The return of southern pine millwork

t\USTOMERS like it. Manufac\Zurers are starting to make ir So now it seems that the success of southern pine millwork is in the hands of the middle man - the dealer.

"I'm 50 yean old and it's the hardest sell I've ever had," admits Eddie "E.2." Hunt, Northcur Woodworks, Crockett, Tx. "But in the last four years I've sold 60 to 70 truckloads of southern pine millwork and have not had one complaint. I can't say that about ponderosa pine. Everybody you can talk into'buying (SP millwork) has no problem with it."

But the resistance to southem pine millwork is natural. Most sou0ern pine mills are not equipped with special stean-injection drying systems similar to those of hardwood mills. "Southern pine millwork has to be dried very slowly, tben reconditioned with steam so it dries uniformly throughout the piece or you have cracking and checking inside," Hunt explains. "But all the southern pine people have put in tlese high-temperature kilns for dimension lumber, so in 7, 8, 10 hours you get it out on the road. That does not work for millwork."

Actually, years ago millwork was the bread and butter of many southern pine producers. The swirch to structural lumber came during the post World War II housing boom. Faced with rising demand for franing materials and rising production of affordable ponderosa pine millwork by western mills, southern pine produc- ers converted to a rapid drying process which was clearly effectivebut limited the versatility of the species. The rapid drying sufficient for framework created a propensity for the wood to bend and bow when used in other applications, all but eliminating it from lhe interior market.

But today constraints on timber barvesting in the Pacific Northwest are increasing as is demand for millwork. Independent studies predict that sales will grow approximately

Story at a Glance

Southern pine millwork braced for a comeback dealerc Interest up ... manufacturers changlng to produce necessary quality.

57o annually through 1998 to nearly $13 billion. Unlike ponderosa pine, most plentiful in the West on public lands, 907o of southern pine grows on private lands. Southern pine is more readily available, doesn't take as long to grow and is up to 50Vo less expensive.

The quality is increasingly similar. 'Traditionally, southern pine millwork was a little harder, not quite as stable as ponderosa pine," says Hunt. "But now that the ponderosa pine's coming from smaller trces and smaller logs, there's very little difference."

Aesthetically, southern pine offers

KIfCHEN cabinelry applicatbns in southern pine. a light color and distinctive grain. When appropriately stained, it can resemble darker, more expensive species including oak and cherry. "There's a trend in interiors to go back to the wood look," notes Jeff Easterling, Southem Pine Marketing Council. "Southern pine offers a bright, natural feel and its golden color is especially popular for flooring and beaded ceilings."

The possible return to widespread use of southern pine millwork will be gradual. "There are not enough mills that have stean-injection kilns to produce huge quantities even if they wanted to," says Hunt.

Yet more and more southern lumber producers are breaking back into Oe millwork market, adding or rehofitting plants to produce millwork products. New South, Inc., Conway, S.C., is building a $6 million, 103,000-sq. ft. plant in Marion, S.C., to produce millwork. Production of the CarolinaPine line of southern pine crown, base and chair mouldings, as well as stock for window, door and stair makers, will begin April 18, for delivery to building supply dealers by the summer.

New South will return to the dayslong process (with computer-controlled kilns, this time) to make its CarolinaPine brand material both drier (8 to IzEo moisture content) and more stable than framing-grade southern pine lumber. "There's really no secret to it," expliains marketing manager Thomas Mende. "W'e're reversing a aend from 40 years ago."

EDRICES for plywood, hardboar4 I waferboard/oriented strand boarq particleboard, insulation boar( medium density fiberboard and gypsum board will increase through 1997 as a result of more demand, timber shortages and depressed 1992 gypsum board prices. Improved construction, especially residential building, will spur use 3.87o higher annually through 1997, reaching 74 billion sq. ft.

In projecting these figures, Freedonia Group analyst David Weiss predicts shipments will rise at an annual rate of 6.7Vo ta reach over $14 billion in 1997. He also expects increased capacity and sustained price increases to cause expansion in distribution networks and product lines.