Grown Pacific Expects To Sell More Assets

Crown Pacific LP, Portland, Or., in an effort to recover from Chapter I I bankruptcy, may have to sell its wholesale lumberyards, sawmills and timberlands or hand them over to its lenders.

In a filing with the federal Securities & Exchange Commission, Crown Pacific stated, "Assets will either be sold or transferred to the secured creditors in satisfaction of their claims."

However, Crown Pacific spokesman John Mangan said, "There is no reorganization plan yet. That's still being determined."

Among Crown Pacific's holdings are five Alliance Lumber distribution yards in Nevada and Arizona; mills in Gilchrist and Princeville, Or., and Port Angeles and Marysville, Wa., as well as hundreds of thousands of acres in Central Orgeon and Western Washington.

Evidently Crown Pacific has sought approval from the court to sell Alliance's North Las Vegas, Nv., lumberyard, but Magnan said that while a sale was possible, he could not provide specific details until a reorganization plan was finalized.

In addition, the market value of the company currently is being analyzed. Crown Pacific filed for Chapter I I in June after trying to restructure its debt outside of bankruptcy protection. In September, the company's debt totaled more than $500 million.

Capital Expands In Denver

Capital Lumber Co., Phoenix, Az., is expanding its Denver, Co., facility to accommodate engineered wood growth of products.

Capital Lumber will add two acres, install racks to handle the operation's expansion in I-joists, glulams, and LVL, and add a new curtain van to transport the additional inventory.

The company recently partnered with Roseburg Forest Products and QB Corp. in Colorado and Roseburg and Rosboro in Utah for their full line of engineered wood offerings.

Mill Fire Causes Explosion

A fire at a Weyerhaeuser mill in Raymond, Wa., left two workers hospitalized and caused an explosion that that was felt throushout the town.

Firefighters have yet to determine the exact cause of the March 17 fire. but it started in a shavings bin. While firefighters were trying to put out the fire, the shavings bin exploded.

Two workers were injured in the blast and their conditions were not yet known at press time.

Lumbermens Adds In Arizona

Lanoga Corp., Seattle, Wa., agreed to purchase Eastern Arizona dealer Precision Lumber & Hardware Inc., to add to its 56-unit Lumbermens chain.

The purchase will add stores in Show Low and Snowflake, Az.

"Precision Lumber is the key supplier of building materials in the White Mountain area of Eastern Arizona," said M. David Dittmer, president of Lumbermens, Olympia, Wa. "This is a good company from which to expland our presence in the Arizona market. Precision Lumber is a contractor-focused company like Lumbermens, but they also have a very viable retail segment."

Following a brief due diligence period, Precision's two yards were expected to begin operations as part of Lumbermens April 5.

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Keith Brown Files Lawsuits

Keith Brown Building Materials, Salem, Or.. filed a $4.9 million civil suit against Jeffrey F. Nudelman, a lawyer representing competitor Parr Lumber Co., Hillsboro, Or.

Keith Brown is suing for negligence against Nudelman stemming from a November 2001 meeting between Parr executives and one of its employees. Keith Brown claims that Nudelman had an obligation to inform his Parr executive client that any contact with its employees was illegal. Keith Brown claims that as a result of the meeting it lost business and eventually had to close its Ashland, Or., lumberyard.

According to court documents, Mel Weeks, a former Keith Brown employee, reportedly gave information about Keith Brown's customers and pricing strategies to Parr in exchange for a management position at its lumberyard in Medford, Or. Weeks, now employed at Parr, is also facing a civil suit from Keith Brown.

Palco Closes Carlotta Mill

The Pacific Lumber Co. is closing its mill in Carlotta. Ca., and will relocate the large-log processing equipment to its mill in Scotia. Ca.

Pelco has no plans as of yet for the Carlotta facility and the move is expected to take several months.

The move will have its advantages such as the use of Pa.rco's own power plant in Scotia. housing more equipment under one roof, and reducing the costs of handling and freight.

A number of new jobs are expected at the Scotia facility.

Boise Sells Yakima Mill

Boise Cascade Corp. has sold a sawmill in Yakima, Wa., for $3.25 million to four businessmen from Lane County, Or.

Investors Norman and Melvin McDougal and Greg and Jeff Demers, Eugene, Or., purchased the mill. The Demers have been involved in multistate timberland deals, and the McDougals are developing resort land in the upper McKenzie River area and Creswell, Or.

The Demers own Frontier Resources LLC, which will manage the Yakima plant. Frontier also owns a sawmill at Pilot Rock in Eastern Oregon.

Boise spokesman Ralph Poore said the company is completing a "strategic evaluation" and more sawmill sales are being planned, possibly including eight large wood products plants in Oregon.

The Yakima mill was founded over 100 years ago as Cascade Lumber, giving Boise half its name.

Riley Creek Consolidates

Riley Creek Lumber, Sandpoint, Id., is moving its operations from Sandpoint to a sawmill in Kootenai County, Id.

Marc Brinkmeyer, Riley Creek's owner, said the move will keep his company profitable. After Brinkmeyer bought operations from Louisiana-Pacific last year in Kootenai County and Sandpoint, he quickly realized the operations were inefficient. Logs were sawed into boards at the Chilco mill in Kootenai County, but the lumber was dried and run through a planer in Sandpoint, nearly 40 miles away.

"It's no longer economically viable to have a planer separate from the sawmill, " Brinkmeyer said.

The move should be completed by the end of the year and should not affect employment. Current Sandpoint employees can transfer to Chilco or can apply for positions at Riley Creek's two other mills in Moyie Springs and Laclede, Id.

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HIGH-STRENGTH glulams are helping to sustain the 20-year growth trend of engineered wood.

EWP Continues 20 Years Of Growth

No other building product has changed the face of residential construction over the past 20 years as much as engineered wood.

Some of the most dramatic innovations in residential construction in recent decades have been made by glulam beams and l-joists.

It's a far cry from the "old days," when most houses were framed with conventional 2x4 to 2xl0 solid sawn framing that was a time-consuming, piece by piece approach called "stick built" construction.

Today, an estimated 60Va to 70Vo of all residential building utilizes I-joist floors and glued laminated headers, ridge beams and floor framing.

Nationally, glulam timber production reached a record

338 million bd. ft. last year, and l-joists totalled over I billion lineal ft. Unlike the "early days," when a single major producer enjoyed most of the l-joist sales, today numerous manufacturers generate singificant volume in the market.

According to Bob Hettinger, Atlantic Forest Products, said builders like the assurance of an engineered floor system that is cost competitive with conventional framing. "In the past, you had to sell the I-joist concept as something new to every customer, but now it's a mature market and readily accepted as part ofour building culture," he said.

Similarly, wholesaler Weekes Forest Products has seen the residential building market has shifted from conventional (2x4 to 2xl0) solid sawn lumber to glued laminated beams, I-joists and other engineered wood. Jim TeBos said, "The new generation of glulams come in l-joist compatible depths, allowing for flush floors."

Residential builder Insignia Homes constructs exclusively with high-strength glulams. Dave Morren of Insignia said his firm specializes in larger, high-end custom homes and remodeling projects. "We find that glulam headers and floor beams are cost effective because they offer high strength for long spans, even though a glulam Power Beam is smaller than competitive materials," he noted.

Upscale custom home buyers often spend a lot of time at the job site. "These owners prefer the clean, straight look of glulams compared to dimension lumber which has wane and knots," said Kerlin Drake, Anthony Forest Products.

Glulams have environmental advantages because they are manuf'actured from smaller trees rather than old growth timber. Logging restrictions have reduced the supply of solid sawn lumber in the wider dimensions such as 2x10 and2x12, creating opportunities for engineered beams.

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Ex-Willamette Assets For Sale

Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., plans to sell three of its wood products mills and more than half a million acres of timerland in the Southeast, all acquired in its 2001 acquisition of Willamette Industries, Portland, Or.

Up for sale is a plywood and lumber complex in Chester, S.C.; a hardwood plywood mill in Moncure, N.C., and a lumber mill in Barnesville, Ga.

Weyerhaeuser will continue to operate the mills while it searches for a buyer.

"These are good mills," said William R. Corbin, executive v.p. of Weyerhaeuser's wood-products division. "However, they do not match Weyerhaeuser's business strategies, and we believe they will have a better strategic value to a new owner."

Weyerhaeuser also announced the sale of its 300,000 acres of forest land in Georgia to help reduce debt accumulated since it acquired Willamette Industries. The acquisition cost $8 million and brought Weyerhaeuser's total of commercial forest lands to 7.5 million acres.

The company has been selling land to pay off a debt of approximately

$12.7 billion. It also plans to sell 346,000 acres that was acquired in the Willamette merger in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Weyerhaeuser has already sold more than 250,000 acres of forest in Washington state and Oregon.

Dealer Expanding 2nd Store

Last September Randy Stemper, owner of Astoria Builders Supply, Astoria, Or., expanded his store from 4,000 sq. ft. to 12,000 sq. ft.

The expansion included the main building and warehouse, with an additional 21,000 sq. ft. to house the corporate offices for both Astoria and Stemper's other business, Gearhart Builders Supply, Gearhart, Or.

Now Stemper is looking to expand Gearhart. Stemper has been working with the city of Gearhart to obtain all the necessary permits, with the local power company and has installed a fire hydrant to meet the city's requirements.

Because Gearhart Builders Supply is located in a commercial zone, Stemper did not have to go before a planning commission; he simply purchased Captain Morgan's Lounge, which he plans to tear down in order to build on the one-acre site. Stemper expects the new store to be about 18,000 sq. ft., 11,800 sq. ft. greater than the current location.

The design will be similar to the Astoria store and construction is estimated to begin in early June. Gearhart, which now employs 52 employees, should accommodate 65 employees when the new store opens.

Weyco Upgrades Plywood Mill

Higher plywood prices have been good news to Weyerhaeuser's Foster Plywood mill, which is now making room for more product, retooling and adding new equipment.

Mike Moskovitz, Weyerhaeuser spokesman, said the Sweet Home, Or., mill has added a new state-of-the-art veneer lathe which will be used to peel 8 ft. blocks of wood to make veneer.

"Replacing the old lathe ensures current customer needs are met and positions us for improved competitiveness and safer, more reliable operations at Foster," Moskovitz stated.

Despite the upgrade, Moskovitz did not state that the mill would not close in the future. Weyerhaeuser recently announced that it would shut down three plants in the Southeast.

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Machinery Maker Hires 75

Coe Manufacturing, Tigard, Or., a manufacturer of machinery for the wood products industry, is taking advantage of recent low interest rates. a surge in prices of building materials and new growth in export markets by hiring 75 new employees.

"We're seeing the wood products industry finally coming back to life. There are some very positive signs out there," said Alan Knokey, Coe's senior v.p.-sales.

During the recession in 2001-2O02, Coe was forced to lay off several employees. Now positions for salespeople, welders, machinists, and engineers are being added.

With the additional jobs, Coe's workforce will total more than 400.

Tree Farmer Parts With Land

Port Blakely Tree Farms, Tumwater, Wa., has sold four trees farms and l8 other tracts of timberland in Washington and southern Oregon totaling 23,000 acres.

The sale, done by sealed bid auction, received inquiries from more than 600 interested parties. All sales prices are confidential.

In Lane, Douglas and Coos counties of Oregon, the'7,742-acre Reedsport Tree Farm was acquired by DR Johnson Lumber Company, Riddle, Or., and the 6,292-acre Coquille Tree Farm was bought by Roseburg Forest Products, Roseburg, Or.

Together, the properties contain roughly 205,000 million bd. ft. of marketable timber and were estimated to be worth $44 million.

Investment manager GMO Resources, Boston, Ma., acquired the 6,300-acre Startup Tree Farm near Gold Bar, Wa., while the 2,355-acre Kitsap Tree Farm, Bremerton, Wa., was divided between Kitsap County and an undisclosed buyer.

Collectively, the Washington parcels contain approximately I 18,000 million bd. ft. of timber and are valued at about $31 million.

Family-owned Port Blakely attributed the sale to its desire to consolidate holdings closer to its headquarters. It will use the proceeds of the sales to acquire 40,000 acres of timberland near Morton. Wa.

"We will continue to be a longterm timber owner in Washington and Oregon," said Michael Mosman, Port Blakely v.p. of resources.

L-P Sells Montana Mill

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has sold its Deer Lodge, Mt., sawmill and fingerjoint operation to Sherman Anderson, one-time Republican state senator and a timber businessman since 1965.

The mill has been renamed Sun Mountain Lumber Inc.

Anderson, who also owns Sun Mountain Logging with his wife, Bonnie, wanted to buy the mill because of the impact it would have on surrounding areas.

He also purchased equipment from Louisiana-Pacific's shuttered sawmill in Belgrade, Mt.

According to Anderson, "L-P put a lot of money into the Deer Lodge plant in the last three or four years, making it a modern, up-to-date mill, but we're bringing much of the Belgrade equipment here to use for further improvements."

Anderson will serve as president of the new company, with former L-P staffer Linda Sabrowski as sales manager. The sales team includes Pat Sabrowski and Paul Toussaint.

The sale of the mill is part of L-P's plan to enhance its competitiveness and finances.