DStrWS

Wickes Lumber has acquired City Lumber building materials centers in Pascagoula and Ocean Springs, Ms. . . Scotty's has completed a $2.5 million warehouse expansion in Winter Haven, Fl., and opened a 75,000 sq. ft. store in St. Petersburg . W. R. Grace is closing its Lubbock,Tx., HandY Dan, and Handy Citysin Jacksonville and Largo, Fl. . .

Lowes will open four new stores and complete retrofits of eigltt stores before the end of the year . K mart plans to open 50 additional Builders Square warehouse home improvement stores by the endof'86...

Crabber construction supply stores have opened in Austin, Tk., Tiacy Boswell, mgr.; Jacksonville, Ted Auet mgr., and Chantilly, Va., Steve Fletcher, mg. B & M Building Supply, Water Valley, Ms., has been named Sentry Dealer of the Year. .

Robert Allen Lumber Co. is the new name of the Allen Moy Lumber Co., Jenks, Ok., recently purchased by Bob Lemons; Eugene Osborn stays ils mgr. . . Richordson Lumber Dallas, Tk., has merged with Brown ond Chase, Inc., retuning the Richardsonname...

Hughes Lumber Co., Owasso, Ok., is relocating to new quarters at lllll E. ll6th Street North Point Coupee Lumber Co. participated in the Lafayette, La., Blueprints'85 Home Show . .

Forestglen Lumber Co., Medford, Or., has opened a sales office in Oklahoma City, Ok., John Garner in charge . Gulf Stream Lumber Co., Boynton Beach, Fl., is looking for property for expan- sion . . Morks Lumber Ltd.,

Brantford, Ontario, Canada, has opened an Atlanta, Ga., sales office, with Don Kemp, Barbara Ussery and Jerry Huber as staffers.

Santq Fe Southern PociJic Co. is seeking a buyer for its Kirby Forest Industries subsidiary in Houston, Tk. . . . Southwestern General Corp. has purchased ,4// Woods / Schroeder, Inc., Houston, Tk., (see p. 19 for details) . .

Tbmple-Eastex is set to build a S30 million timber converting facility in the Silsbee/Evadale, Tk., area . . Coastal Lumber Co. of Mississippi has purchased the Americsn Can Co.'s sawmill operation in Meridian, Ms.

Georgia-PaciJic Corp. has purchased two southern pine sawmills in McKenney and Wakefield, Va., from KMI Continental Inc. Sir James Goldsmith has acquired over 5090 of Crown Zellerbach and now controls the co. (see page 27 for details)

Americh Corp. (whirlpool bath tubs and designer faucets) is opening a 28,000 sq. ft. mfg. and shipping facility in Charlotte, N.C....

Carroll's Building Materials /nc., St. Petersburg, Fl. has opened a new $1.5 million cement tile plant . . . Briggs Plumbingware, Inc., has moved its corporate offices to Westshore Place, Thmpa, FI....

Louisiona Pocific Corp. which is nearing completion of the conversion of its Urania, La.,particleboard plant to Waferwood production has set next spring as the start up date for a Waferwood plant u66sl construction in Dungannon,Va....

Building Products Digesi

Bass & Co., Erlanger, Ky., has been purchased by Dyke Industries, Inc., Little Rock, Ar., Charles K. McCrady, branch mgr., will remain as will the other personnel. .

Wasco, Ennis, Tx., is celebrating its Sfth year in the building products industry Wyeth, Oklahoma City, Ok., is marking its l26th year in business

Halo Lighting is sponsoring its lOth annual lighting design competition as part of its 30th anniversarycelebration...

Generol Hardware Co. is the new n:une for the hardware div. of Genuine Parts Co., Atlanta, Ga., recently acquired by River Capitd Inc. . . . Westlake Ace Hardware has opened a new store in Fayette- ville, Ar. Hardware Wholesolers, Inc., is building a 360,000 sq. ft. southeast distribution facility in Columbia, S.C. . .

LaPorte Industries has purchased Mineral Research, Charlotte, N.C., for an undisclosed amount H. B. Fuller Co. has renamed its specialty chemical products div. the building productsdiv....

The Federal Housing Administration intends to abolistt federal building codes for single and two family homes by Dec., completing their deregulating of the U.S. housing industry

Norfolk Southern now has oneday piggyback train service from the Port of Charleston to Charlotte, N.C. . Norfolk Southern Corp. and bo Line Corp. have agreed to cooperate and participate in joint rates and routes when acquisition of Conrail is completed by Norfolk Southern.

Housing starts declined 2.4V0 in July Qatest figs.) to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,654,m units . . . single family starts rose l.l9o to a 1,O15,000 annual pace . . . multis fell7.7o/o to a @9,00 annualized figure . the south recorded a moderate increase building permits for, future construction declined ls/o.

SPIB Aims For Higher Quality

.l . B1'arcl Sr'r,ift,.lr., Atrnore, Al., chairnran ol thc boarcl of Ciorcrnors ol thc Southcrn Pine lnspection Bureau, has rvritten SPIB srrbsclibcls erlrrcssing concern aboLrt lurnbcr qualitv and announcing a nc\\' Irrogram to rrrinirrrizc :hipnrcnts ot' bclori gracle n)iiterial.

" lhe lelalionshil"r betwcctt the graclc ancl quality ol' Southcln lrine bcin-u pr.oduccd todal is rtot rrhat it cor-rld bc," Sriit't saicl. "C)ne ot' thc rcas()ns t'or this, I bclrer c, is a rnisrrrtclelstarrding or- nrisapplication of orre ol' thc inrportant plovisiclns of' the Southeln Pirrc grading rLrles. -f his ir ,l'. -,tI'o tolerance irt grading *'hich \\as put in the rules to establish a basis f'or reasonablc lariations in jud-ucr-ncnt bct\\ cen a qualit)' supe rVisorancl graders. lt rvas nelcr inlcncled il\ a tolcrancc to allow a nrill to I'ill Irrrrrbcr orders * ith a clelibe ratc inclusion tll 5oib belo* gracle irt thc shipnrcnt. I harc sccn too ltlilnv cranrples o'ucr tltc vcars of attcrltpts tc) incluclc -5 9b belori graclc in u shipluicnt o1'lunrber rcsLrlting in the Itrrnber being 100'b or tttorc bclo* gradc. "

Sr.rift saicl thut altcr consrrltation riith board rrrcnrbcrs ancl staf l', hc had asked the stafl' to "work towarcl thc goal ol' har. ing thc avcragc bclorv grade in total Southern Pine lurnbcr shrprnents by bureau sLrbscribers not to ercccd 3.50ir" b1' the encl ol an lll nronth period.

"ll ne ale going to keep thc rnar kcts uc lravc'nr.clrkcd so hald to clcl'elop, uc sirrrpll rnust r-nininrize- thc anroLlnt ol' beiori graclc ltrrnbcr sliippcd," Srvilt said.

Weyerhaeuser Restructuring

Weyerhaeuser Co. is restructuring its U.S. solid uood bLrsincsses and opcralion\ aeeording I() c\ceuti\e \icc president Charlcs \\r. Binghanr.

[-y,nn E. Endicott rvill head the sales organization w'hich is being changed to nratch specific market geographics. All wood prodLrcts domestic and cxport salcs and rnarketing including southern and rvestern trading centers and rvholesale att.l rctail distribution net*orks arc being consolidatcd in salcs and rlarketing.

Vicc nrcsidents of sales and mar- keting reporting to Endicott include Herb C. \\'inr"'ard, uest; Bill W. Simr.nonds, central; Bob J. Rankl, east. Othcr top positions arc: Bob R. NIoore, \'.p. export sales and marketing; tsob Lewis, export sales and import acti\ities; \'lark R. Lenrber'h). dirccttrr gcneral ntanager. engincered products and systenrs,Don R. Oars, director human rcsources; Steve S. Pcnn:ik , clirector l'inance and systenrs.

The eristing seven solid wood operating regions are being consolidated irrto tlrlec. Cene \le5er'. Hrrt Snr ing:. Ar., riill hcad the southern division in clrarge ot' solid wood operiitions and nrorc than 3 rnillior.r acres of timberland in North Carolina, Alabanra, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahonra.

A Washington division headed by l)onald H . Rush will consolidate ttre export ra\{ rriaterials busirtess and be responsible l-or the l 7 rnillion acrcs ol timberland and sol'trvood luniber, plyw ood and venecr f'acilities in Washington statc.

The Oregon dirision, hcadecl by John N. Purccll at Springl-ield, will rnanagc 1.2 million acres o1' tinrber arrd rolid \\r)od nr()duel opclaIitrttr in that state.