Cowling Reacquires Dixieline

Dixieline Lumber Co., San Diego, Ca., has been reacquired by William S. Cowling II, president and son of the founder, from parent company Nortek.

Cowling, 64, becomes sole owner of the common stock of the company. He plans to double the number of Dixieline stores within five to seven years, market conditions pemritting.

Nortek has had the chain on the block for some time and provided a portion of the financing. Their decision to divest the wholly-owned subsidiary was "in line with our continuing objective to redeploy resources and direct management's attention to business which will better fit our long-range criteria"" Nortek stated.

Dixieline currently operates 10 home centers; Classic Collections, a high-end hardware showroom located at its Miramar Road facility; a 1.3 million square foot truss yard and lumber distribution center with milling and remanufacturing facilities; subsidiary Dixieline Builder's Fund Control, which handles construction escrow accounts, and a recently-acquired eight-acre facility with a cargo dock on Oregon's Columbia River (see plnto).

Dixieline estimates 1994 sales will exceed $135 million. Customer mix is 35Vo d-i-y homeowner/professional remodeler, 55Vo new home contractor and l07o wholesale, commercial and other.

Founded in 1913, Dixieline was sold by the Cowling family in 1979 to Weyerhaeuser Co., which sold it to Nortek in 1985.

Cowling has spent his entire adult life in the lumber business and believes the repurchase of Dixieline will prove to be very rewarding. "We are more and more encouraged that there will be a continuous improvement in the economy and construction in San Diego County," he explained.

The move comes amid continued penetration by larger warehouse-type chains. "We don't feel threatened by the size or way they conduct their business," Cowling said. "We present ourselves to the market very differently with excellent customer service, quality merchandise plus technically knowledgeable employees. We are also very competitive in ourpricing."

Dixieline is one of San Diego's largest privately owned companies, with approximately 700 employees. The transaction is a major reversal of the recent trend of 0akeovers of San Diego-based companies by outsiders. Cowling said, 'I am proud to be able to help San Diego regain some of its status as a 'headquarters' city."

"Business will be as usual," he added. "The 80-year-old tradition will continue for at least another 80 years,"