Masonry Magazine April 1970 Page. 11
DEVELOPING OUR MASONRY MARKET
By R. A. BLEIL
Regional Sales Manager, United States Market
Canadian Refractories Limited, Bellevue, Washington
This presentation by Mr. Bleil was made at the 1970 MCAA Region F Conference at the Washington Plaza Hotel, Seattle. It is felt his comments are most constructive.
The key to the successful development of today's masonry market is to stop selling brick and to discontinue offering color and texture. In our modern competitive market we cannot afford to sell brick. We must learn to sell buildings. We cannot offer a color or a texture: rather we should offer concepts and systems.
Today's builder, be it the contractor, architect or engineer, is concerned with the total concept of a finished structure. Our approach then must be geared to assist them in executing this total concept quickly, easily and economically with masonry systems.
In the past we were content with the simple act of decorating and cladding buildings. If we are, as an industry, to survive in today's market we can no longer afford the luxury of a simple decorative treatment. With the rising costs of both materials and labor in the construction industry today, each dollar invested in new construction must be wisely invested for function as well as aesthetics.
We can all remember too clearly those unhappy days of the past wherein the project was designed with a brick cladding, was bid, the bids were in excess of the architect and owner's estimate, and the first thing that was struck from the building in order to execute a contract was brick cladding. It is simply far easier to substitute a thin coat of paint to decorate a building for the more expensive cladding materials as brick.
On the other hand, when masonry materials become indigenous to the total design concept and are in fact not only decorative but functional in a structural sense, it is not only difficult but in most cases impossible to remove these materials in the event of an over-estimated bid. The recognition of this truth has led to the development of what I would refer to as integrated masonry systems. That is,
About the Author
Mr. Bleil is Regional Sales Manager, United States market, Canadian Refractories Limited, Bellevue, Washington. A graduate of Northwestern University Technological Institute with a degree in civil engineering, he moved to the state of Washington in 1954 where he joined Mutual Materials Co, as a sales representative, with primary responsibilities in glazed structural tile sales and architectural promotion. He joined Clayburn-Harbison, the forerunner of Canadian Refractories, in 1962 to manage sales in the U.S. market. At this time marketing and production combined to develop and produce the Giant Brick as an answer to the continuing need of architects for clay units that would compete favorably with concrete masonry units. He also assisted in developing a load-bearing masonry market in the lower Fraser Valley area for Clayburn-Harbison.
buildings conceived and executed in masonry units from footing to roof wherein these units act as finished interior and exterior surfaces, bearing walls which support the live and dead loads of the building itself as well as all the lateral thrust forces which will act on the finished building, and even more recently, the introduction of masonry floor systems which tie the bearing walls together at each floor level and act as floors for spaces above and ceilings for spaces below.
By the same token it is of paramount importance that the development of these integrated masonry systems be able to compete favorably, dollar for dollar, with other competitive design systems. This has dictated the introduction of totally new and often revolutionary masonry units as well as a profound change in the thinking and approach of the masonry subcontractor. Suddenly, as an industry we are effectively acting as a total general contractor. That is, we have acquired and we welcome the responsibility for the erection of buildings from the time that the footings are in place until the time that the roofing contractor puts a finished roof on the structure.
Job patterns change with developing market
In the past we expected considerable lead time or, if you will, lag time, between the time that a contract was consummated and it was necessary to have masonry materials as well as journeymen on the job. In today's market quite the opposite is true. For now, virtually as soon as the contract has been awarded it is necessary for masonry materials to be on the job site together with the journeymen and mechanics to erect the finished structure.
This then is today's expanding masonry market. If we are to be successful in the pursuit and further growth of this new masonry market there are many things that we must know and accomplish in order to continue this growth pattern. Initially, we must learn to recognize our competition. I do not refer to that competition which is both common and healthy between various manufacturers nor that which exists between various masonry contractors. Rather I am referring to the true competition for today's building dollar-specifically, lumber, steel, concrete and the new factory erected modules.
Must understand competitors' capabilities
If we are to compete successfully with these other building components it is mandatory that we know and understand the capabilities and the limitations of each such component and more correctly the comparative costs of these other systems to our own masonry systems. In the Northwest we are unique in that we have developed a relatively good masonry market in the face of a very stiff and severe competition from a native lumber industry. I think we can be justifiably proud of the fact that the Northwest has pioneered and led the way in the development of many of the new masonry materials and systems which have evolved in the past decade.