Heady Growth For California Custom Mill

While other lumber manufacturers cut back, Unity Forest Products, Yuba City, Ca., has launched an ambitious expansion program.

The l6-year-old company has acquired four acres and a 40,000-sq. ft. former paint facility adjacent to its own property. The new building will house its fourth resaw, plus a moulder, paint priming line, and packaging system.

Initially the firm will add l5 employees to its current workforce of

75 workers, with plans to eventually hire another 21.

The difference between Unity and traditional lumber mills has been its emphasis on custom work above quantity work. "We're entirely different than a regular lumber mill, because all we do are specialty products," said president and c.e.o. Enita Elphick.

In a single day, Unity can produce as many as 75 different items. Each resaw can run up to 30 different products a day, among its total product line of 3,000 different designs.

Its just-in-time inventory-minded lumberyard customers benefit from Unity's ability to quickly provide small runs of a variety of products.

Composite Decking Start Up

Dayton Technologies has begun production of composite decking and railing products in a joint venture with Alcoa Home Exteriors.

Alcoa will market the products, made of a composition of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and wood flour composition at Dayton's 55,000-sq. ft. facility in Monroe, Oh.

Weyco Settles Alder Case

Without admitting blame, Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., has agreed to pay $34.5 million to settle charges that it monopolized the alder market in the Pacific Northwest.

The antitrust suit, filed in federal District Court in Portland. Or.. claimed that damages exceeded $100 million.

The company is also set to go to trial in two other similar antitrust cases May l1 and June l, and is appealing its loss of another alderrelated verdict.

Manke Drops Zone Request

Manke Lumber Co., Sumner, Wa., has withdrawn its contested request to rezone 3,430 acres.

In 1990 the Tahuya, Wa., property was divided into 5-acre lots, which at the time did not require county approval. Now the company wants a "map correction" to make the county's map representative of what is already in place, according to Manke spokeswoman Holly Manke White.

White says Manke Lumber is not planning to develop new property, but the 5-acre lots will remain in place.

The Mason County Planning Advisory Committee approved the rezone. but the county commissioners received new information regarding 760 acres that now belong to Washington Department of Natural Resources, and returned the recommendation to the planners.

The validity of the plat also came into question. In addition, the underlying zone now requires 20-acre lots, while existing plates can be grandfathered and developed at a later date.

As the rezone process grew more complex, the company decided to simply withdraw the application.