The return of southern pine millwork

fTIUSTOMERS like it. ManufacVturers are starting to make it. So now it seems that the success of southern pine millwork is in the hands of the middle ruur - the dealer.

"I'm 50 years old and it's the hardest sell ['ve ever had," admits Eddie "E.2." Hunt, Northcutt Woodworks, Crockett, Tx. "But in the last four years ['ve sold 60 to 70 truckloads of southem pine millwork and have not had one complaint. I can't say that about ponderosa pine. Everybody you can talk inro buying (SP millwork) has no problem with it."

But the resistance to southern pine millwork is natural. Most southern pine mills are not equipped with special steam-injection drying systems similar to those of hardwood mills. "Southern pine millwork has to be dried very slowly, then reconditioned with steam so it dries uniformly throughout the piece or you have cracking and checking inside," Hunt explains. "But all the southern pine people have put in these high-temperature kilns for dimension lumber, so in 7, 8, 10 hours you get it out on the road. That does not work for millwork."

Actually, years ago millwork was the bread and butter of many southern pine producers. The swirch to structural lumber came during the post World War II housing boom. Faced with rising demand for framing materials and rising production of affordable ponderosa pine millwork by western mills, southern pine produc- ers converted to a rapid drying process which was clearly effectivebut limited the versarility of the species. The rapid drying sufficient for framework created a propensity for the wood to bend and bow when used in other applications, all but eliminating it from the interior markel

But today constraints on timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest are increasing as is demand for millwork. Independent studies predict that sales will grow approximately

Story at a Glance

Southern pine millwork braced for acomeback dealers' interest up ... manufacturers changing to producs necessary quality.

57o annually through 1998 to nearly $13 billion. Unlike ponderosa pine, most plentiful in the West on public lands,90Vo of southern pine grows on private lands. Soutlern pine is more readily available, doesn't take as long to grow and is up to 50Vo less expensive.

The quality is increasingly similar. 'Traditionally, southern pine millwork was a little barder, not quite as stable as ponderosa pine," says Hunt. "But now that the ponderosa pine's coming from smaller trces and smaller logs, there's very little difference."

Aesthetically, southern pine offers

K[fCHEN a light color and distinctive grain. When appropriately stained, it can resemble darker, more expensive species including oak and cherry. "There's a trend in interiors to go back to the wood look," notes Jeff Easterling, Southern Pine Marketing Council. "Southern pine offers a bright, natural feel and its golden color is especially popular for flooring and beaded ceilings."

The possible return to widespread use of southem pine millwork will be gradual. "There are not enough mills that have steam-injection kilns to produce huge quantities even if they wanted to," says Hunt.

Yet more and more southern lumber producers are breaking back into the millwork market, adding or retrofitting plants to produce millwork products. New South, Inc., Conway, S.C., is building a $6 million, 103,000-sq. ft. plant in Marion, S.C., to produce millwork. Production of the CarolinaPine line of southern pine crown, base and chair mouldings, as well as stock for window, door and stair makers, will begin April 18, for delivery to building supply dealers by the sunrmer.

New South will retum to the dayslong process (with computer-controlled kilns, this time) to make its CarolinaPine brand material both drier (8 to l2Vo moisture content) and more stable than framing-grade southern pine lumber. "There's really no secret to it," explains marketing manager Thomas Mende. "We're reversing a trend from 40 years ago."

ShippingEXTRALONGLOADS including engineered wood products, trusses, etc.

We offer timelydeliveries including multi-pick and multiple drop service. Company-owned fleet of 100+ flatbed trucks. We are not brokers.l ) Central, computerizeddispatch. Every shipment is in constant communication. Fully insured, with 48 state ICC general commodity operating authority.

Commitment to safety includes required driver safety training and continuingeducationsupervised by a full time Safety Director.

Twlatin Valley Builders Supply, Lake Oswego, Or., completely remodeled the interiors of the Ferrell's Lumber stores in St. Helens and Astoria, Or., which they acquired as stores 8 and 9 ...

Intermountain Lumber Co., Salt Lake City, Ut., will nearly double the size ofits Boise, Id., branch when it moves into new quarters in late May or early June

M&M Builders Suppty, Tracy, Ca., opened a 1-l/2 acre retail yard across E. llth St. from the existing yard, where they're adding a 10,000 sq. ft. nursery

Lumber Clty, Tujunga. Ca-, will become a California Do-il Center when an interior and exterior remodeling job is completed early this month ... Alpine Lumber Supply, Sandpoint, [d., expanded its retail area and added a 10,000 sq. ft. enclosed warehouse

Ernst Hom.e & Nursery is shopping for sites in Spokaie Valley, Wa. Eagle Hardware & Garden, Tirkwila, Wa., will move into a 138,000 sq. fl. Denver, Co., location this spring

HomeBase, Irvine, Ca., which expects to have two more stores in Portland, Or., by summer, opened a second store in Fresno County, Ca. ... Lord Dentsu & Partners. LosAngeles,Ca., launched a "Ready to Help" HomeBase tv NJ campaign in Los Angeles, San Diego, Ca., and Phoenix, Az., markets last month ...

Home Depot received approval tobuild a store in an Encinitas. Ca., municipal election (see story p. 54); sought a zoning change for a proposed Escondido, Ca., shopping center; cancelled plans for a Sacramentc, Ca., store; opened a Chula Vista. Ca.. location: award- ed the construction contract for an Aurora Village (Edmonds), Wa., unit, and targeted the Denver, Co., area for opening up to 6 stores by 1995 ...

Anniversaries: Mendo Mill & Lumber Co., Ukiah, Ca., 50th; A & B Milling, Eureka, Ca., l0th

Fremont Forest Producls, Whittier, Ca., has been downsizing t0 strengthen its market position and is currently in discussions with several companies regarding a merger or acquisition ...

Rtver City Moulding Co. nas moved to new offices in Sacramento, Ca., and is representing Nikkel Corp. and Wetsel-Oviatt Lumber Co. as Offshore Lumber Imports

Georgia- Pacific Corp., which will open a Coos Bay, Or., sawmill in April, expects to spend $1.6 billionto upgrade and enhance its wood products, pulp and paper Operations during the next two years

Pioneer Resources L.L.C., Eugene, Or., is buying most assets including 180,000 acres of timberlands and a sawmill of Kinzua Corp., Heppner, Or.

Tidewater Connections, Inc. is a new West Linn,,Or., wholesaler representingIndonesian and Malasian hardwood plywood and lumber producers ... MacMillan Bloedel Building Materials, Inc., consolidated Thcoma, Wa., operations at a new site and opened a Spokane, Wa., DC "..

Vaagen Brothers Lumber Co., Colville, Wa., installed a new multi-million dollar, 127-ft. high portal crane in its log yard Michigan-California Lumber Co., Camino,Ca., is milling logs imported from New Zealand ...

Suntuf U.S.A. opened a Los Angeles, Ca., warehouse to serve the d-i-y/home center market Alterra Holdings Corp., formed by BT Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Bankers Trust New York Corp., and Neil Martin, acquired Royal Rubber & MfS.Co., Los Angeles, Ca.

Sequoia Forest Industries closed it Aubenl', Ca., mill, transferring production to Dinuba, Ca-, Hq. Siskiyou Forest Products opened a Redding, Ca., office, Don Cherovsky mgr. ...

Ply Gem Industries Inc.'s fourth quarter net income increased 667o ... Georgia-Pacific Co4p. reported fourth quarter losses with a $34 million loss for '93 Inuisianu Pactfic set both sales and earnings records in '93 ... earnings at Home Depot rose 16.57o tast qlarter

Advunced Manufoc luring & Development, Willits, Ca., is expanding its new industrial finishing equipment div., adding sanding, coating, curing and material handling equipment

Owens- Cornizg dissolved construction products and industrial materials divs. in a reorganization, forming strategic business segments including roofi ng/asphalt, insulation, windows and pipe Sc haller Internntional, Denver. Co,, and Owens-Corning completed a roofing business exchange

National Hardwood Lumber Association planned to break ground March I for an addition to its Memphis, Tn., headquarters

On Feb" 25 the Clinron administration submitted the "latest" Pacific Northwest logging plan (see story p. 36) ...

Housing starts fell 17.6Vo in Jan. (latest figs.) to an annual rate of 1,,294,000 units, the lowest since last July single family starts slipped 8.SVo, multifamily units 34Vo permits slid 87o bad weather was blamed for the decline Western starts rose slightly.

Western Lumber Stays Home

Nerby markets continued to dominate westem lumber consumption with 74.24o of the region's 1993 shipments going to the l0 western states.

California once a big user, dropped to ?-6.67o, down from 27.7Vo in 1992 and 30.9Vo in 1991. Falling one percentage point from 1992, the Midwest received 13.77o of the western shipments, the South 87o and the Northeast 3.8Vo, rccnrding to the Western Wood Products Association.

Nearly 62Vo of. the 1993 shipments were made by truck with 36.lVo curied by rail. This was the third consecutive increase in railroad shipments, a reversal of a decline which started in the late 1960s when neady three quarters of western lumber moved by rail.

Japan Certifies Oregon Mill

Japan has approved Stimson Lumber Co., Forest Grove, Or., to place Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) stamps on lumber destined for Japan markets.

Lumber will be graded to Japanese standards under Western Wood Products Association supervision. WWPA is the only U.S. lumber grading agency granted Foreign Testing organization status by Japan.

with the JAS stamp, stinson's lumber can be used immediately in Japanese construction. Normally, much of the dimension lumber exported by American mills is regraded and marked in Japan.

The approval process took more than a year and included specialized training for mill graders. Two additional western mills are expected to complete the JAS authorization process in coming months, according to WWPA.

1.43 Million Housing Starts?

Resource Inforrration Systems, Inc. has upped its 1994 housing forecast to 1.43 million starts, mirroring improved consumer confidence and continuing low interest rates.

Expectations of U.S. softwood consumption for the year have been raised to 47.5 billion feet, up narly 2Vo from December projections. RISI has moved its 1994 demand/capacity ratio forecast ftom 92Vo to 93Vo for North American lumber, creating speculation that volatile supply/demand dynamics are probable.

DON'T tET ANCIENT TREES FROM THE ANCIENT FOREST DIE A IONETY DEATH AND GO TO WASTE. PUTTHEM IN A HOME.

(A5 2X4 STUDS, WOOD WINDOWS, WOOD MOUIDINCS, WOOD DOORS, ErC-)

OwlDroppings

by Matt Moulder

Whidr species of iree do environmentalists approve of cttting down: (1) Ponderosa Pine, (2) Douglas Fir, or (3) Inctnse Cedar? lf your answer is'none of lhe above," you are wrong' The correct answer is #3, Incense Cedar. The reason: The use of pencils made from Jefutong, a species of tree that grows in the rainforests of Indonesia, has increased W 48o:h over the past lhree years. According to the Rainforesl ,Aclion Network, Jelulong is being bgged al a dangerous nale and is taking jobs away from Amedcan workers who make Cedar pencils.

"Cedat grows like a weed, but there is no way in the world you can rephce a tropical rain' foresl,' says Monte Lloyd, a professor emerilus in ecology from the University of Chicago. "Once il's gone, il's gone," Environmentalists fear that the use of Jelutong pencils will increase even fuilher and damage to the rainforests of Indonesia will increase propoilionately.

I am not a prcfessor emerilus, but common sense tells me that if there is a connedion between Cedar trees and increased timber halesting in lropical rainforesls, there is abo a connection between Pine and Fir trees and lhe rainforests in a simihr way. As logging in U.S' forests is cut back, there will be a conesponding increase in pressure on the forests of Indoneia, South Amedca and other regions of the world. Jelutong is used not only for pencib, but also for plywood and door core, among olher things.

The increase in impilation of lumber by U.S. firms the pasl few years from South America, Central America, Canada and other counldes for use in making doors, windows, mouldings and millwork is astounding. Moreover, Pine lumber from Bussia is being hailed as the ideal replacament lor Ponderosa Pine for finish and remanufacturing and, as soon as sawmill capacly can be put in placa, there will surely be massive amounls of lumber moving on a steady basis from Russia to this country. Environmentalists should be concerned that not all the countdes emerging as prominent lumber producers prac{ice forestry or wildlife management anphere near the high level thal is praAiced in the U.S. where timber growth exceeds harvest by 38o/o.

Friends of Gerald lftkpatrid( fomer buyer for O.M. Hill Lumber Co. of Pasadena, Ca.' will be pleased to know that he is happily relired and living in his old stomping grounds, Auburn' Ca. "Kirk " as he is known to his many friends in the industry, ttaveled the noflhwest lor O.M. Hillfrom 1954 to 1980, the year of his reliremenl.

Kirkpatrick states that his golf game became as erratic as today's lumber market. Consequently, he gave up playing golf as a pastime and now panicipates only as a spedalor, Kirk's wife, lGtharine, passed away in 1987, but a close relationship is maintained with his four sons, Gerald Jr., Dick, John and Kevin. Gerald Jr. is an insurance executive, Dick a retired sdrool teacher, and Kevin is a social worker in the Aubum area. John is vice presidenl of McPhillips Manufacluring Co., a wood door manufacturer located in Mobile' Al.