GOLDENSTATE TUMBER

FOUR-UNIT dealer Golden State Lumber, Petaluma, Ca., has unveiled a new rogo.

WHOLESALER Bluelinx has added its own private label engineered wood products, onCENTER.

Bluelinx Offers Own EWP Brand

Bluelinx, Atlanta, Ga., now distributes its own privately branded line of engineered products: onCENTER.

"The onCENTER brand will allow us to bring a total engineered products solution to our customers," said Kent Marks, general manager of engineered products.

Individual products include BLI joists, LVL, Glulam 3000, and rim board. All are backed by a lifetime limited warranty and are supported by a full-service, cross-functional team of engineers, technicians, software developers, inside sales, and field-based market managers.

Bluelinx offers over 10,000 products from over 750 suppliers to approximately 11,500 customers nationwide, through its network of more than 50 distribution centers.

Sound Restarts Chehalis Lam Plant

Sound Wood Products is consolidating its production facilities in Burlington and Sumner, Wa., at the former laminating plant of Cascade Structural Laminates at the Port of Chehalis, Wa.

Early this month, the rebuilt mill will begin manufacturing laminate wood and decking products for the construction industry, stressing exports.

The plant suffered a fire in 2009, forcing CSL to relocate operations back to its corporate site in Eugene, Or. The port recently acquired the Chehalis Lam site and completed a $400,000 infrastructure improvement project to upgrade buildings, fire protection, and electrical systems.

Lessee Sound will initially employ about 15 workers, increasing to about 30 over the coming year and expanding production with the construction of a new plant to fabricate metal components for its wood decking products.

New Vinyl Window Maker Unveiled

Vinyl window manufacturer Crystal Pacific Window & Door Systems, Riverside, Ca., has been launched by Thomas Chen, founder of Crystal Window & Door Systems. Flushing. N.Y.

In addition to its factory and headquarters in an 111,000-sq. ft. facility on nine acres in Riverside, Crystal Pacific also opened sales offices in South El Monte and San Diego, Ca. Both offices have warehouses and will eventually add showrooms.

The company currently has about 30 workers at its Riverside factory, using approximately half of the building's space and hoping, as demand increases, to expand operations to the entire building.

Universal has been a key supplier in Southern California for years. With the broadestlineup of lumber and specialty products in the area, it's no wonder why dealers look to UFP as a key supply partner.

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TMI Launches Tuenron Pro Brand

TMI Forest Products, Morton, Wa., has revived its former company name-TuseFoR-as a brand for its high-grade coastal western red cedar fencing manufactured for and sold specifically to the pro market.

"The TMI name has always represented reliable products; however, with our new computerized grading system, we can produce the same quality TMI brand coastal WRC fencing and cater to the ultra-high-end pro-installer with a separate product line," said Todd Shipp, pro sales account manager. "We brought back the Tusepon name for this premium product category. The industry has always recognized 'TuseFon' as synonymous with high quality, so it was the perfect fit for this new product line."

To ensure the quality of TuelpoRmarked fencing, TMI installed a proprietary electronic grade scanner and optimizer. Additional quality assurance practices were created, including tightened manufacturing tolerances, inspection by tags in every unit, and forklift drivers signing every tag when trucks are loading to verify correct shipments.

Pro shipments will be covered with TuseFon wrap, while retail shipments will continue in TMl-marked manila bags.

Montana's Stoltze Proceeds with Biomass Facility

After three years of negotiations, F. H. Stoltze Land & Lumber, Columbia Falls, Mt., has a power purchase agreement with Flathead Electric Cooperative and can proceed with plans to build a new biomassfueled electric generation facility.

"It's a good thing for the community, it's a good thing for Stoltze and our employees, and it's a good thing for Flathead Electric," said Chuck Roady, Stoltze's general manager. "This is just a very positive project."

The new biomass facility will cost about $20 and primarily use wood waste such as bark and slash to generate electricity.

Under the agreement, FEC would purchase an annual average of up to 2.5 megawatts of power-enough to power 2,500 homes annually-for 20 years, beginning in 2013.

Viance Fishinq for Best Treated Wood-Decks

Wood preservation chemical supplier Viance LLC, Charlotte, N.C., has launched a new dcck contcst to promote its Ecolif-e stabilized weather-resistant wood.

Thc Ecolife Fish-Morc Deck Challenge will award a team grand prize to the builder and homeowner of the winning decka Tracker Pro Team 175 TF boat. motor and trailer to the contractor. $2.500 in cash to the homeowner.

Monthly prizes will also be award- ed for l0 rnonths, with $500 each going to l0 pro deck builders and l0 d-i-y builders.

To quality. builders and homeowners first construct an Ecolif'e (EL2) deck project, then submit photos, materials receipt, and entry form at www.ccolife.fish-morc.com. To bc eligible for the grand prize. the builder and horncowner must co-register.

"The Fish Morc Deck Challenge promotes the idca that deck builders and homeowners ailike can 'take back their weekends' by building decks

Old World Crafumanship In Today's Designs

Tru-Dry Timbers

with Ecolif-e." said Viancc director of marketing Christopher Kollwitz. "We are excited to review the crcativity of deck builders and homeowners across the country."

The challenge began in February 2012, with the last day fbr entries on Dec. 31 ,2012. The winning deck project will be selectcd by a team of independent prof'essionals from the Building Products Industry.

EL2's proprietary stabilizer improves the performance of deck surfaces by sharply reducing the cracking, checking and splitting associated with weathering.

Funding Increased for Timberland Restoration

The Obama Administration has allocated another $40 million to fund forest restoration projects in Montana. Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, California. and six southern states.

All FGL Tru-Dry timbers are dried in "HeatWave USA's RFV" kilns. which use clean. renewable energy and have zero emissions.

Tru-Dry timbers are dried completely and evenly throughout so you won't experience the sticky problems often encountered with beams that are not dried to the core.

Combine our selection of Douglas fir timbers along with our skilled milling staff and you've got one ofthe best resources in Southern California.

Tru-Elrq

Huff Lumber Company

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

800-347-4833

"This is about jobs. It's about restoration and making sure forests are in a position to preserve precious water resources," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We're going to be working to rnake surc that we get the best use of the forest opportunities we have."

The projects are part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, which was enacted by Congress in 2009 but has never before received full-time funding. Over the next three years. the projccts will expand by 20Vc the number of acrcs thinned and restored on national forests, increase timber production by 25cl and muintain or generate I ,550 jobs.

"We want to move beyond the conflicts in the past that slowed progress down," Vilsack said, pledging that the Forest Service would up its timber production from 2.4 billion bd. ft. in 2011 to 3 billion bd. ft. by 2014, boost bark beetle treatment, and improve markets for wood products such as biornass-based fuels.

Forest projects will launch in five western states, plus Arkansas. Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahomir. and North Carolina.

LBM Dealer's Floor Collapses

Rotting beams caused a showroom floor to collapse at Beyond the Studs Building Supply, Gorst, Wa., Feb.2.

"It's very fortunate nobody was injured," said county building inspector Jeff Rowe. "The beams just rotted and fell."

After an investigation, Rowe determined that untreated beams and construction methods-the building was constructed in the 1930s-were to blame for a sudden "catastrophic failure" of the floor joists that caused the 700-sq. ft. showroom to drop about 2 ft. The entire building was closed until a structural evaluation and repairs can be completed.

Owner Rod Blake said that if he can't get back to work soon, he could easily go out of business.

Serious Shifts Production

Serious Energy, Sunnyvale, Ca., will shift production of its windows from a facility in Chicago, Il., to its plants in Boulder, Co., and Vandergrift, Pa.

Serious is exploring options for the Chicago plant, including closing it or finding a buyer.

The company acquired the plant in

2009, when it purchased the assets of Kensington Windows shortly after then-owner Jancor filed for bankruptcy. Serious installed new equipment and gradually rehired ex-Kensington employees.

Insulation on the Uptick

Residential and commercial insulation demand reached $5.6 billion in 2011, split largely between fiberglass, foams and cellulose, according to a new Principia Partners study.

Demand was split roughly 60Vo residential and 407o commercial. Both sectors are predicted to benefit from a one-two punch that includes an upturn in construction spending along with more stringent building codes calling for more insulation per structure.

Do it Best Upgrades Online Member Connection

Do it Best Corp. has re-launched an enhanced version of its member exclusive portal for up-to-the-minute communication, program information, and product knowledge, including the rollout of a more robust online catalog.

The mydotbest.com site went live Feb. 15 after months of intensive development, beta testing, and mem- ber feedback. Upgrades include a cleaner look, smoother user interface, streamlined navigation, and enhanced functionality. The site also offers members new or enhanced services across a range of store operations, including merchandising, ordering, logistics and marketing.

Tapping into the popular "Made in the USA" trend, the co-op introduced a new easy-to-use filter within its online catalog that makes it even quicker for members to search for and order any of the American-made products they stock.