hffiffiutff

The unique qualities of solid-sawn timber

Wnrn your building specs call for the exquisite look of exposed beams, solid-sawn timber has no equal. At All-Coast Forest Products, we've made it a specialty since we opened our doors in 1975. We can deliver solid-sawn timbers from our own (PhatobvGate! inventory of Douglas fir, redwood and western red cedar in different ceflified grades, finishes and sizes-with Douglas fir up to 40 feet in length. We can meet exacl specifications, and our experl craftsmen can add any kind of corbel detail you desire, saving the expense and difficulty of job-site corbel cutting.

For timely delivery, precise customization and quality you can Gount 0n, turn to All-Coast lor all your solid-sawn timber and other lumber needs.

Chino, CA Division 800.864.6881

Cl ove rdale, CA Divis i on 800.767.2237

Englewood, C0 Division 800.525.8427

You Gan Run, But You Gan't Hide

The old boxing maxim has never been more true than in today's volatile distribution marketplace. Whether retailer, wholesaler, distributor, remanufacturer, treater or those in related services, the low-competition niches and safe harbors are getting rarer than an unbruised chin in a heavyweight championship.

Expansions, downsizing, closures and consolidations are forces forever changing the face of this industry. In this last decade of the millennium, change has ruthlessly swept all along, pummeling the old, comfortable concepts. In their place we've seen challenging new ways of business imposed that demand different and innovative actions, thinking and reactions. However, we suspect our recent, turbulent past is but a prelude to the fast-forward world that is likely from now until 2010 and beyond. How products get from manufacturer to consumer will never be the same, nor will the brave souls who battle in this ever changing ring.

The announcements hit the face of a conservative industry like a boxer's blow glancing off his opponent's forehead. Lowe's, our second biggest retailer, has announced its intentions to expand from south to the Far West. Eagle Hardware & Garden has grown from its original base in the Pacific Northwest and is opening the first of a series of stores in California and the Intermountain West. HomeBase plans to add22 new warehouse retail boxes to its present total of 83 and spread them across l0 western states in the next two years. Orchard Supply Hardware has revealed its cross country ambitions; no idle boast as it has the deep pockets of Sears, Roebuck & Co. behind it.

Having knocked out hundreds of independent hardware retailers, Home Depot plans to invade many of those same neighborhoods with 35,000 square foot home improvement convenience stores to complement their current total of 657 warehouse centers. Scores of additional big boxes are planned by Depot in the next three years.

Thousands of independents and small chains are running harder and working smarter. As with the heavyweights, they know no quarter will be given in this fight.