Idea #9
 If you can’t follow Idea No. 8, then buy a radar detector, accelerate on yellow, drive on sidewalks and plan your route any way you please.

Idea #10
 Keep a history of calls and conversations. Don’t rely on your memory. Document all calls in your planner or customer action folder.

Idea #11
 Have a selling goal for each call. You should have a plan to either sell or show a new product or program or have a strategy to make progress toward a sale on each call. Progress may be asking questions that gather information about a potential waste problem. Don’t just take an order, sell something.

Idea #12
 Set deadlines for your selling strategies.

Idea #13
 Use non-selling time to do non-selling activities. The time to prepare for calls is when you can’t be in front of the customer. If the customer needs information, find it when you can’t be talking to another prospect or customer.

Idea #14
 Measure your performance. Ask yourself what things you did today that moved you closer to your selling goals?

Idea #15
 Establish a quiet time each day to plan your next day’s selling activities. Review your planner, identify tomorrow’s tasks and prepare for them in advance.

Idea #16
 Make time to drive safely, courteously and obey traffic. When you get pulled over for your abhorrent driving behavior, try speeding up the judicial process by offering a $20 bill to the traffic enforcement officer.

Idea #17
 Brush your teeth in the shower. I have even grown to enjoy shaving in the shower.

Idea #18
 Discuss this article with your manager. Ask for his or her assessment of your time management skills and ideas for improvement.

Idea #19
 Don’t get defensive. Your managers and others see how you are, not how you think you are.

Idea #20
 Use a cellular phone to keep up with messages, confirm appointments, get accurate directions and let your next appointment know you are on your way, lost or caught in traffic. Your phone also puts you in touch with help when you experience a breakdown.

Getting time on your side begins with breaking self-destructive, time-wasting habits and applying common sense. Remember, all of us are allotted the same number of hours each day. Some make the hours count while others just count them.

 
New South Construction Supply Locations

 

Main Office
Shipping:
951 Harbor Road
West Columbia, SC 29169

Mail:
PO Box 512
Columbia, SC 29202

Phone: (803) 791-8700
WATS:(800) 849-6768
Fax: (803) 796-0713

Concrete/Masonry Products Sales
Phone: (803) 791-8700
Accounting Dept. (803) 791-8724
WATS: (800) 849-6768
Main Fax: (803) 791-8191
President- Jim Sobeck (864) 325-6518
EVP/CFO- Kurt Herwald (864) 268-3970

VP Purchasing- David Hodgin
(704)-358-9797
Director of Sales and Operations- Bryan Shelton
(770) 560-6932
Operations Manager- Donald Whately
Sales Manager- Jon Black
Controller- Dave Lewis


Other Locations

2829 White Horse Road
Greenville, SC 29611
Phone: (864) 269-7007
WATS: (800) 849-4454
Fax: (864) 269-6004
Operations Manager- Rob Hovanec
Sales Managers- Russ Lott & Lance Perry

1427 Mechanical Blvd.
Garner, NC (Raleigh) 27529
Phone: (919) 662-9012
WATS: (800) 849-4677
Fax: (919) 662-9412
Operations Manager- Vic Murray
Sales Manager- Bud Driggers

 

Other Locations

4987 Banco Road
N. Charleston SC 29418
Phone: (843)760-0780
WATS: (888)224-3140
Fax: (843) 760-6127
Operations Manager- David Starr
Sales Manager- Trip Moore

9050 D W. Market St.
Colfax (Greensboro) NC 27235
Phone: (336) 992-0237
WATS: (800) 609-0889
Fax: (336) 992-0839
Operations Manager- David Perkins
Sales Manager- Kearns Cheek

180 Rodeo Drive
Myrtle Beach SC 29579
Phone: (843) 236-6447
WATS: (800) 821-2676
Fax: (843) 236-6521
Operations Manger- George Acerbi
Sales Manager- Clint Paul

649-51 Anderson St.
Charlotte NC 28205
Phone: (704) 358-9797
WATS: (866) 375-9660
Fax: (704) 358-9646
Operations Manager: David Hodgin
Sales Managers: Jim Harris & Dave Strawser

9156 Speedway Boulevard
Hardeeville (Hilton Head) SC 29927
Phone: (843) 784-1580
WATS: (866) 326-8802
Fax: (843) 784-1581
Acting Operations Manager- Dave Davis
Sales Manager- Steve Melton

17251 Highway 53
Gulfport MS 39503
Phone: (228) 539-2519
WATS: (866) 506-7257
Fax: (228) 539-2771
Operations Manager- John Jalanivich
Sales Manager- Greg Cairns