Experts provide answers to paneling questions

6URING the last flew years, types Lland tastes of panelproducts produced for interior, exterior and structural uses have changed at a lightning pace. Here, a group of paneling manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers answer l0 questions on what products are going up, what's down and out, and what dbalers can do about it.

,What's currently hot in interior panelingl--

Tom Welsh, chairman of the board, American Pacific Paneling, Cordova, Tn.: Decorative panels seem to be popular right now, especially with floral patterns. Blown ink panels, with the flowers raised above the background are also doing well. Dyer Vann, general merchandise manager, lumber & building materials, Builder's Square, San Antonio, Tx.: The decorator panels are selling really well right now. This winter we underwent a major change in our paneling departments, expanding to 40 SKUs with decorator panels going from eight to 15 of the 40. We experimented with a dark blue wallpaper design, flowers, animals, and

Story at a Glance

Panelists discuss the current tops and flops in interior, exterior and structural panel products. the future of paneling .. improved merchandising techniques.

everything's selling well. They have taken some market share away from the woodgrain panels.

@Dj11o_u see gro*th in any ar

Dick Wegner, sales manager, Trimac, Portland, Or.: More popular is the higher end woodgrain, with more fidelity and realism about them. There's been a general upgrade in the type of materials used. People are looking for products that are not the old traditional random plank paneling look of l5 to 20 years ago.

Will these current trends con-

Vann: Like any general trend, dec- orator panels will have their ups and downs. We're on the uphill side right now. Within a couple of years it should slow down.

How is the exterior paneling trarEe!?

Larry Korey, sales manager, Wholesale Wood Products, Dothan, Al.: With the slow housing start situation right now, everything is slow for the specialty lumber wholesaler. For example, beveled cedar siding is off a bit, not capturing the piece of the pie it once was. Masonite and vinyl sidings are very hot. They have the affordability and maintenance advantages.

Ben Ogletree III, vice president, Ogletree Lumber Sales, Livingston, Tx.: Pattern 117 siding, which gives you the farmhouse, Victorian look with a lot of curves, is not as popular as it had been. lx6 drop siding seems to have taken its place. It gives a traditional horizontal appearance with a drop cove at top, but it's not as busy as the I 17.

Katherine Upton, marketing director, Laco Lumber, Woodland, Ca.: The lap siding market is very strong

Then lay down at least three 4x4 stringers to create a platform. Place one about a foot from either end, and the third midway between them. Other types of blocking may be used, as long as they keep the panels away from direct contact with the ground and support the load evenly.

Panels perform best when the stack is loosely covered with plastic sheets or tarps to protect against weather. This step may seem strange, since the panels are likely to.get soaked on the building anyway before it is closed in. But what's important here is to protect against uneven exposure to moisture. Covering loosely is the key. The top of the stack should be fullv covered. but the covering should be held slightly away from the sides and bottom to allow air circulation. Tight coverings, when exposed to sunlight, create a greenhouse effect which encourages mold formation. in wood and vinyl. It gives a more traditional look to a house as an upgrade. Especially as an upgrade on a stucco home, it gives it an instant facelift. That market's really strong now, but everything goes in cycles.

Proper storage and handling will go a long way toward eliminating claims and callbacks.

What's in the future for exterior paneling?

Ogletree: I think we'll see more products taking advantage of CCA treating.

Upton: Our particular product is middle of the road between hardboard and lumber, being not solid wood but an upgrade over hardboard. We've also designed it in shorter lengths so one person can put it up. Although new home construction remains the primary market, you have to start appealing to do-it-yourselfers.

What's happening today with structural panel products?

Daye Weston, panel products sales, SCR Inc., Lake Oswego, Or.: There's been a move to more composite products, such as waferboard or layered boardminute pieces of lumber layered to oriented strand board. They don't require peeling veneers. They use wood chip shavings, flat pieces, slivers, compressed into a panel.

Also, previously plywood panels and sheathing were not rated. Now federal laws and commercially approved grades are determining different standards for different uses. You see this in underlayment, for roofs, side walls and other stuctural panel uses. Woods now must be engineered to varying criteria.

Doyal Marks, president, Marks Forest Products, Birmingham, Al.: Down in the South, the problem right now is everything is way overproduced, based on the current housing demands. Southern pine in the South is being assisted by the strike on the Roseburg mill and the West Coast logging restrictions.

Are dealers mar

happv with the re-

Korey: We've found dealers to be very enthusiastic about any new products. Right now a lot of dealers aren't building inventories, but are waiting to see where the market's going. So they're very receptive to a wholesaler who offers a low minimum or can ship on a job by job basis. The dealer will listen because he doesn't have to tie up a bunch of his dollars in inventory.

Welsh: Retailers, I'm sure, would like to sell paneling. Paneling's a big ticket item. There's moulding, glue, nails, saws and a lot of other things that go with it. Sell a guy a bucket of paint and all he needs is a brush.

Do you have any suggestions to

Welsh: They could use better mercnanolslng displays. I've seen some retailers with the samples on the ceiling. Others stack the panels in bins. Dealers who sell the most paneling have it in A-frames. lf they must use a bin, they need a Multiplexa winged, flip-type, hinged rack with 4x8 samples.

Are retailers taking this advice?

Vann: The way our stores are set up, we're pretty limited in how we can display paneling. Due to space, panels are lying in racks. It's certainly not the best way to display it. Frankly, it's not very good at all. Manufacturers and wholesalers are constantly giving us ideas how to better merchandise paneling, but we have yet to see one that actually works well in the warehouse-type concept. Due to our help situation, we need displays with very low maintenance. The horizontal racks allow us to load a whole pallet of panels and walk away from it. Other displays might take three or four people to stock.

^Srullyis. Winter I laven, l;1., lrumperad by several stockholder lawsuits protesting a possible acquisition by GIR Group at $l-5 a share, has hircd Dtan Witter Re-t,nolds Lo advisc the m on alternativemeasures...

Ilechin,4,r ('o.. which had a grand opening lor a new (lolonial lleights, Va., store, is renrodeling a Reston. Va., lJrorll&,s acquirecl last ycur lor opcning as a IIet'hingcr unit this l-all ... Roper Rros. Luntber ('o. has moved its administrative staff to new ol'fices in Midlothian. Va....

Itomt, Quartars Warcltottsc, zl [{tchingcr (ir. subsidiary, plans to open 8 new stores in the next two years including units in Norfblk, Newport News and Richmond. Va., Ilirmingham, Al., and l)urham, N.C.; the Durham store will occupy a Bradlees loctrtion purchased by the parent co. lastyear...

Lln'e's opened a new store in Warner Robins, Ga., and remodeled a North Wilkesboro, N.C.. unit with a warehouse rack system . Perkins &rilders Sultp/1 Stillwater, Ok., has expanded its display area with plans to expand the lumberyard this year

C'aldv;ell Lumber had a grand opening lor its new Wynne, Ar., location . . . Higginbothant-Bart- lett is nearing completion on a new Stamfbrd, Tx., store . . Wit'kes Lumber closed its Jacksonville. l-1.. unit llic'kcs stores in Clinton. N.('., (ireenville, Al., and Allen, Ky., arc among 25 top perfbrm- ing lli<'kes Lunber (o. outlets recognized by pres. Leslie L. llagen at Vernon llills, ll.. Ilq. Itome l)apot, which plans to arJrJ 24 storcs during the year, was nanted to l;inandll World magazinc's list ol' 30 great corporations ol' the 1990s f orest Sales Corp., Augusta, Ga., is celebrating its 20th anniversary Gcorgia-Paci.fic htrs been named a top l0 supplier by ('cntral Builders Supplics . .

Cordele Sash. Daor & Lumber Co., Cordele, Ga., has renovated its showroom, setting up a separate contractor sales area . . Vaccaro Lumber Co.. Forrest City, Ar., has opened a full service location iR Wynne, Ar.

Sale ol' Williams Bro.s.. Atlanta. (ia., to Rusalinc ('apitul ('orp. has been cancelled (see p. l9 lbr story) . . Melvyn Bell has acquired half interesl in Kau.lman Lunber ( o.. Little Rock. Ar.; his investment co., IJcll Equities, has owned the other 50')lr since 1986..

,1. M. Huher Corp. has opened a new OSB mill in Comnrerce. Ga... Mac'Millan Bloedel expects to have its new Parallam plant at Athens, Ga., producing by the middle of Sept. . .

Vaughan d Sbns, San Antonio, Tx., has sold its Houston, Tx.. sash & door operation to JeldWen C'orp. for an undisclosed amount . D. B. ,4rant Lumber Co., New Bern. N.C., recently acquired by Mebane Ltunber C'o., will operate as a separate corp.

Maze Nails, Peru, Il., has acquired Tremont ly'ald Wareham, Ma. (see p. l9 for story) ... Caradc'o, Rantoul, Il., and Soutlteaslern Kusan, Gaffney, S.C., are included in proposed sale of Kusan, Inc. ta Stolle Carp. (see p. 1'l for story.) .

Bulldlng Productc Dlgcet

The Patv ('o. hosted its 5th annual safe driving rodeo fbr co. drivers at thc l)incy Irlats. Tn., facility .4ppolachian Ilardwood Manu/acturers, lnc. donated $16.000 to the We.st Virt:inia Universil.v Ioundatiott to establish an undergraduate scholarship in l'orestry

Hccltitrger ( o. clonated treated wood for rebuilding cabins at Camp Hrnest W. Brown lbr Washington, l).(1., inner city children ; Gcorgio- Puci.l'it and Owcns-('orning ('orp. were other contributors

Lowa's, Cookeville, -In.. won first place lbr its booth at the local homc show Monthly building pcrmit activit"v in the Lafayette, La., arca reached its highcst pclint in over three years

Robbins/,\yke.s has added a UV finish line at its new production tacility in Warren, Ar.... Milt ('reek Lumbcr Co., Tulsa, Ok., planted l-5 trees as part ol' the city's beautification program

B.t.R. Intlusrries 1nr'.. revised its $11.5 million loan request to the Oklahoma Dcvt,loptncnt fi' nanL'e .Authority lbr purchasing H. E. Leonhat'dt Lurnbcr Co.. Okla. homa City. to $7 million to acquire only the truss plant and requested a delay to flnd a reloca, tionsite...

Wolmanized Wood has been approved by the U.S.F.D.A. for use in animal feed and water containers (see p. 17 for story)

Briggs Industries Holding Corp., Tampa, Fl., has acquired .lPI Plumbing Produt'ts, lnc., renaming it Briggs Industries, Inc. Americ'an Clay Products Corp.. has increased production capabil- ity at it Port Manatee, Frl., plant . .

Housing starts for April (larest figs.) dropped2.70/o to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units single family starts were up 5.lol, building permits increased 7.2t\o

Stolle To Acquire Caradco Inc.

Stolle Corp., a subsidiary of Alcoa, has agreed to acquire Kusan, lnc.

Divisions included in the proposed sale are Caradco, Rantoul, ll.; Special Products of Oregon, Phoenix, Or.; Mastic, South Bend, In.; Dayton Extruded Plastics, Inc., Springboro, Oh., and Southeastern Kusan, Gaffney, S.C. All manufacture residential building products.

No terms were disclosed. The divisions will become part of Stolle's Alcoa Building Products Division, Sidney, Oh.

G-P Shuffles Executives

Georgia-Pacific Corp., Atlanta, Ga., has realigned l0 top executive positions, paving the way for a smoother management transition into the 1990s.

Ronald P. Hogan has been named president and c.o.o., succeeding Harold L. Airington, who is now chairman. Davis K. Mortensen replaces Hogan as head of the building products division.

Other promotions: Donald L. Glass is now senior v.p., building products mfg.; Michael A. Vidan, v.p., gypsum & roohng; George A. MacConnell, senior v.p., distribution & specialty operations; Willie L. Duke, group v.p., wood products mfg.; John F. Rasor, v.p., Eastern Wood Products Mfg. Div., Atlanta; William B. Nagle, v.p., Mid-Continent Wood Products Mfg. Div., Crossett, Ar., and William D. Rose, v.p., millwork & specialties.

Wolman Wood Ok For Animals

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approval has been given to Wolmanized wood for use in the construction of containers storing animal silage, grain, feed and water.

There are no requirements for coating or sealing the Wolmanized wood for these applications. Over four years of extensive testing and government review revealed virtually no migration of the Wolman chromated copper arsenate (CCA) preservative used in the pressure treated wood products, according to Thomas Kosiba at Hickson Corp., owners of the Wolmanized trademark.