Washington Dealer Ships To Korea

Mount Vernon Building Supply, Mount Vernon, Wa., is the prime building material supplier for a multimillion dollar resort hotel being built in North Korea.

Located in a free-trade zone in communist North Korea, the building site is leased to South Korean interests. "It's defintely an unusual situation," said Kevin Kok, co-owner of Mount Vernon. "They are developing this lavish destination resort, sort of like what you would find in Whistler."

Mount Vernon learned of the project through the Evergreen Building Products Association, which links U.S. manufacturers and product dealers with customers overseas-particularly in Asia.

As a test of their reliability, a Seattle architect of Korean descent asked Mount Vernon to pack and deliver all the components for 1,800sq. ft. house in Korea. When everything went well, Kok and his partners were asked to participate in the 100room hotel project.

"Asian customers work on trust and mainly by word-of-mouth from other developers," said co-owner Ed Gegen.

"With companies like ours, they get the attention to detail they demand. We hand-pack every container and triple check it. We rarely make even a small mistake."

So far, Mount Vernon has shipped l0 containers to get the project started. Future containers will be filled with "everything they need, front to back, on this project," said Kok. He then will fly to Korea to review the project.

Kok and his partners estimate that foreign customers, including ones in Japan and Guam, account for l5Vo of the store's business-and the market is steadily growing. "Once you've proven yourself, you have a customer for life," said Gegen.

Selective Vandal Hits Depot

A vandal who knows how to operate heavy machinery caused more than $200,000 in damage at a future Home Depot site in Anchorage, Ak.

A large front-end loader was used on April 5 to push other large equipment into a pile in the middle of the gutted structure, which used to house a Kmart. The vandal then crashed the loader through the wall of the build-

The Merchant welcomes your comments. Please write to Editor, 4500 Campus Dr., Suite 480, Newport Beach, Ca.92660; Fat 949-852023 l, or dkoenig@building-products.com.

Price Wars

In response to "Fighting Back" (Letters, April, p.36), I suggest a more appropriate caption would read, "Throwing in the Towel." I cannot imagine any local merchants want to be involved in a price war with the big boxes, much less initiate one.

Consumers will pay more for expertise, but when price is their only concern, they know where to go.

Stephen Ondich

Atlas Lumber Co. 13575 Benson Ave. Chino, Ca.9l7l0 ing, causing structural damage.

Anchorage police are investigating if the vandal had a grudge against the contractor, Alaska Frontier Services. Only equipment owned or leased by the contractor was damaged.

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DIVERSITY of tile roofing available led association to chanqe its name.

New Name For Tile Institute

The Roof Tile Institute has changed its name to the Tile Roofing Institute to better reflect the association's new mission and industry objectives.

The 3O-year-old nonprofit association was established to support the advancement of the tile roofing industry. Until recently, membership was mainly comprised of tile roofing manufacturers and related producers. To extend its reach, the association now welcomes associate members such as importers, suppliers, distributors and contractors.

"Now that we've expanded our membership base, more industry professionals can take advantage of our technical support," said Rick Olson, technical director for the institute. "The Institute has published installation manuals for moderate climate, cold weather, and high wind. Our next step is to develop installation training programs that allow roofers throughout North America to take advantage of this expertise."

The association also updated its Web site and created a contractor database that matches prospective customers with contractors in their area. New educational programs focus on educating architects, builders, code officials, and consumers about the advantages of tile roofing.

"Many consumers relate a tile roof to Spanish architecture, but the colors and styles available now can reflect a wide variety of designs," said Charles McGrath, TRI's managing director. "Concrete and clay tile roof systems are durable, provide weather and fire resistance, and come in a range of colors and profiles that add beauty as well as long-term value."

Gunmen Rob Hardware Store

Six employees and four customers were held at gunpoint during a robbery of Ace Hardware, Suisun City, Ca.

No shots were fired nor were any injuries reported, although the victims said they were roughed up.

Minutes after Ace opened at 8 a.m. April 7, two men wearing ski masks and armed with handguns stormed the store, took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash registers, and fled through the front doors.

Police are searching for the two suspects.