brrels l:rturs

Wheeler's Building Materials opens its l3th pro yard this month in Winder, Ga.; the 40,000-sq. ft. facility will serve Gwinett, Barrow, Walton and Jackson counties...

Taylor8ros. opened its second lumber and building materials center, a 15,0@-sq. ft. hardware store and warehouse in Bedford, Va.; the staff includes store mgr. Greg Warren, asst. store mgr. Jeff Kingery, operations mgr. Steve Gleen, contn&ctor autside salesperson Kevin Keegan, contractor inside salesperson Cindy Ayers, and hardware salesperson Newt Thacker...

Duron Paints & Wallcoverings has acquired Brcward Paint Co., Fort Lauderdale, Fl., from Joel Fox, son of the founder; the 27,000-sq. ft, Duron-B roward Paints & Wallcoverings of South Florida will serve as both store and distribution center for as many as 100 other storcs to be opened in the region ...

Ace Hardwaru opened its l5th company-owned store March 6 in Lawrenceville, Ga.; the 13,0@-sq. ft. location, featuring a fully enclosed, climate-controlled nursery is Ace's 2nd company store in Lawrenceville and 6th in the Atlanta market

Scotty's opened a 33,0@sq. ft. hardware store March 2L in Englewood, Fl., store mgr. Myron Sustar, and is nearly complete with total renovation of its 19year-old, 22,000-sq. ft. store in Orange City, Fl., including addition of a fl.ooring department ...

Home Depotopened new stores April 8 in High Point, N.C., and East Brandon, Fl.; March 4 in

Lanata and East Delray Beach, Fl., and a relocation March ll in Irving, Tx. ... other new units open April 15 in Collierville, Tn., and April 29 in Gainesville and Sandy Springs, Ga.

Home Depot summer openings include a 130,000-sq. ft. home center in Brownsville, Tx., and a 90,60Gsq. ft. Expo Design Center in Fairfax, Va. ...

Home Depot will begin on-line sales of some products via the Internet in the second half of fiscal 1999 sharehalders will vote May 26 on whether to double to $8 million a year the maximum amount chairman Bernard Marcus and ceo Arthur M. Blank can be paid under a bonus plan ...

84 Lumber Co. is considering a site in Jefferson City, Tn.

Lowe's Cos. opened new stores in Clearwater, Fl. (store mgr. Bart Lucas); Williamsburg, Va. (store mgr. Richard Pennington); Greenwood, S.C. (store mgr.

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Tabitha Poteat, co-mgr. Harvey Singletary); Clinton, Tn. (store mgr. Mike Beckner, asst. store mgr. Jimmy Boles), and a replacement store in Smithfield, N.C. (store mgr. Otis Braswell) ...

Lawe's has begun construction in New Port Richey Fl., and on 17 acres in Columbia, Tn.; is ready to begin building in Fayetteville, Ga.; received zoning approval to build in Foley, Al., and Shelby, N.C.; has acquired 22.5 acres in Franklin, N.C., and 17.4 acres in Boone, N.C., for replacement stores...

Lowe's is considering sites in Conroe, Tx., and Decatur, Al., and is still waiting to break ground in Martinsville, Va. ...

Wrouslrrrs/trrutrcrultlr

Pacific Forest Products Corp., Miami, Fl., added a Birmingham, Al., office; Dennis Ivie, exBirmingham International, is branch mgr. and v.p. of domestic sales...

Bent River Lumber Inc. has 1el_ocap-d to a larger facility in Tulsa, Ok. ...

Triangle Pacific Flooring Group, Dallas, Tx., is partnering with ^Sftaw Contract Flooring Group by making all Shaw loca-tions members of the Bruce Certified Commercial Contractor program and Hartco Contract Partners program

Do it Best Corp. is wrapping up two months packed with 90+ halfday regional workshops to train member store owners and managers...

Anniversaries: Mansfietd Plumbing, TOth ... Economy Lumber Co., Tulsa, Ok., 65th Cox Industries, Inc., Orangeburg, S.C.,45th...

Housing starts in Feb. (latest figs.) slipped l% to'a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.799 million single family starts climbed lVo to 1.413 million; multi-family starts reached a rate of 32,000 for 2-4 units and 354,000 for 5+ units permits fellZVo to an annual rate of 1.745 million...

(Please turn to p. 35)