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Manufacturer r'lmnorter Wholesaler 650 University Ave. #A, Berkeley, CA 947 10 (510) 705-B5BB . Fax 510-705-8558

EarthSource Opens All-Green Outlet

EarthSource Forest Products, a division of Emeryville, Ca.-based Plywood And Lumber Sales, Inc., has opened the San Francisco Bay Area's first 1007o "green" hardwood lumber company.

Now located in Berkeley, EarthSource features a variety of certified, sustainably harvested hardwoods and wood products, including flooring, and guarantees all purchases, whether for commercial, craft or "do-it-yourself' meet Forest Stewardship Council criteria.

"The Bay Area has long been an epicenter of positive social change, so where better than Berkeley to introduce the region's, and quite possibly the entire state's, first, allgreen hardwood lumber outlet," said EarthSource's sales and marketing mgr. Larry Percivalle.

PALS launched EarthSource in 1997 from its Emeryville location to offer certified domestic timber, such as cherry, maple, oak, birch and ash; certified tropical lumber, including mahogany, machiche, Spanish cedar and amapola, and a variety of certified plywood and salvaged timber.

"Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion, among both professionals and consumers, about certified wood," explained Percivalle. "Our all-green warehouse takes the guesswork out of purchasing certified products. Whatever the need, consumers can be assured that the wood purchased from our Berkeley location is environmentally friendly, and they'll also find the region's best selection and largest stock on hand-all at or near the same price as less-responsible options. "

Expanded Housing Data Report

Beginning in April, the United States Department of Commerce monthly report "Housing Starts and Building Permits" will be issued as "New Residential Construction." It will combine the current housing starts and housing completions reports.

For all series except Building Permits, according to a spokesperson, "we will introduce new estimation methods and revise unadjusted data and seasonally adjusted annual rates back to January 1999." The Building Permits series will have the usual annual revisions for 2000 and revised seasonal factors back to January 1999.

More information is available on their Web site www.census.gov/mcd.

Metals Show Some Mettle

OUR SPECIALTY Rail: BNSF - SP-UP

Shipments Furnishing Quality Lumber Since 1950

While metals such as copper and brass are currently in vogue in residential and commercial construction and home furnishings, platinum and chrome are strictly also-rans, according to color experts.

The increasing popularity of metals indicates a "back-tonature" trend, according to Nada Napoletan Rutka, Nada Associates. "For home furnishings, silver has been very important colorwise for the past few years."

Copper is another metal whose popularity is on the rise, according to Ken Geremia, Copper Development Association. "Over the past 10 years we've seen a continual increase of 57o to 67o in copper applications by architects on an annual basis," he said. "Copper roofing, gutters and flashing are especially popular items for commercial and residential projects. We're seeing its popularity cycle again now with increased interest in using metals as design accents both in and on homes."

New Redwood Promo Group

Redwood mills, remanufacturers, wholesale distributors and landowners are forming the Redwood Promotion Group, a new division of the Cal ifornia Redwood Association. Participants will contribute to a promotion fund that will be used to deliver a strong, clear message about redwood to homeowners, specifiers and builders.

Recently, redwood has faced increasing competition from other species and wood substitutes. Consumers have expressed concerns about environmental issues regarding redwood. The new group will produce advertising and point-of-purchase materials to illustrate the benefits of redwood. The campaign also will emphasize that redwood is a renewable resource, which is being produced on a sustainable basis.

Structural Panel Output Up

North American structural wood panel production increased 2Vo in 2000, the eighth consecutive year of increased output, according to APAThe Engineered Wood Association.

At a record 40.3 billion sq. ft., production was up approximately 100 million ft. from the previous year, though plywood production declined 319 million fr. ro 19.68 billion bd. ft. OSB production increasedby 432 million ft. to 20.65 billion bd. ft.

Sanded plywood production was down l07o to 2.55 billion sq. ft., while rough plywood production decreased by 100 million ft.

A decline in housing starts caused LVL output to dip somewhat, while glulam production increased l47o to 377 million bd. ft. I-joist production also slipped abott 3Vo to 865 million linear ft.

G-P Exec's Son Founds Paper

The Portland Tribune, a new newspaper, has been founded by Robert Pamplin, Jr., Oregon's second richest man, to compete for readership with the 150-year-old Oregonian.

The Tribune will be delivered free twice a week on Tuesdays and Friday to roughly 120,000 households.

A daily, The Oregonian often takes anti-logging and anti-lumber positions.

Pamplin's father, Robert, Sr., joined Georgia-Pacific right out of college and rose from accountant to chairman.

Dealer Avoids Energy Crisis

A bit of foresight has allowed an Ace Hardware owner to weather Califomia's energy crisis smoothly.

ln 1991, Bill Wygal, who owns four Ace units in the San Francisco East Bay region, received a $94,000 loan from a little-known state program that offers low-interest loans to small businesses and non-profit organizations that want to improve the energy efficiency of their workplaces.

After receiving his loan from the Energy Efficiency Improvement Program, Wygal installed solar panels on his store in Martinez. Ca.. a move that he says saves him about $1,000 per month on his electric bills.

"We're probably saving more right now. since electricity is so expensive," he states. "It's probably about a $ 1,500- to $2,000-a-month savings."

Wygal hopes to receive another 5Vo interest rate loan to add solar units to one of his other stores, although he said he is not looking forward to completing the plethora of paperwork required for the application process.

The program, which began in 1989, offers loans up to $250,000 for up to five years.