uorres

Robert F. "Bob" Leake, 80, chairman of Leake & Goodlett, Inc., Tupelo, Ms., died of pneumonia Aug. I in Tupelo.

He began working full-time for the family co-owned business in the mid1930s, eventually becoming secretary, president and chairman.

His father, M.E. Leake, co-founded the company with R.F. Goodlett in 1904. Over the years, four generations of the family have worked for the business.

Mack Taylor, 62, owner, Taylor Lumber Co., Batesville, Ms., died of cancer Aug. l.

A native of Coffeeville, Ms., he served in the Army after WWII and founded Taylor Lumber in 1948.

Extensive Expo Expansion

Home Depot plans to expand its upscale Expo division from six stores to about 200 over the next six to seven years.

The rollout will begin gradually, with two Expo Design Centers to open late this year and eight more in 1999.

In November, an Expo will open in Boynton Beach, Fl.-the first adjacent to a Home Depot store-followed by a unit in Plano, Tx.

Next year Expos will open in Houston, Tx.; Smithtown, N.Y.; Fairfax, Va.; Marietta, Ga.; Monrovia and Huntrngton Beach, Ca., in the former site of a just-relocated Home Depot. Two other sites for 1999 are yet to be announced.

The first Expo Design Center opened in San Diego, Ca., in 1991.

"By the time we opened our sixth store in Davie (Fl.) last April, we had refined the concept to the point that we are now ready to begin a more aggressive expansion program," said Bryant Scott, president of the Expo division.

So far this year, the division has enjoyed the highest comparable store sales performance among Home Depot's divisions. "The stores are creating high levels of customer satisfaction due to a focused mix of products, as well as the specialized design and installation services provided by highly qualified designers, projects coordinators and the other members of the Expo team," Scott explains.

Each new store will feature more than 20 complete kitchen and bath vignettes, plus a wide range of appliances, floorcoverings, lighting products and window and wallcoverings.

New Treated Wood Standards

The American Wood-Preservers' Association is replacing its long-established Commodity standards with a new format, the Use Category System.

While the standards' technical content will not change, all treated wood commodities will now be placed within a series of different exposure categories.

Three reasons give rise to the change: to make the standards easier to understand: to coincide with a new standard for treated wood based on an exposure category system being developed by the International Standards Organization, and to conform to a World Trade agreement placing international standards ahead of those of member countries,

The next system is expected to become official by August 1999.

Western Lumber Returns

After years of staying in markets closer to home, western lumber is making appearances in other regions such as the South and Midwest, according to the Western Wood Products Association.

So far this year, western lumber shipments are up 43Vo to the South and 3Vo to the Midwest.

Lower prices and three years of stable production volumes have helped make species such as Douglas firlarch, hem-fir and ponderosa pine more competitive in markets they have been absent from for more than a decade.

Proper Pallet Handling

Determining that improper pallet handling is the number one cause of damage to loads, the National Wood Pallet & Container Association has developed a video on how to move, stack and store pallets when using fork trucks.

The l0-minute training video, "Pallets Move the World-With Your

Help," is $29.95 from NWPCA, (703) 527-7667.

Sealant Growth Slows

Over the next five years, U.S. demand for caulks and sealants in construction applications should increase 2.7Vo annually, about half the growth rate from 1992 to 1997, forecasts the Freedonia Group.

For all markets, caulk and sealant demand rose 5.7Vo over the last five years and is expected to climb 3.4Vo yearly from 1997 to2002.