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W. R. Grace & Co. is putting its retailgroup including Handy Dan, Handy City, House Works and Home Quorters up for sale to help pay for the26Vo of its stock that it is buying back from the Flick Group of West Germany for $596 million.

Homecrafters, Birmingham, A1., has filed under Chapter ll of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (see page 37 for details) Lindsley Home Centers, Miami, Fl., expects to begin remodeling its stores this year, emphasizing home improvement...

Kinkead Div. of USG will increase the capacity of its Union City, Tn., plant by 5090 Hontemork is a new building products operation in Roxboro, N.c., created from the former southern branch of Clark Bros. MetalFabricllors, Grosse lle, Mi., with amfg. plant in Orlando, Fl., and u'arehouse and distribution centers in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville, F1....

Hommerntill Hardwoods, Augusta, Ga., has sold its Monterey, Tn., sarvmill to the Eost Tbnnessee l4'alnut Co. Crown Zellerbach, rvhich is discontinuing all logging operations in both the south and north'*'est, has closed it Ponchatoula, La., sawmill .

Southv''est Forest Industries has sold 6i,492 acres of hardwood wetlands in Fl. to the Northwest Florida W'ater Monagement District for $19,573,m0

Southern Pine Computeris a new company in Fort Lauderdale, Fl.

Gator Door & Supply Co., Inc., Gainesville, Fl., just celebrated its lfth anniversary Amsrillo Luntber Co., Amarillo, Tx., will be 6O years old this year

Belknap Inc., the big Louisville, Ky., hardwarewholesaler, has filed for Chapter 1l protection Black & Decker Corp. will close its Hampstead, Md., plant in 1987, moving production to Easton, Md.. and overseas

Builders Square has acquired l2 former Jefferson Warddept. stores for expansion into Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fl., markets Weiss-Hamilton Lumber Co., Largo, Fl., has been acquired completely by John R. Hamilton for an undisclosed amount. .

Lowe's has added a new store in North Charleston, S.C., and reopened remodeled stores in Waynesville, N.C., and Richmond, Va. . . McCoy's Building Supply Centers has opened its 65th store, in Jasper, Tx., with a full size lumber yard adjoining . .

Censtar RooJing Products Co. is the new name for the former F/rntkote roofing manufacturing plant in Ennis, Tx. .Temple-Eastex Inc. has retrofitted its West Memphis, Ar., gypsum plant at a cost of Sl.l million.

Nicolqi Co., Portland, Or., plans to build a $10 million door plant in Lexington, N.C.; sales and marketing offices are being established in anticipation of operations beginning by the end of the year

Regular barge shipments to the south of Canadian lumber shipped by lake transportation to the /l I i no is Int e rnat iona I Port (Chicago) will begin in April; Bloch Lumber Co., Chicago, recently distributed a trial shipment of 2,010 tons from Thunder Bay, Ontario .

Housing slcrts fell 12.2s/o in Nov. (latest figs.) to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,547,m0, the lowest level in more than 2 years; the pace was 3.390 below last Nov. starts have fluctuated widely for the last 4 mos.

Top company officials and private investors have bid $ I .3 billion to acquire National Gypsutrt Co. in one of the largest leveraged buy-outs in history; the move must be ok'd by National Gypsum's board and its shareholders . . . the t'irm is one of the bi-egest gypsum producers in the countr-Y. . .

Hechinger will open a new store in Fayetteville, N.C., in the fall Home Depot plans to open two new stores before the end of Feb. and 14 more during the year, half in established markets and half in Detroit, Mi., and northern Ca. markets gg111ERN Foresr Prociucrs lEAssociation has completed the first year of its Marketing Marathon program with increased industry production, increased enthusiasm, and a determination to meet the program's ambitious goals.

Jim Walter Corp., Tampa, Fl., has bought Cherokee Brick of North Carolina Inc., Raleigh, N.C., and San"ford Brick Corp., Sanford, N.C., for an undisclosed sum, keeping the existing management.

Single family home starts fell 17 .SVo while apt. unit starts slipped 2.7s/o bldg. permits for future construction were off 2.4V0 . . . additionally, new home sales in Oct. (latest figs.) declined 5.590, the lowest rate in 6 mos. . .

With its new marketing program successfully launched, SFPA plans to expand its efforts to increase southern pine lumber demand, and to attract more lumber manufacturers into SFPA.

The association currently represents about 5570 of all southern pine production. SFPA is the only trade group that is dedicated to selling more southern pine lumber. In 1984, SFPA launched a five year plan to boost souJhern pine shipments by 1.4 billion board feet a year by 1990. Advertising, promotion, field calls, convention displays, direct mail, public relations, regional promotions and intensive communications to key specifiers are getting the word out on southern pine.

The targets of the busy program are architects, contractors, engineers, retail dealers, builders, realtors, developers, and other volume users. Consumers have ordered over 15,000

SFPA is dedicated to increased sales

By William R. Ganser, Jr. Executn'e Vice President Southern Forest Products Association

colorful SFPA Outdoor ldea Books in response to advertising and publicity. The program has attracted nationwide attention and has exposed the southern pine sales story over 8 million times in national magazines and news-

Story at a Glance

First year of Marketing Mara. thon successful association represents 55%of al I production promotion attracts national attention goal to unite industry on four issues.

papers. Southern Pine production is up this year compared to 1984 levels, especially in the pressure treated category.

SFPA has also pioneered an intensive communications program to help producers improve the quality of southern pine lumber. Meeting presentations, video tape training sessions and printed materials are bringing the message to lumber manufacturers: wane, crook, twist and warp in southern pine lumber must be reduced to meet the goals of the Marketing Marathon.

SFPA has a goal to add ten new pro-

(Please turn to page 46)