Pressure treating sparks company'S growth

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From its modest be-uinning rirth a retail store on one acre of land. the compan) has erpanded to beconte one of the lcader: in a grorring San .A,ntonio market as * ell ai throughoul all of Teras. Guided b1 name.akc' \laurice (lrothues. *ho dre* on the capabilitier oi his four :ollr. \1 C'. has erpanded thc original rttail :torc' tt-r a 3i: acre rite. adding a ir'aond rctail facilitr in Pleasanton and a l0 acre distribution compler in San .A,ntonro. .q1311 Qltrthuc. n)ana-sr'. the original location at 2l- \err Laredo Highrial , San .\ntonii'r. \lort oi the original fire emplovc'es are :till sith the firm. This vard does double dutv as a con\umer and contractor c!'nlc-r lor all building materials ar doc-. the Pleasanton operation \\ hl.h Dar id Grothues fi1&tr3gc-r. OPen since \1arch, l9--. the second facilitl corers se\en ?Cre: ond hai been a major contributor to thr' o\erall nlulti-nrillion dollar J\rrlloralion

Con:iderc'd br rnanagentent to be the most srgniticant der c'lopment in the companr tcl dalc-, the Osnlo:c' K.33 presrurc treating plant opent'd in

December 198 l. While M G had been known locally as a supplier for many of the area's large projects, it is the treating facility that introduced them to the entire state of Texas and beyond.

Larry Grothues, president of M C and Tommy Grothues, vice president, have no intention of letting the growth of M G slack off. They plan to add a remanufacturing facility this year along with at least one more retail yard in Texas. Capitalizing on their already impressive gro\\'th, the family plans to be a part of the growth of south and central Texas as well as San Antonio.

Story at a Glance

How Texas company has grown from one retail store to multimillion dollar corporation...DC and pressure treating facility added first...new reman plant plus additional retail yards set to open this year.

Genstar Acquires 7 Plants from Bird

Purchase of seven plants from Bird Inc. has been completed by Genstar Corp., San Francisco, Ca', for approximately $50 million.

Asphalt roofing plants in Portland, Or.; Wilmington and Martinez, Ca.;Shreveport, La., and Charleston, S'C'; roofing granule facilities in Rancho Cordova, Ca', and Glenwood, Ar., and a fiberglass mat plant and granule facilities adjacent to the roofing plant in Charleston are included in the acquisition.

The acquisition gives Genstar the capacity to produce about 2.2 million tons of asphalt shingles per year, nearly double its present capacity. Adding these plants to those already owned in Arkansas, California, Georgia, lllinois, Minnesota and Texas, Censtar becomes one of the larger producers of asphalt roofing in the U.S. The company also is one of only three roofing manufacturers with granule manufacturing caPacitY.

Through its U.S. distribution centers, Bird will continue marketing many of the roofing products that will be manufactured by Genstar under various Bird trade names' The plants will also manufacture roofing under Genstar's Flintkote brand name. The Bird operations are now part of Genstar Roofing Products Co., a subsidiary headquartered in lrving, Tx.

Formaldehyde Emission StamP

Particleboard manufacturers are beginning to stamp formaldehyde emission grademarks on their products to comply with the recent HUD Manufactured Home Construction and SafetY Standards.

Under the direction of the National Particleboard Association, 25 plants in 14 states involving 14 manufacturers are certified to the HUD standard. The formaldehyde emission standard sets a maximum 0.3 parts p€r million level for particleboard.

Wanna See The World?

Individuals or firms with forestry or forest product skills are needed for consulting work overseas with the U'S' Agency for International Development.

Skills needed range from natural forest management and plantation establishment through timber harvesting, saw flrling, wood treating, lumber, plywood, pulp, paper and furniture manufacturing to marketing, construction and international trade.

A working knowledge of Spanish or French could be important since consultants are needed in South and Central America, C-aribbean, Africa, Asia and Pacific regions. lnformation is available from the Fore$ry Suppoit Progtam, Room 1208 RPE, USDA-Forest Service, P.O. Box Zl7, Washin4on, D.C. 2m13.

Maintaining the Status Quo

The annual timber harvest in the United States today is approximately the same size as it was in 19fl). Forest growth is still exceeding harvest.

Big Trading Firm's New Entry

Plateau Forest Products, lnc. is the name selected for a new trading firm in Albuquerque' N.M., set to open in early April- It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest City Trading, Portland, Or., which in turn is owned by Forest City Enterprises, Cleveland, Oh.

The president of the new firm is Wayne Mosby, Steve Kline is sales manager. Mosby previously had worked for Cascade Empire in Portland, one of eleven sister companies, including Plateau, owned by Forest City Trading. The others are Western International Forest Products, American lnternational Forest Products, Buckeye Pacific, Olympic Industries, Tampa International Forest Products, Birmingham International Forest Products, Richmond International Forest Products, Seaboard International Forest Products and Viking Forest Products.

Marketing plans call for Plateau Forest Products to sell a full range of forest products, with some emphasis on Southwest, inland species and SPF, targeting industrial and dealer customers. Sales will be to the entire country, concentrating on Southwestern and Southeastern areas.

You will enioY a beautiful floor show...

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Cigar Box Cedar

In your article, page l0 ofthe February issue, about cigar box cedar, there is a question of using leaves to "locate the coniferous cedar." There are many timbers around the worldwhich go bythe name "cedar" in commercial trade. Generally they have been given that name due to the aroma they emit or the texture and density of the wood.

Botanically, the plants producing these timbers belong to a number of families and genera, including both gymnosperms (conifers) and angiosperms (hardwoods). The Mexican cedar in your article is a member of the Melioceae or mahogany family, being a species of the genus Cedrella which has species in most tropical and subtropical American forests.

Throughout its range the old growth cedro, as it's called in Spanish, is highly sought after for local use in furniture and cabinetry. The younger, faster grown timber is still veneered and used in some areas of the world to cover cigars.

R. O. "Dick" Bunner, Vice President

Mississippi-Alabama Region Weyerhaeuser Co.

P.O. Box 2288, Columbus. Ms.

New Residents Need Homes

In-migration of new residents in Florida and Georgia is expected to stimulate the housing industry in those states.

Up to 30,000 new residents could set up households in Florida in 1985, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Georgia added 50,000 new residents in 1984 with over half of them settling in Atlanta. While this growth may abate, it is expected to remain strong.

"Most of the ingredients for a healthy housing market appear intact: strong in-migration, declining mortgage rates. .expanding personal income and a low level of unsold new home inventory," Parker notes.

Yup, check's in the mail

Many lumbermen can probably identify with the feelings of the management of the Seymour Lumber Co., Seymour, Wi., when they learned that it had taken 20 years and 22 days to deliver a bill to a customer in Pulaski, a town 12 miles away.

Harold Rudie Sr., 76, received the statement bearing a 50 stamp and Oct.2, 1964, cancellation in a routine mail delivery last month. The Pulaski post office suggests that it might have become lodged in a fold in the bottom of a bag or stuck under a piece of equipment.

Rudie thinks the bill was for materials used to put an addition on his barn. The lumber company apparent- ly had nothing printable to say, according to an Associated Press wire story.

Laundry Moves Upstairs

Latest trends in washers and dryers may affect dealers who handle appliances.

According to a Maytag Co. survey, homeowners are installing laundry equipment in kitchens, bathrooms and even bedrooms instead of basements and garages.

To accommodate this trend, appljance manufacturers are making their products smaller and unobstrusive. New stacked washerdryer units reportedly cut floor space required in half while still handling full size loads of laundry.