WRLA Toolbox: June 20, 2013
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Welcome to the ToolBox, your portal to WRLA member news and information within the LBM market. We invite you to learn more about what's going on within your association and the companies whose products and/or services you utilize.

What's Going On

Since 1990, the WRLA has demonstrated its commitment to continuing education by offering scholarships and bursaries to selected applicants of WRLA member employees and their dependents.
 
Over $30,000 in Bursary and Scholarship funds per academic year may be awarded to selected applicants who have been accepted full-time (minimum 60% course load) as of September 2013 for their first or second year of studies at a recognized University, College,
or Technical Program.

Bursary Application Deadline:
August 9, 2013

Scholarship Application Deadline:
October 4, 2013



Or CLICK HERE for more Infromation on the Bursary & Scholarship Program.

 







WRLA Terry Yates Memorial -          August 20th


8th Annual WRLA Calgary Classic - September 5th


WRLA Golf Kenosee - September 11th





CLICK HERE 
to Register your team Today!

 


WRLA offers exciting Industry News and Member Benefits through our WRLA T.V Channel! 

Featured in this Video:

  • 5 Tips to Maximize the Prairie Showcase
  • Network beyond the Show Floor
  • How to Buy and Sell
  • Entertainment - Natalie McMaster & Burton Cummings 

Tell us what you think!

CLICK HERE or visit us a www.wrla.org to see all our videos! 

 


Got News?  Share it with us! 
And always watch for new videos and updates from the WRLA!

   

Help us get the word out about OUR Industry!

 




All WRLA members will receive a complimentary hard copy of the 2013- 2014 WRLA Directory & Product Source Guide in July 2013.

 

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 - Quarry Oaks, Steinbach, Manitoba
 
The first WRLA golf tournament was held in 1990 in Dauphin, Manitoba with 39 golfers, the year after 50 golfers met in Selkirk, Manitoba. A good thing continued in 1992 with 70 golfers at the Carman, Manitoba Golf Club. 1993 hit the sweet spot with over 100 golfers at Larter’s Golf Club in St. Andrews, Manitoba. This charismatic course managed to capture WRLA member’s hearts for the next thirteen years.

Finally, the tournament outgrew this eighteen-hole course and moved to a 27 hole facility outside of Steinbach, Manitoba. The tournament was renamed in 2003 in honour of Terry Yates, a past WRLA President and golfing enthusiast. Proceeds from the tournament are directed to the WRLA Bursary and Scholarship Fund, the Dauphin and District Scholarship Fund and KidSport Manitoba.

See what the hub bub is about; register to play or sponsor the tournament on a hole or by donating a gift!



CLICK HERE for the 2013 WRLA Terry Yates Memorial Golf Tournament Webpage!

 
Industry News

Boucherville, Quebec, June 20, 2013 – The Commercial and Professional Market division was created when RONA acquired Noble in 2007. It then grew over the years, organically and through acquisitions. With 1,400 employees in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, the Commercial and Professional Market division has been operating under the Noble, Don Park, MPH Supplies, Boutique Eaudace and Boutique Plomberie Décoration 25 banners.

In line with its strategic priorities, RONA has been focusing on unlocking the full potential of its retail and distribution business. In this context, selling its Commercial and Professional Market division to EMCO is the right decision for employees, customers and shareholders. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to net a total cash consideration of approximately $215 million (after transaction expenses and fees), subject to working capital adjustments.

"Since 2007, we’ve been working with a group of skilled and dedicated employees who have helped build this business. We take this opportunity to sincerely thank them for their commitment. After all these years, we know we can count on them for their continued support in this transition," said Dominique Boies, RONA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

"RONA’s Commercial and Professional Market division has become a strong and unique business through its culture of outstanding customer service. We are proud to welcome its valued employees, suppliers and customers into our family. All locations will continue to operate under the same brand names and under the same leadership. As well, customers will continue to receive the excellent quality of service they have come to expect. We are committed to valuing and reinforcing the service culture so evident across the division while providing our new teammates with opportunities to develop themselves and their business," said Rick Fantham, President of EMCO Corporation.

The Commercial and Professional Market division will be classified as a discontinued operation. Consequently, RONA is required to measure the value of assets held for sale. The Corporation is currently expecting to record, in the second quarter of 2013, a pre-tax loss of approximately $125 million resulting from the transaction, mostly related to a write-down of the division’s goodwill.

Scotiabank acted as financial advisor to RONA and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal advisor.

 

St. Jacobs, ON (Wednesday, June 19, 2013) – Following the tournament golfers attended a dinner at St. George Banquet Hall with a silent auction of over 80 items donated by Home Hardware and its suppliers and partners. Last year $50,000 was raised through the tournament and silent auction for the Canadian Diabetes Association. This year, Home Hardware hopes to have raised the same amount and presented an initial cheque for $20,000 and will write a second cheque once the numbers are tallied in the upcoming weeks.

"Home Hardware has always made giving back to our communities a significant part of our culture," said Paul Straus, President and CEO, Home Hardware Stores Limited. "This event is a great opportunity to bring together our people and partners for a day of fun while raising money for the Canadian Diabetes Association which is leading the fight against diabetes by helping people with diabetes live healthy lives and to help find a cure. I’m especially grateful to our volunteers and sponsors for helping to make this tournament a success."

"The Canadian Diabetes Association is grateful for the support of Home Hardware Stores Limited" said Bill Gregory, Senior Community Engagement Coordinator for the Canadian Diabetes Association. "The support of our partners and donors makes it possible for us to truly make a difference in the lives of the more than 9 million Canadians living with diabetes and prediabetes."

Over the last 16 years, the Home Hardware Annual Charity Golf Tournament has raised nearly $390,000 for various local charities. Home Hardware makes a two-year commitment to a local charity and partners to plan and execute the event. The proceeds from the upcoming 2014 and 2015 golf tournaments will go towards Ray of Hope in Kitchener. 
 
About Home Hardware Stores Limited
100% Canadian owned and operated, Home Hardware Stores Limited has a presence in every Canadian province and territory and is the country’s largest independent, Dealer-owned hardware, lumber, building materials and furniture cooperative. Founded on January 1, 1964 by 122 independent hardware Dealers, the cooperative now includes more than 1,080 stores, under the Home Hardware, Home Building Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre and Home Furniture banners, with annual collective retail sales of more than $5 billion. Home Hardware’s independent Dealer-Owners, recognized by the North American Retail Hardware Association as Canada’s best-trained Dealer group, have access to 100,000 quality brand name and private label products, a world-class distribution system and draw upon the power of Home Hardware’s network to provide their local communities with top quality products and services at competitive prices.

About the Canadian Diabetes Association
The Canadian Diabetes Association is a registered charitable organization, leading the fight against diabetes by helping people with diabetes live healthy lives while we work to find a cure.  Our professional staff and more than 20,000 volunteers provide education and services to help people in their daily fight against the disease, advocate on behalf of people with diabetes for the opportunity to achieve their highest quality of life, and break ground towards a cure.  Please visit www.diabetes.ca, join us on facebook.com/CanadianDiabetesAssociation, follow us on Twitter @DiabetesAssoc, or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).

 

(Valley Forge, Pa.) – "Bringing the Meridian plant back on-line is central to strengthening CertainTeed's leadership position in the acoustical product marketplace," said Graham Thayer, vice president and general manager of CertainTeed Ceilings. "The added production capacity, along with our focus on Environmental Acoustics™ research, will enable us to grow with the commercial construction market and continue to provide customers with sophisticated solutions for creating sustainable, comfortable and healthy interior environments."

The Meridian plant produces a range of acoustical ceilings used in commercial applications. CertainTeed is investing $24 million into the reopening of the plant, which had previously been idled in August 2009 due to uncertainty in the construction market. The company expects the plant to resume operations by mid-2014, bringing 110 jobs to the community by 2016. Ongoing updates and employment information are available at www.certainteed.com/Meridian.

To commemorate the announcement, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and Meridian Mayor Cheri Barry joined CertainTeed representatives for a tree planting ceremony, symbolizing the company's renewed commitment to growth in the local community.

"We're excited for the opportunity to become a part of the Meridian community once again and are eager to get back to work as quickly as possible," said Thayer. "This city has always shown a dedication and strong work ethic that I’m confident will help us to continue offering our customers the most sustainable and innovative acoustical solutions in the industry."

The plant’s reopening is the most recent example of CertainTeed’s commitment to its reemerging ceilings business.

In January 2013, the company formed a joint venture with Bailey Metal Products Limited of Concord, Ontario — the largest lightweight steel framing manufacturer in Canada. With the joint venture, CertainTeed Ceilings brings a combination of technical expertise and production capacity to the North American market, providing customers with a single source for high-quality ceiling panels and grid systems.

Earlier this year, the company announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art research and development facility in Kulpsville, Pa., ensuring its acoustical products are fine-tuned for optimal performance. CertainTeed also operates ceiling panel plants in L’Anse, Mich., and Plymouth, Wis., as well as ceiling grid production facility in Ellenton, Fla.

Already this year, CertainTeed Ceilings has introduced six new products, including high-density fiberglass Ecophon® Wall Panels, Gyptone® BIG Quattro 46 perforated acoustical gypsum panels, and the innovative Rx Symphony® family of ceiling panels optimized for healthcare settings. The company also continued to build on its industry-leading portfolio of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) by certifying Symphony® m mineral fiber and VOC Compliant Symphony® f fiberglass ceiling panels through UL Environment.

As experts in the science of sound, CertainTeed Ceilings serves as a single source for high-quality ceilings that create acoustically friendly, aesthetically captivating environments. Encompassing the Performa®, Ecophon and Gyptone brands along with Decoustics® — a leader in high-precision, custom-engineered solutions — the company offers the perfect balance of innovation, budget and beauty with products that range from basic high-performance panels to premium, customizable systems. Through its Environmental Acoustics design and research, CertainTeed Ceilings provides solutions that promote healthier interiors while having a smaller impact on the environment. The company offers ceiling panels with one of the highest concentrations of recycled content in the industry as well as a recycling program for used ceiling panels. CertainTeed Ceilings is the first ceilings manufacturer to issue Environmental Product Declarations through UL Environment and The Green Standard. For more information, visit www.certainteed.com.

About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, gypsum and ceilings.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. For five consecutive years, the company has received top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its contributions in protecting the environment and was most recently the recipient of the 2013 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. The group had total sales of approximately $3.3 billion in 2012. www.certainteed.com

 
In Central and Eastern Canada our Group welcomed Del-Pro Building Supplies and Multi-Glass Insulation Ltd.   Del-Pro Building Supplies, located in Whitby ON, is a privately owned company with a combined 35 years of experience in the drywall supply industry.  Multi-Glass Insulation Ltd is a leading distributor and customized value-added fabricator of insulation systems and other energy conservation building materials to the commercial, industrial and residential construction markets.  Multi-Glass has been in business since 1975 and has 7 locations throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic.

In the Prairies Tora Ventures Ltd, and Versatile Concepts Industries Ltd both joined Sexton Group.  Tora Ventures, located in Calgary AB, is a new company specializing in roofing materials and accessories.  Versatile Concepts Industries, located in Vonda SK, manufactures modular structures suitable for industrial camps and school room additions.

In BC Sexton Group added Twin Anchors Marine Ltd., and Winton Global Homes.   Twin Anchors Marine Ltd, located in Sicamous BC, manufactures modular structures.  Winton Global Homes, located in Prince George BC, manufactures factory built structures.
The Group has also been focused on communications, launching its new website in January.  Also launched in January, was a presence in social media on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  "The goal is to make it easier for our members to communicate with their contractor customers, vendors and the Sexton Group itself" states Calla Komarnicki the Group’s Communications Manager.

Sexton Group Members are purchasing and selling building materials and hardlines at a record pace in 2013. "Despite poor weather and a late spring our members reported very solid results for the first two quarters.  Certain products such as siding and windows suffered in the first quarter but have fully rebounded now that the sun is shining", reports Sexton Group GM Steve Buckle.
 

Each Project PRO module combines project videos from NRHA’s consumer website for dealers, PlanItDIY.com. Those videos feature valuable selling skills to teach associates how to complete the project, as well as how to sell it. Modules cover common DIY projects, such as Priming and Painting Interior Walls, Fixing a Leaky Toilet and Installing Electrical Outlets and Switches. They also explain how to deliver better customer service and increase transaction sizes.
Click here for more information on NRHA’s Project Pro Courses.

MAKE TRAINING MANDATORY
One sure fire way to get your staff to take training is to make it mandatory. Many dealers are using online product knowledge training as part of a new employee’s probation period. One of the things required for keeping their job after that initial period is to complete one of the courses.
Veteran employees can benefit from a refresher course as well. However, we realize that they may need to be encouraged to accept the mandatory training rule. Give them a friendly challenge: ask them to take the online test from one of the chapters in the Basic Training Courses. They will likely be surprised by just how much they’ve forgotten. Making some training through the year a prerequisite before each employee’s annual review is another effective way to draw more staff into taking training.

Remember, all training and testing is done online and NRHA keeps track of each student’s progress for you.

BACK TO BASICS
The best place to start with NRHA training is NRHA’s Basic Training Courses in Hardware and Basic Training in Building Materials. These courses include:

• 11 Core Hardlines and 9 Building Materials Chapters
• Product Photos & Descriptions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Upselling & Add-On Selling Techniques
• Selling Skills
• Merchandising Techniques

WRLA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NRHA
The goal of the North American Retail Hardware Association is to help independent hardware and home improvement retailers become better and more profitable merchants through a wide array of educational and training programs, financial management resources, and human resource tools that are all available online. WRLA members get unlimited access to a full range of training and management services when they join NRHA through the WRLA.

CLICK HERE for more information about the WRLA or CLICK HERE for more information about NRHA.

 
Calendar of Events


August 20, 2013
WRLA Terry Yates Annual Golf Tournament
Quarry Oaks Golf Club, Steinbach, MB

August 22 - 24, 2013
Orgill Market
Boston, MA 

September 5, 2013
WRLA Calgary Classic Annual Golf Tournament
Sundre Golf Course, Sundre, AB

September 11, 2013
WRLA Kenosee Annual Golf Tournament

Kenosee Golf Club, Kenosee, SK

To view the complete Events Calendar  CLICK HERE

To view the complete Education & Training Calendar CLICK HERE

 
Member Updates

NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBER

IPEX HomeRite Products (Head Office)
6805 Invader Crescent
Mississauga, ON   L5T 2K6
Phone: 905-564-3384
Phone TF: 866-777-8023
Fax: 905-564-4856
Main Contact: Anne Zonni
sales@ipexhomerite.com
www.ipexhomerite.com
(Manufacturer) plastic piping systems, PVC, CPVC, ABS, PP, PVDF, PEX, and PE

 
Association Publications

Support your association and broadcast your business to hundreds of decision-makers in the lumber industry. Advertising opportunities are still available in several WRLA publications:

The YardStick: The YardStick is sent to more than 1,200 members firms every other month. Advertising in the largest issue of The YardStick, the Prairie Showcase edition, is a great way to reinforce your marketing message with hundreds of decision-makers who regularly read this magazine while supporting WRLA. Ads booked within the print edition automatically appear (linked to the website or email of your choice) in the digital edition, which is read by more than 500 visitors each issue. Exclusive online ad positions are also available within every digital edition.

The Toolbox: Delivered directly to the inboxes of more than 1,200 lumber managers and professionals, this
weekly e-newsletter offers consistent access to the individuals who rely on your products and services to run their businesses.

Directory & Product Source Guide:
WRLA is the largest retail lumber association on the Prairies, with its membership representing 85% of the industry. All of our members are included in this annual directory and all keep this publication handy year-round. Make sure your business stands out in this resource by purchasing a display advertisement.

WRLA.org: Our website average more than 3,000 visits per month! Advertising space is available on the home and sub-pages of WRLA.org. Ads rotate on the home page and sub pages, expanding your exposure to site visitors at an affordable price.

WRLA-TV: Introducing the NEW WRLA-TV Banner Sponsorship. Our online TV and banners offer your brand high visibility on the WRLA homepage. Your branding and action oriented banner is featured every time WRLA-TV’s videos are played by our audience, leaving them one-click away from your website‘s landing page.

For more information about these opportunities, click here for the media kit or contact:

Kim Davies
Project Manager
(800) 665-2456, ext. 423
kdavies@naylor.com 

 
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Alliance Designer Products
Westman Steel Industries
iRecycle Inc.
Castle Building Centres

If your company has news that you would like to see in The ToolBox, please email your news releases to news@wrla.org
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