NEWS BRIEFS

Retailers

Builders Mart has moved to a new site in Eden, N.C., four times the size of its previous yard, with a 10,000-sq. ft. showroom; Mike Campbell, mgr. ...

Highlands Building Supply has shuttered its Avon Park, Fl., location

Roper Brothers Lumber added a sales office in Tappahannock, Va.; Bobby Elliott, mgr.; Ray Young, outside sales, and Judy Freeman and Terry Ferlazzo, inside sales

Fo xw o rth-G alb raith Lumb e r Co. lost its 80,000-sq. ft. Van Alstyne, Tx., distribution warehouse in a $1 million lunchtime fire July 29; investigators have ruled out arson

Scotty's last month opened an 8,500-sq. ft. hardware store in Winter Park, Fl. (Ray Whiting, mgr.), and two 10,000-sq. ft. hardware stores near Orlando, Fl. (Stu Ladda, mgr., Southchase, and Tom Garrett, mgr., Apopka), and this month will add its sixth Jacksonville, Fl., location, a 7,300-sq. ft. hardware store, and two 9,000-sq. ft. hardware stores in Pensacola, Fl. (#4 and #5) ...

Home Depot opened a new unit Aug. 15 in Jackson, Ms.; opens two stores this month in Little Rock, Ar.; will unveil its first Kentucky location Nov. 7 in Stony Brook; filed for rezoning of a 14acre site now occupied by a lzry's Lumber & Building Center to build its own 106,000-sq. ft. store with 27,800-sq. ft. garden center; has acquired 12.5 acres at Loop 410 and Highway 151 for its 5th

San Antonio, Tx., location and will add a 6th at I-10 and De 7nvalaRd....

Lowe's Cos. plans 180,000-sq. ft. superstores in Mandarin and Regency (both Jacksonville), Fl.; has broken ground on 28.6 acres in Warner Robins, Ga., for a 156,000-sq. ft. superstore to' replace a 50,000-sq. ft. unit, and reportedly is negotiating for sites in Arlington, Tx., and near Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, Tx. ...

Lowe's opened a 150,000-sq. ft. unit in Temple, Tx., and its second in Winston-Salem, N.C., a 160,000-sq. ft. location incorporating a Krispy Kreme Doughnut outlet stores planned for Garner and Huntersville, N.C.; West Knoxville, Tn., and Vero Beach, Fl., will also have Krispy Kreme shops; two recently opened Lowe's in Louisiana had Subway sandwich shops, the Texarkana, Tx., store a Blimpies ...

Wckes Lumber Co. has a new Web site at http://www.wickes. com...

Cotter & Co.'s True Value Hardware Stores were voted the home/hardware-related retailer with the most improved customer service, according to a recent survey of 100 senior managers of U.S. companies...

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Wholesalers & llanufacturers

Prassel Lumber Co., Jackson, Ms., has closed is l-eesville, La, sales offrce

River Port hmber, Jefferson, Tx., has started operations; Earl Benjamin, prcs.; Marvin Greer and Bobby Hester, sales ...

Spell Brctlers, Inc., is the new name of Bolinger Co., Inc., Bossier City, I-a.; Ioe and Patrick Spell, owners

West Fraser Mills added a reload center in Mc€ullers, N-C.

Georgialacific Corp., Atlanta Ga., agreed to sell gypsum wallboard plants in Buchanan, N.Y., and Wilmington, De., to Lafarge Corp., Reston, Va.

Keller Industries, Fort l-auderdale, Fl., has sold its ladder operations to Ames Lawn & Garden Tbols ..-

Eclectic Products, /2c., Pineville, [,a., received the state's 1996 Lantern Award

Forema n's M illwork, Elizabeth City, N.C., has expanded its millwork showroom from 1,200 sq. ft. to 3,200 sq. ft.

Triad Systems has acquired Computer Systems Dynantics ...

Enterprise Computer Systems, Greenville, S.C., has merged with Dataline Corp. (w story p. 7)

Housing starts in July (latest figs.) slipped 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.455 million ... single family starts fell 5.780, small multi-family (2 to 4 units) fell l9%o, while apartrnents and other multi-unit dwellings surged nearly 25% ..- total building permis rose2.6Vo, including a

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