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Bob Anderson, ex-Wiggins Lumber Co., is new to sales at Gulf Lumber Co., Mobile. A1.

Dave Morgan has been appointed general mgr. of Evergreen Forest Products of Georgia, LLC, Riceboro, Ga. John Elwell is now director of sales and marketing, and Norvell Currie is in charge of customer service.

Fenton Hord, ceo, Carolina Holdings, Raleigh, N.C., was named to the board of London-based"parent company Wolseley plc.

Kevin "Rocky" Rockwell has been appointed quality control and resource development mgr. of Anthony Forest Products. El Dorado, Ar.

Joe Roberts is now trading southern pine in Richmond, Va., for Sunbelt Lumber Co., Spartanburg, S.C.

Fred Hicks is now branch mgr. of the Greensboro, N.C., distribution center for Diamond Hill Plywood Co., Darlington, S.C.

Jim Collins, ex-Scotty's, has been named v.p.-marketing & merchandising for Buildscape, Jacksonville, Fl.

Kenneth Victory has been promoted to president of Crosslin Supply Co., Inc., Smyma, Tn.

Pat Mantooth is new to sales at Forest Park Trading, Birmingham, Al.

Chip Andrews, Dr. Robert Cox, Marc Walsh, Thomas Gormley, Richard Lee, John Voeller, Stephen P. Wohlgemuth, Ken Sanders and Pat M. Lanza have been named to the board of e-Builder.net, Boca Raton, Fl.

Mark Wells is now mgr. of southern pine for Universal Forest Products.

Robert IntVeldt, ex-Prudential Building Materials, has been named v.p. of marketing for U.S. Plastic Lumber Corp., Boca Raton, Fl

Thomas Bischoff has been named sales mgr. of exports for Diversified Wood Products. Mobile. Al.

A.D. "Pete" Correll, chairman, ceo and president, Georgia-Pacific Corp., has been elected to the board of Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, Va.

Clement Feng is the new v.p-marketing tbr the tool group at Vermont American Corp., Louisville, Ky.

Jim Jenkins has been appointed general mgr. of Weyerhaeuser's customer service center in Oklahoma City, Ok., and Mike Henry in Gulfport, Ms.

Seth Cornelius has been named mgr. of 84 Lumber, Maysville, Ky. Other new mgrs.: Chip Miles, Decherd, Tn.; Joe Belden, Commerce, Ga. New co-mgrs: Hunter Barcroft, Bartlett, Tn., and Richard Mason Jr., Anderson, S.C.

Tim Hoffman and Mark Clark are new to sales at Interior Products Inc., Brunswick, Ga. Clark will be responsible for Al., Ga., Ms. and northwest Florida, while Hoffman covers the Caribbean and Central America.

Murray Armstrong has been promoted to managing director of Ace Hardware Corp.'s international department.

Lee Houlditch was named president and chief operating officer of Thermafiber Corp., succeeding Dan Dooley, interim c.o.o. for the past five months.

John Morton is store mgr. of the new Home Depot in St. Matthews, La. Mgrs. of other new stores: Allison Henyey, Baytown, Tx.; Armondo Blanco, Laredo, Tx.; Chuck Ayarza, NW Oklahoma City, Ok.; Scott Heard, Crystal River, Fl.; Pat Kuntz, Tomball, Tx., and Mark Butler, Rosenberg, Tx. Donald Love and Lewis Rhodes are asst. mgrs. in Tuscaloosa, Al.

Charles W. "Charlie" Pickle is now asst. mgr. of Astrup Co.'s lrving, Tx., DC, with Charles P. Andrie asst. msr.

Jenna Morgan has been named v.p. of government affairs for the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, succeeding Allynn Howe, who has started a consulting business after eight years with NLBMDA. Linda Hertzog is now director of member services, succeeding Candace Kane, who left in August.

Chad Aron, APA, Chapel Hill, N.C., is now an auditor of plywood and OSB mills in N.C., S.C., Va. and W.V, succeeding Doug Mason, who left APA.

Leon Wieland was promoted to senior v.p.-manufacturing and operations for Wilsonart International, Temple, Tx. Bill Digaetano is now v.p.-sales & mktg. for the laminate division; Ron Gagnon, director of design & mktg.; Jim Schnietz, director of sales, and Ken Eldridge, mgr. of operations for regional warehouses and DCs. Curt Haffner has rejoined the flooring division as director-sales amd mktg.

John Engelhardt has been named director of sales support/channel development for Rev-A-Shelf, Jefferstown, Ky. Pat Carrico is mid-East regional mgr.

Robbie Holbrook, Aaron Lee and Shawn Holland are new technical service assts. for Gerranot Co., Fredericksburg, Va.

Russ Kimbell, U.S. Timber, Conway, Ar., plans a December duck hunting trip to Idaho.

Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus, Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax. Nv.. have named Will Addison to their succession manasement team.

Practice Makes lmperfect Case Against Treated Wood

The American Wood-Preservers' Institute is working to correct public misconceptions about CCA treated wood after ABC-TV's courtroom drama The Practice aired a two-part episode inaccurately portraying the product.

The Oct. 8 and Oct. 15 episodes addressed CCA as chromated copper arsenic (rather than arsenate), repeatedly referred to the wood as "toxic," and blamed it for illnesses contracted by three children who played on or near a treated wood playset-which was fenced off like a hazardous waste site. Since the chemical makers and treaters were out of business, the fictional attorneys successfully sued the EPA, claiming the agency's silence helped cover up the dangers of CCA.

AWPI stated that The Practice aired an irresponsible storyline that could cause undue panic to millions of families. "Playsets made of preserved wood are a common fixture in

American schools, playgrounds and backyards," said AWPI, "and there is no evidence that the chemicals in the wood have ever harmed a single child playing on it."

EPA, Consumer Product Safety Commission and Consumer Reports magazine all have investigated CCA treated wood and deemed it to be safe to use. Months before the telecast, AWPI supplied the show's researchers with vast information on treated wood's safety.

Southern Forest Products Association also is developing a response.

"If you have a consumer who buys a box of nails on the 'Net, they have a box of rocks for brains."

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BMA Buying TruServ's LBM Business

TruServ Corp. has agreed to sell its lumber and building materials division to Builder Marts of America, Inc., which acquired Ace Hardware's LBM business one year ago.

The deal, expected to be completed by the end of the year, reportedly would make Greenville, S.C.-based BMA the largest lumber, building materials and millwork commodities buying group in the nation, with 4,500 customers and annual wholesale sales of $2.3 billion.

Approximately 2,400 of TruServ's 8,500 members are LBM dealers. Its LBM division contributed $1.3 billion or nearly 30Vo ofthe co-op's overall revenue in 1999.

"Our commodity business in the lumber/building material area represents a significant part of our members' business," says TruServ pres./ceo Don Hoye. "By combining our business in this segment with BMA, members will have more buying power, better product availability and the continuity of service through the cunent LBM trading group."

BMA will take over TruServ's main LBM office, which employs 68, at former ServiStar headquarters in Butler, Pa., as well as a five-person satellite office in Springfield, Or. One of BMA's seven offices is in Portland, Or.

Nonetheless, BMA anticipates offering jobs to virtually all TruServ LBM associates. "What they're buying," explains TruServ's Mary Viola, "is the relationships."

BMA is an affiliate of Guardian Industries, which earlier in the year acquired Cameron Ashley Building Products.

Liability Bankrupts Owens Corning

Its cash flow strapped by multi-billion dollar asbestos liability, Owens Corning has voluntarily filed to reorganize under Chapter I 1 bankruptcy protection.

Owens Corning did not expect the bankruptcy filing to disrupt day-to-day operations, but would buy time to help its settlement program to accommodate future claims. Asbestos-related lawsuits already have cost the company $3.1 billion and it could be facing another $3 billion in future liabilities.

To enhance liquidity, OC obtained a $500 million debtor-in-possession financing commitment from Bank of America, pending court approval.

More than 20 other companies involved in asbestosrelated activity have filed to reorganize under Chapter I l. OC similarly intends to use the special provisions of Chapter 11 bankruptcy to help resolve asbestos claims.

"First," said chair/ceo Glen Hiner, "we tried to resolve cases in individual out-of-court settlements, and then we sought legislative and judicial relief. Finally, we made substantial progress in the management of our asbestos liability with our National Settlement Program. However, the cost of resolving current and future claims, together with a flurry of recent new filings from plaintiff lawyers not participating in the NSP, led us to the conclusion that a Chapter 1l reorganization was prudent and necessary."

The company's ability to meet both its schedule of asbestos-related payments and its obligations to the banks under its credit agreement were further jeopardized by falling demand for building materials and rising energy and raw materials costs.

OC's asbestos liability arises from a high-temperature pipe insulation produced from 1952to 1972. The bankruptcy filing covered all of OC's U.S. operating subsidiaries, but no joint ventures or operations outside the U.S.

With annual sales of $5 billion and 20,000 employees worldwide, OC is the industry's leading supplier of insulation and roofing products.

Scotty's Stays With Building Materials

Despite the success of its five stores-in-one concept, Scotty's remains committed to its traditional hardware and lumber roots, promises newly appointed chief operating officer David Bost.

While the Winter Haven, Fl.-based chain has already overhauled nearly half of its 157 stores in Florida and Georgia, Scotty's prefers not to describe the process as "conversions to bargain outlets." Instead, they are "adding formats" such as flooring and home fashions to the hardware stores. Bost noted that stores will continue to offer plumbing, electric and lawn and garden products.

Bost has been with the company since 1969, most recently as v.p. of operations. As c.o.o., he will oversee all of the company's purchasing and about three-quarters of its stores. The smaller units will be headed by newly promoted C.R. Gaines, now v.p. of small stores. In addition, Randy Spears was appointed v.p./merchandise mgr.

Dealer Group For Sustainability

The National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association is urging its 8,000 members to buy lumber from suppliers practicing sustainable forestry management.

NLBMDA's new policy statement advocates that the association and its members "give preference to companies and landowners who practice and encourage sustainable forest management based on the concept of continuous improvement. NLBMDA intends to increase the purchase of wood products from companies and landowners who subscribe to credible sustainable forestry programs."