Performance you can measure.

1.800.999.9105 or visit the LP web site at www.lpcorp.com.

Huff Lumber Company

SANTA FE SPRINGS. CALIFORNIA 800-347-4833

Ted and Rosie Gilbert have retired from Product Sales Co., Orange, Ca., the company they founded in 1965. He will stay on as a consultant to Product Sales, now under the direction of Anfinson Lumber Sales (see p. I8).

Steve Patterson has been promoted to president of Central Valley Builders Supply, St. Helena, Ca., succeeding Kathleen Patterson, who remains chairman of the board.

Norbert Lado has been named valueadd mgr. for Southern California at Stock Building Supply, Mission Hills, Ca., overseeing Inland Timber, Terry Truss, Precision Mill, and Robarts Commercial Door.

Melissa Nicholson and Jerod Jensen are new to contractor sales at Bayview Building Materials, Elma, Wa.

Dave Dumoulin, ex-Schultz, Snyder and Steele, has been named sales & marketing mgr. for Capital Lumber Co., Chino, Ca. New account mgrs. include: Ruben Santistevan, Albuquerque, N.M.; Jason Kelly, exBMC West, and Kerry Jones, exThe Garland Co., Salt Lake City, Ut.; Jon Kimber Jr., ex-Paxton, and Sean Wright, ex-Home Lumber, Denver, Co.; Mike Bishop, exKelly-Moore/Ponderosa Paint, Boise, Id., and Erica Magalei, exHome Depot, Tacoma, Wa.

Tony Cookston has transferred to Parr Lumber's Forest Grove. Or.. store as assistant mgr.

Nick Napier, ex-Builder Marts of America, has joined Vanport Forest Products, Boring, Or.

Heidi Biggs Brock, Washington, D.C., was named v.p.-federal & international affairs for Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa.

William Smartt has been named senior v.p. and chief financial officer for BMC West parent Building Materials Holding Corp., San Francisco, Ca. He succeeds Ellis Goebel, who is now senior v.p.business development & investor relations.

Rusty Rollison is a new contractor sales trainee at 84 Lumber Co., Henderson, Co.

Paola Rutledge has been appointed panel & veener specialist for Teragren Fine Bamboo Flooring, Panels & Veneers, Bainbridge Island, Wa.

Stacy Baldzicki, ex-Grainger, is a new builder/architect rep for R/!V Specialties, Henderson, Co.

David M. Snyder, ex-Georgia-Pacific, has joined Builders FirstSource, Dallas, Tx., as v.p.-national sales & marketing. Salim Baltagi is new as v.p.-logistics.

Joey Gaspar, ex-Home Depot, is new to contractor sales at Royal Plywood Co., Cerritos, Ca. Tony Taylor has joined the sales force, primarily in industrial accounts.

Scott Beesecker has been named store mgr. of Lowe's Home Improvement Center, Salem, Or. Michael Rose succeeds him as mgr. in McMinnville, Or.

Pat McEvoy has been named senior v.p. of Denver, Co.-based Johns Manville's roofing systems group and performance materials. He succeeds Paul Roessel, who now oversees growth initiatives.

Robin Foran has joined Forestweb, Los Angeles. Ca.. as senior account mgr. for North America markets.

Brad Shaw has been named senior v.p.-corporate communications & external affairs for Home Depot.

Ray A. GrifTith has been promoted to executive v.p. and chief operating officer for Ace Hardware Corp., Oak Brook, Il.

Robert A. Niblock, president, Lowe's Cos., will become chairman and c.e.o. when Robert L. Tillman retires in January.

Paul Gallagher has been promoted to business development mgr.-intemational & retail for the construction and distribution division of Bostik Findley. Michael F. Hoban is now national sales mgr.-industrial, construction and insulating glass products business.

Tom Willcutt, Specialty Fasteners, was elected chairman of the International Staple, Nail & Tool Association. Alan Phillips, Pentair, is vice chairman.

We are both happy and sad to note that our long-time advertiser and friend Ted Gilbert, Product Sales Co., Orange, Ca., has announced his retirement.

Product Sales has been advertising on page 4 of The Merchant every month for the last 30 years.

Ted is one of those unique individuals who you come across in life only rarely. His friendship, warmth and concern for others have eamed him the highest respect among his peers. I am extremely grateful for his kindness to our publication and to me personally. I wish Ted and Rosie a happy, wellearned retirernent.

- Alan Oakes, publisher

Paul Lantz has been appointed director of sales at Canyon Creek Cabinet Co.. Monroe. Wa. Ron Larson is now director of accounting.

Sal Parente, ex-Broan-NuTone, has joined Delta Faucet Co. as director of new construction.

Robert Britz, president and co-c.o.o., New York Stock Exchange, has resigned from the board of directors at the Stanley Works.

Ned Bowman, mgr., Levee Lumber, Hoquiam, Wa., has been named to Do-It-Best Corp.'s advertising advisory committee.

Jerry Hill, plant mgr.; Brett Lucas, assistant plant mgr., and Tom Stumpf, v.p. and sales mgr., were honored recently for 20+ years with Western Wood Preserving Co., Sumner, Wa.

Richard Harrison, owner, R. Lompoc Ace Hardware, Lompoc, Ca., vowed to donate 17o of his gross proceeds for the year to the Lompoc Hospital Foundation.

lzzy Heer has been promoted to security mgr. at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., report Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.

Weyerhaeuser Settles Case

Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., reached an agreement with Coast Mountain Hardwoods, Inc. to settle a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Or.

In the settlement, Weyerhaeuser agreed to pay $14 million before taxes with no admission of liability.

Coast Mountain Hardwoods, a Canadian company that is now a unit of Weyerhaeuser, claimed Weyco monopolized the alder sawlog and finished lumber markets and committed fraud. The plaintiffs originally sought $820 million, but later reduced its request to $420 million-$90 million for attempted monopoly and $330 million for alleged fraud.

According to Weyerhaeuser representatives, the settlement will result in an after-tax charge of approximately $9 million in the first quarter.

Software For Weyco Mills

Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., recently began using Activplant software at nine of its wood products manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Canada to maximize productivity.

"We selected Activplant based upon a close fit with our stated requirements, particularly ease of implementation and use," said Kevin Shearer, director of Weyerhaeuser's IT wood products division.

Weyerhaeuser plans to use the software to analyze throughput and identify causes of machine downtime.

According to Activplant c.e.o. Dennis Cocco, "Activplant will support Weyerhaeuser's journey of continuous improvement by vastly reducing the time it takes to identify and eliminate sources of lost productivity and quality while enhancing the overall performance of its mills."

TruServ Makes The Grade

Ina recent consumer survey

TruServ dealers got high marks in customer service.

The research was collected between November 2002 and April 2003 by Consumers' Checkbook in five major markets including Seattle, Wa.; Chicago, Il.; Boston, Ma.; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mn., and Delaware Valley/ Philadelphia, Pa. Consumers provided more than 30,000 ratings for local hardware stores and home centers.

Two separate surveys were administered. The first was given to do-ir yourselfers regarding the features they felt were most important in hardware stores, and the second asked consumers to rate the hardware store in which they shop.

In five out of eight categories including prompt services, receiving advice, staff attitudes, and overall quality, the results indicated that True Value hardware stores were better than the competition.

Pamela Forbes Lieberman, TruServ president and c.e.o., said, "True Value store owners go the extra mile to satisfy their customers."

Home Depot's Safe Insurance

In an effort to focus on safety and loss prevention, Home Depot and Metlife Auto and Home Insurance have made an agreement in which the big box company will provide repair and installation services for Metlife's customers.

When making estimates for flooring replacements, Metlife insurance adjusters will refer customers to Home Depot, although they can also use their own contractors if they choose do so.

Home Depot and Metlife are also looking into benefits for Metlife customers buying certain safety products through Home Depot.

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Boise To Sell lts OSB Facility

Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Id., agreed to sell its jointly owned OSB plant in Barwick, Ontario, for $193 million to Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.

Ainsworth will pay at least $193 million for the Voyageur Panel plant. The price could increase by $10 million if OSB prices continuing climbing this year.

Boise owns 477o of the 7-year-old plant, Abitibi-Consolidated lnc., 217o: Northwestern Mutual, 17Vo, and Allstate Insurance Co.. l5Vo.

The acquisition will add 440 million sq. ft. of OSB capacity to the 1.5 billion possible at Ainsworth's existing three plants.

Greenpeace Argues Mill Sale

Three years ago a veneer mill in Ketchikan, Ak., closed down. Now, Timber Products, Springfield, Or., is considering either buying, leasing, or performing sales and marketing for the operation.

However, Greenpeace has raised some objections to reopening the mill.

Representatives from Greenpeace say the project would log old-growth trees in Tongass National Forest.

Roger Rutan, v.p.-marketing for Timber Products, said that the company has already identified secondgrowth logs for the mill, therefore eliminating Greenpeace's concerns.

"The issue of old growth is not on the table," Rutan said. "The mill was engineered to be a small-diameter log milll it can't handle logs more than 20 inches [in diameter]. You start talking about old growth, but the mill physically can't handle that."

If Timber Products is to purchase the mill, which it expects a decision on in one to three months, its primary purpose would be manufacturing plywood products.

Old Weyco Mill Dismantled

Weyerhaeuser Co.'s White River sawmill near Enumclaw, Wa.-shuttered since early 2003-is being demolished.

Staton Cos., a Eugene, Or., demolition firm began dismantling the mill in early April, leaving only scrap metal to sell to recyclers and concrete to be ground up for aggregate.

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Frank Mendizabal said that except for the largest machinery, most mill equipment was sold before the demolition began. The rest will be moved as parts of the mill are taken down.

The administration building and truck shop will remain once the demolition is complete in August. Weyco has yet to decide what to do with those buildings. The site has been home to lumber operations since 1892.

In addition to White River, a Snoqualmie, Wa., finishing mill is schedule to close.

Lumber Exec Joins Panel

Jim Snodgrass, v.p.-export sales for Contact Lumber, Portland, Or., has been appointed by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski to Oregon's International Trade Commission.

Mr. Snodgrass will serve a fouryear term on the commission with 14 other Oregon-based business people and two legislators. Commission members assist the international division of the Oregon Economic and Community Development department in planning and developing international trade policies.

Snodgrass' experience in international trade led to his selection.