More Faucet Manufacturers Get The Lead Out

Four more large faucet manufacturers have agreed to virtually eliminate their use of lead, settling a lawsuit initiated by environmental groups and the state of California.

Since California is such a big market, firms that lower toxins to meet its tougher restrictions typically must change their entire manufacturing process so other states also receive products with fewer toxins.

Sterling Plumbing Group, Kohler Co., Chicago Faucet Co. and Black & Decker's Price-Pfister, Inc. also agreed to pay $2.7 million in penalties and attorneys' fees.

The Siding Of Tomorrow ls Here

Skookum Lumber Co., Olympia, Wa., is banking on the siding of the future. No, it's not vinyl, metal, concrete, reconstituted wood or engineered wood. Skookum is investing in good, old-fashioned cedar.

Facing lower-quality, youngergrowth trees, many competitors are loolcing to alternative materials to emulate the look of cedar. But Skookum is convinced there's nothing like the real thing.

The company planned, designed and built a new plant from the ground up solely for the production of cedar siding on a sustained yield basis. To improve the quality of the siding to rival man-made alternatives, Skookum created much of the facility's unique machinery and processes itself.

Special saws and sawing meth- ods cut the smaller, knotty logs for maximum yield, strength and smoothness. Computer-controlled kilns slowly dry and steam-cure the wood to minimize shrinkage, splitting and warping. A special thermosetting sealant further waterproofs the small, tight intergrown knots of young growth cedar.

Finally, the siding receives a factory-applied prime coat of Olympic paint, ensuring the primer is applied thoroughly to a required average minimum thickness before it leaves the plant.

Explains Skookum's Tucker Smyth: "Properly manufactured and coated cedar substrates can put cedar siding back into the picture as a long-lasting, low-maintenance siding product."

Several other faucet manufacturers previously reached a similar agreement. The new settlement means approximately 9OVo of the faucets sold in the U.S. should be virtuallv leadfree by 1999.

Home Colors Getter Softer

The strong, intense colors in last year's homes are giving way to soothing, softer tones that are clean and clear, fresher and "more optimistic," according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

In the 1990s alone, notes NARI, there has been a 3OVo to 4AVo change in the look of colors. While earthtones are hot, consumers don't want to see the raw, natural colors that were popular last year. They want complex and warmer tones that work well together.

"It is a basic economic trend," explains a NARI member. "Colors in the home industry need to have longevity, compatibility and be aesthetically pleasing. Unlike fashion, home colors don't change season to season. They must endure, yet still make a statement about the homeowner's individuality."

Colors also need to coordinate with other items in the home, meaning they must take on a chameleon-like ability to match the closest items in the room as well as the ones farthest awav.

APA Enters Gyberspace

Instant access to information on glulams, wood I-joists, plywood and OSB is now available via the Internet on APA-The Engineered Wood Association's new web site.

Reached at http://www.apawood. org, the home page includes a list of APA members and the producs they manufacture, a list of current seminars and trade shows.

Stain Your Way To Mardi Gras

wifh the quolity, dependobility ond service you con rely upon for

Penofin-Perfonnanoe Coatings Inc. is awarding a dealer and a customer seven-day trips for two to next year's Mardi Gras in New Orleans, La.

End-users sirnply purchase a Penofin stain, fill out the can tag entry blank including the name of the store where they bought it, and mail it in before Oct. 31, 1996, for a drawing.

Store promotions arc available including fold-up brochures, stickers, cards, T-shirts and posters featuring Penofin mascot "Rosie" in Mardi Gras stvle.

Ganada Concedes, Will Decrease Exports

Under threat of a tariff, Canada tentatively agreed to reduce softwood lumber exports to the U.S. and allow American producers to recapture their share of the domestic market.

The deal may end a l4-year dispute in which Canada was accused of unfair trade by flooding the U.S. with government-subsidized lumber.

After over a year of negotiations, the countries reached an agreement in principle that would last for five years, beginning April 1, reports U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor.

The pact reportedly allows British Columbia to ship up to 9 billion bd. ft. of softwood lumber annually to the U.S. without penalty. Additional exports are subject to a $50-per-1000 ft. tax for the first 250 million ft. and $ I 00-per- 1000 thereafter.

Quebec, Ontario and Alberta will raise stumpage fees by $100 million, with additional increases assessed if Quebec's shipments exceed 89Vo.

Although Canadian officials have long disputed the U.S. view that its timber producers received government aid, Kantor said the concession will provide "necessary relief and the level playing field that U.S. companies and workers have fought for."

Despite the decrease in the volume of less expensive imported wood, Kantor said, U.S. home builders and buyers would see a "negligible, if any" effect on new home prices since builders are now using more alternative materials in housing construction.

Yet, the restrictions on the amount of cheaper Canadian lumber sold in the U.S. do remove some pressure for U.S. firms to keep prices low. And, if Canada exceeds its quotas and must pay tariffs on exports, contractors also end up paying more for that wood.

Kantor said if Canada fails to live up to the terms of the agreement, the U.S. initiate imposing frade sanctions.

For years, attempts to settle the dispute have been snarled by bitter political debate, litigation and tariffs. Officials from Washington and Ottawa have negotiated sporadically on their own over the last 14 months.

Engineered Wood Levels Out

U.S. shipments of engineered wood products are forecast to increase o Covers old, unsightly ceilings . Reduces noise

4.lVo to $9.4 billion in 1996, down from the l7.4Vo compound annual rate of the last five years, according to Specialists in Business Information.

The slowdown corresponds to a leveling off of U.S. housing demand in early 1995 due to rising mortgage interest rates. Lower new home construction caused factory production to slow and engineered wood product prices to drop, reversing the positive economic environment of 1992-94.

With home builders turning to engineered wood as a lower-cost substitute for some traditional lumber materials, engineered wood products' share of the total U.S. lumber and wood products industry rose 9.2Vo in 1995, up fromT.OVo in 1991.

Engineered lumber, particleboard and oriented strandboard are the largest industry sectors and should continue to lead the market through the turn of the century.

Total engineered wood product shipments are expected to climb 9.17o annually over the next five years to $14.6 billion, or ll.lVo of total U.S. lumber and wood product shipments.

Particleboard products should post the strongest gains, rising 9.8Vo annuallv between 1996 and 2001.

. Increases light . Moisture proofs . Resists fire . Insulates o Washable . Won't water stain, warp, sag . Can be applied directly to sheetrock or furring strips . Available in 12' x 12" interlocking squares for do-it-yourself installation, plus 2'x 2' ot 2'x 4' panels

Million Dollar Cedar Gampaign

The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association has launched one of the largest, most comprehensive marketing programs ever undertaken by a forest products industry group in a single North American market.

The $l million program follows months of intensive strategic planning and is being introduced on a test market basis in Washington's Puget Sound region, historically a strong market for western red cedar products.

The theme, "Today's Cedar Naturally," begins appearing this month on many products manufactured by association members. The program also includes advertising, six new product usage brochures for retailers to distribute to the public, and participation in home shows.

"Few forest products associations have ever taken such a bold approach to the markeplace, and we are confident it will have a significant effect on sales," said Jack MacMillan, Canfor Wood Products.

Research included exhaustive research on siding and decking in North America over the past 15 years; a series of focus groups involving builders, consumers and retail salespersons; a survey of builders, and over 500 telephone interviews with consumen.

"Our analysts determined builders are the primary decision-makers for siding products whereas consumers are the overwhelming influencers of decking and yardscape materials," said consultant John Kenmuir. And while the species is appreciated in the producing are4 'there is considerable misinformation on the part of builder and consumer alike as to western red cedar's properties, availability and uses."

The initiative's most visible symbol, a 5,(XXLft- "Cedar Lane" virtual backyard display, attracted thousands of visitors during the inaugural fiveday show. It featued a lGft square picnic shelrcr, 2II'ft. tall gazebo observation tower, and display modules showing a greenhouse, pergola, benches, trellises, cabana, mock walls with various kinds of siding, decking, fencing, posts, even a hot tub.

World Of Wood On Display

'nVhat's New?! DevelopmentJ Markets/Products" is the theme of IHPA-The International Wood Products Association's ztoth annual convention and World of Wood '96 April 23-26 at the Marrion at Sawgrass Resort, Ponrc Vedra Beach, Fl.

Keynote speaker Philip S. Auchincloss will address "Marketing Imported Wood Products in the U.S. - What the Importen and Producen Need to Know."

Tulsa, OK 800-299-9870

Oklahoma City, OK 800-375-6025

Springfield, MO 800-375-7891

Kansas City, KS 800-621-2611

Other topics tackled during the convention include 'CITES and the Timber Trade," "Low Impact LoggingDemonstrating Progress in Achieving Sustainable Sources," and '"The Question of Certification in the Wood Products Industry."

Machinery Sales Energized

Powered by unusually brisk sales in November and December, manufacturer Michael Weinig AG of Germany registcred record sales of woodworking machinery in 1995, up 4% over 1994.