G-P Ready For Spin-off, L-P For Sell-off

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. was born in 19'72 when the federal trade commission ordered Georgia-Pacific Corp. to spin ofl 209o ol its company into a new, separate entity.

Now 30 years later, both comPanies have announced they are spinning off large parts of their operations.

Louisiana-Pacific plans to sell many of its businesses in an attempt to reduce debt-while repositioning OSB as its core business.

Aspart of the divesture, the Oregon-based company plans to sell 935,000 acres of timberlands in Texas, Louisiana and Idaho. It also plans to divest its lumber business, which annually produces 1.4 billion bd. ft. of timber.

The divesture will also include LP's plywood, industrial panels, wholesale and distribution businesses. The reductions are expected to call for the closure and/or sale of approximately 30 North American mills-mostlY located in the Southeast U.S.

Nearly 4,400 jobs will be eliminated as part of the reduction Plan.

L-P has already announced Plans to sell its two Silsbee, Tx., mills and its plywood plant in Bon Weir, Tx.

Other Texas operations for sale include those in Carthage, Cleveland, Conroe and New Waverly.

In addition to OSB, L-P's new core businesses will be composite wood products, engineered wood products and plastic building materials. In 2001. these businesses had revenues totalling $ 1.4 billion.

The divesture plan is exPected to net the company $600 to $700 million and will be implemented over the next l2 to 18 months.

Georgia-Pacific CorP., Atlanta, Ga., as expected, decided May 7 to go ahead with the proposal to spin off its building products and distribution company from the consumer PaPer division.

"We are aligning our businesses into two new companies, each of which will have a distinct strategic focus and competitive strength," said c.e.o. A.D. "Pete" Conell.

The split will not be completed until the first half of next Year, although an initial public offering for the $12 billion consumer products and packaging business in exPected in third quarter 2002, according to officials involved in the negotiations.

The building products comPanY has an estimated value of $13 billion.

Touch Of Gray Okay

As figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics attest, many older Americans are seeking employment, a great deal of them in home centers and other retail businesses.

The Bureau said men and women 65 and older comprised l2.9Vo of Americans working or seeking employment in 1999, a l7o increase from the previous year.

Though Home Depot, for instance, does not have a specific policY on older workers, spokesperson Susan Hitchcock said the chain pays better than the average retailer. citing average salaries of $12-$14 an hour. She praised the maturity and work ethic of older workers and said seniors bring a level of expertise to the workplace that the young simply do not have.

Many retirees employed bY DePot have backgrounds in skilled trades such as carpentry and Plumbing, according to Hitchcock, who said seniors seek jobs for extra income. human contact and a love of work.

Store Moves Following Blaze

True Value Hardware, Grafton, Va., has moved into a temporary location in the wake of a fire that completely destroyed the store.

Co-owners Ron Wade and Roger Copenhaver were negotiating last month to move temporarily into a closed Farm Fresh store in the Heritage Square section of the city.

"We would have to move some stuff and do a little work in the old Farm Fresh building," said Ron Wade.

The owners said they plan to rebuild the business. It is expected construction will take nearly five months.

The April 17 blaze occurred two weeks after the company celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Softwood Directory Expands

A new listing of European exporters to the U.S. has been added to Random Lengths' 2002 Big Book directory of thousands of softwood producers, remanufacturers and distributors.

More than 85Vo of the listinss in the new edition have been cha-need from last year's book. The I,100-pige directory features more than 7,800 detailed company listings, 85+ page personnel index with more than 30,500 names and company affiliations, detailed Lumber Product Finder, and geographic cross reference.

The Big Book is $229.95 from Random Lengths, P.O. Box 867, Eugene, Or. 97440; (888) 686-9925: Fax 800-874-1979.

Discounts are offered for Random Lengths subscribers, previous Big Book buyers, and purchasers of multiple copies.

APA Certified By Japan

APA-The Engineered Wood Association has been granted official recognition as a Registered Foreign Certification Organization by the Japanese' Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

RFCO recognition gives APA authority to certify that its members' products meet the recently revised Japanese Agricultural Standards. APA has been a Japanese-approved Foreign Testing Organization for more than a decade, but the FTO product approval system will be dissolved next year under the revised JAS standards.

Without RFCO recognition, APA mills would have had to incur substantially higher costs to gain Japanese market access. Recertification under the RFCO program also will permit member mills to take advantage of new manufacturing and labeling options under the revised JAS standards for plywood, OSB and glulams.

More than 40 APA member mills are currently certified by APA to meet JAS requirements. Recertification of those mills will commence immediately and should take several months to complete, said APA Quality Services Division director Alex Kuchar.

Roy O. Martin FSC Certified

Roy O. Martin Lumber Co. and its Martco Limited Partnership divisions, Alexandria, La., have become the first Forest Stewardship Council-approved operations in Louisiana.

The Rainforest Alliance has certified that the company's timberlands and four manufacturing plants meet standards of sustainability as set forth by the FSC.

Roy O. Martin owns approximately 500,000 acres of timberlands in Louisiana along with a plywood plant in Chopin, a pine utility pole facility in Pineville, and a hardwood sawmill and an OSB mill in LeMoyen.

Stock Width Hardwood

Tool Rental Centers See UPturn

Tile and hardwood floor installation and refinishing equipment, drain augers, painting equipment, pressure washers and plate compactors are among the most widely rented products at homeowner/d-i-y rental stores, according to a recent American Rental Association survey.

"Homeowners are handling an increasing number of home improvement and landscaping projects themselves, including complex projects such as complete room additions," says Robert DeBusk, American Equipment Rentals' Phoenix, Az. "Some of this business suggests consumers are trying to save money in a tight economy. They also know the rental center will help them choose the right equipment to handle the job."

Interestingly, more than 30 percent of rental center customers are women, a figure A.R.A. expects will grow as an increasing number of female heads of households tackle home improvement Projects.

A survey of 1,000 consumers revealed that women were more aware than men (817o vs. 77Va) that they could rent

Still using steel banding?

equipment to clean or repair their home after an emergency. Women were nearly as aware as men (74Vo vs. 85Vo) that they could rent equipment to remodel their home.

"Women represent an increasingly important market segment for the rental industry, especially with the rapid rise in female-headed households," says Chris Wehrman, A.R.A.'s executive v.p. and c.e.o. "Our challenge as an industry is not only to make women aware of the rental option, but to make them aware that renting allows them to stretch their resources to get thejob done."

"Women tend to be the drivers of many home improvement projects," DeBusk adds.

Still, contractor and industrial rentals represent the largest segment of the rental industry in North America, accounting for nearly 60Vo of the estimated $15 billion to $20 billion in annual revenue.

The A.R.A. survey found that 42Vo of stores specializing in contractor rentals saw an increase in their business during the last half of 2001. Thirty-one percent of stores that provide tools and equipment for both homeowners and contractors also reported that the contractor rental portion of their business had increased.

Structural Panels KeeP Inching UP

North American structural wood panel production is expected to climb l7o this year to 39.3 billion sq. ft. (3/8" basis), according to the latest annual five-year forecast by APA-The Engineered Wood Association. Wood I-joist' glulam timber, and laminated veneer lumber output also will rise.

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Economic recovery and demographic factors are expected to support demand growth for all categories of structural engineered wood products in the longer term, as well. Panel production, for example, after falling 3Vo last year' is forecast to rise each year over the next six, reaching 43.84 billion ft. in 2007. Glulam timber production is projected to climb 77o, wood I-joist output l\Vo, andLYL 38Vo ftom 2O02 to 20O7.

This year, residential construction is expected to consume just over 20 billion sq. ft. of structural panels, or nearly 5lVo of combined U.S. and Canadian production. The remaining volume will find its way into the remodeling market, 7.95 billion ft.; industrial applications, 7.1 billion ft.; nonresidential construction, 3.9 billion ft.' and international markets, 900 million ft. (excluding U.S.Canadian trans-border shipments).

Offshore imports, meanwhile, are expected to rise to 510 million square feet, up about 30 percent from last year. Imported hardwood plywood, some of which competes with domestic structural panels in industrial markets, totaled an additional 2.55 billion square feet last year.

OSB production is expected to rise 980 million square feet this year, to 22.5 billion, while plywood volume is forecast to decline about 600 million ft., to 16'8 billion. Plywood production, following years of steady decline, is expected to level off in the 16-17 billion ft. range over the next five years, suggesting that a greater equilibrium has now been reached between plywood and OSB market share.

A total of 156 softwood plywood and OSB mills operated in the U.S. and Canada last year, including 92 plywood and 64 OSB facilities.

The full 60-page report is $175 from APA, (253) 6207 4O7 and www.apawood.org.

Hardware Show Reduces

This summer's National Hardware Show in Chicago will feature a reformatted exhibit floor, grouping similar product categories together in easy-toaccess quadrants.

The show floor also will feature wider aisles and a unique, comfortable "buyer lounge" at the crossroads of two major "boulevard" aisles for networking, conducting business and reenergizing.

The New Product Exposition will be moved to the center of McCormick Place's South Hall. improving access and visibility to the more than 1,800 new products featured.

All exhibits also have been relocated from the more distant East Building to the adjacent North and South Halls.

A new dedicated shuttle bus lane will provide quicker travel between area hotels and the show.

To reduce the cost of attending and exhibiting at the Aug. I l-13 show, hotel room rates will be reduced by up

Wood's lmage Still Not Green

A new survey of prospective homebuyers reveals that many consumers still do not view wood as the best environmental choice for building.

The Wood Promotion Network survey ed 1,000 prospective home buyers on their perceptions of green building products.

The survey found that although four out of five consumers believe that green building products were important in home construction, only 50Vo feel that wood is a good environmental choice for building.

The survey revealed that, despite 60Vo of consumers believing wood is an excellent renewable and recyclable resource, less than one-third think that forests in North America are abundant. According to Wood Promotion Network's Kelly McCloskey, "Not only are our forests abundant, but wood is the only major building material to embark on environmental certification programs."

As far as non-wood building materials, 40Vo of those surveyed believe the manufacture of concrete and steel is less intrusive on the environment than the harvesting of trees.

In response to the data, McCloskey said, "Wood is the world's only renewable construction material, which by comparison is a significantly more beneficial factor than the energyintensive recycling of steel."

Costs, Hassles

to 25Vo during International Hardware Week. A series of cost saving booth package options are being offered.

In addition, two free educational programs will be held for exhibitors"New Trends & Winning Strategies for Successful Exhibiting" by Dr. Allen Konopacki and "Reducing Trade Show Costs" by Patti Reilly.

For more infomation, see the show's enhanced Web site, www. nationalhardwareshow.com, as well as a special Expo Preview section in next month's Building Products Digest.

"When you go to a lumberyard and buy wood, (preservationists) would have you believe you are destroying the forests. What you're really doing is sending a signal to plant more trees."

- Dr. Patrick Moore, founder, Greenspirit, and co -founde r, Greenpeace

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