each of our branches and sales people has a stake in nurturing existing relationships and devel- oping new ones. While we intend to continue to pursue growth in na- tional account sales, we will not overlook the importance of the 

strong local market ori- entation of the rest of our customer base. 

We will continue to work closely with our suppliers to grow sales through more effective marketing programs, new product introductions and a 

stronger emphasis on growing key product lines. Suppliers are not simply manufacturers from whom we strive to obtain favorable pay- ment, discount and volume pur- chase programs. They are our strategic business partners. They stand to benefit from our own op- erational strengths, including ca- pabilities in assembling pre-hung and customized doors and in other value-added portions of our busi- ness. In turn, we must continue to seek input from them to help us 

## DOORS TO EFFICIENCY 

better manage our inventory to meet customer demand and better educate our customers as to prod- uct capabilities. 

We have not lost sight that Huttig’s success over its more than 100 

ers and suppliers but also to allow our employees to develop profes- sionally in a challenging and safe work environment. In 2003, we are significantly expanding our customer service training. We also are renewing our efforts to dupli- cate branch-level best practices throughout the company, which we can do only by effectively commu- nicating with, and listening to, our employees. 

years of doing busi- ness has depended significantly on its em- ployees. We will con- tinue to apply best practices and new technologies not only to help our employees deliver exceptional service to our custom- 

