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full service sales office," said president Richard H. Baxter.

In the restucturing, Paul Boyle is now gen. sales mgr.; Dean Rogers, regional sales mgr.-Southwest and Ca, and Kevin Joyce, Ca. area sales mgr.building products. Long Beach sales mgr. Henry Voorhees has retired-

Ernst Sells Stock To Expand

Faced with increasing pressure from warehouse-style conpetitors, Emst Home Center Inc., Seafile, rila., plans to go prblic, banking that the stock sale will raise $50 million to finance 50 to 55 superstores over the next three years.

The expansion, combined with the closure of seven to 10 smaller, older stores, will leave the chain with about 120 stores by the end of fiscal 1996. The new units will be similar to the 60,000 sq. ft. superstore unveiled in Tacom4 Wa., in March, the 20th such store opened since 1991.

Securities and Exchange Commission filings reveal that despite Ernst's profitability, payments on a $150 million loan have left parent company NBL Life Assurance Corp. with insufficient cash flow.

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Merlo Stars ln L-P Television Ads

In louisiana-Pacific's first national television canpaign, chairman and president Harry Merlo faces the camera md says candidly, "We've had no choice but to do something very inaginative or we'd have just been another lumber conpany."

L-P launched the nultimillion dollar campaign in May as a sponsor of the Indianapolis 500. Over the next several months, the company will air a series of 30-second spots on majff national networks, reaching more than 50 million people. The campaign is designed to position L-P as the innovative leader in the manufacturing and marketing of building products.

"L-P's leadership in new product development is well recognized within the building frade, but we're far from a household word," explained Pamela Selis, director of corporate communications. "To educate a broader population, we lnew nobody could tell L-P's story quite like orn chairman, HarryMedo."

No script was necessary to produce the spots, which featue Merlo speaking from the heart about the company he has led since its inception 2l yeus ago. Insiders and industry experts anribute much of the Fortune 200 company's succ€ss to Medo's visionary, cornmon-sense approach to stretching natural resources and integrating recycled goods to manufacture high-performance, affordable building materials. The spots capture the spirit, candor, energy and imagination of the man and the company.

"We exp@t our invesEnent in this campaign to benefit L-P's well-established distribution and dealer base and to suppoft the marketing efforts of home builden by naking consumers aware of the advantages of our product innovations," said Selis.

"Increasingly, L-P products are being stocked in najor home center chains where the weekend handyman or woman can easily put them in the back of their van or pickup. This ad canpaign should help move more L-P products through this disribution channel, catering to the buy-it or do-it-yourself population," according to Selis.

National programming spans high-profile sporting events including the Indy czr race series and U.S. Open tennis tournament" as well as the news shows Good Morning America, the Today Siow and ESPN Sporrs Center. The commercials will also heavily penetrate five major construction markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Seattle. High-visibility programming in those markets includes top-rated shows like Home Improvement, Seinfeld and 60 Minutes; morning and evening news and local major league baseball and football.

Merlo set L-P's course in the 1970s when he pioneered the production of oriented srand board in the U.S. OSB is

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lllegal Lumber Stamp Alert

Ontario Lumber Manufacturers Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada is warning the lumber industry through the American Lumber Standard Commiuee that the unregistered OLMA starp shown below has been observed in their arca.

O.L,M.A9 S TUO 125.

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Housing Rebound Expected

When second quut€r satistics becme availablg they will likely show a single family rebound in residential construction.

Pent-up demand, home buyers entering the market to avoid further increases in mortgage rat€s and shong levels of consumer confidence combined with healthy economic expansion will support the building spurt, notes F. W. Dodge. Adjustable rate mortgages will receive increasing at0ention.

Higher rates and an erosion in consumer confidence are expected to cause the upward momentun to taper off in the latter half of the year. However, 1.075 million units, a 67o increase and the highest annual figure in eight years, are anticipated. Multifamily starts are forecast to increase llVo to 200,000, for 1.275 million tod r€sidential buildings, a 7 % riw.

Total floor area is forecast to climb 6% to 2.175 billion s{.ft., including 1.965 billion sq. ft for single family (+6%) and 200 million sq. ft. for multifamily units (+1 I 7o).

Toal residential construction contract value should lise 9Vo to $133.05 billion. One family houses will equal 5120.425 billion (+9 %) and multifanily units $12.625 billion (+137o).

Canadian Duty Decision Due

A decision on halting a trade panel's December fecommendation to overturn the Canadian softwood lunber duty is due July 14.

The U.S. says conflict of interest marred the original 3-2 decision to overturn a U.S. Commerce Depart-

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