Lumber for-10 Jrea^rs."

"We buy Cedar fencing materials in different grades, in widths ranglng from 3-I/2" to \2" , and lengths from 4' to 8'. Adams is the only source for some of that material. They're prompt, ship on our schedule, are consistent in grade, and allow us to mix kuckloads of different sizes and grades. They take care of us, no matter what."

Its new strategy will focus on two formats: revitalized Home Quarters superstores, said to have proven highly successful in their remodeled form, and smaller, refocused Hechinger's, which will return to its historic roots as a community-based store tailored to local needs. The remainins 16 Builders Squares will be converi'ed to the Home Quarters format.

To stay afloat, the company is refinancing its working capital through a commitment for up to $700 million in debtor-in-possession financing from BankBoston Retail Finance.

lmported Plywood Alert

Plywood retailers and users are being advised by APA-The Engineered Wood Association to beware of imported panels wrongly identified or deceptively marketed as meeting U.S. standards, building codes or APA's performance-rated grade designations. Mislabeled imports may not be subject to the rigorous and accredited quality auditing program as required for regulated construction.

The association's advisory comes in the wake of increasing volumes of plywood imports as foreign manufacturers, particularly in Asia and South America, scramble for new customers in the face of weak demand and unstable currencies in their domestic and traditional export markets, notes APA Field Services Division director Tom Kositzky.

"We saw some irregularities first in Europe, where plywood from Korea was mislabeled to imply conformance with U.S. Product Standard PS I veneer grade and bond durability designations, and as 'Rated Sheathing,' an APA tradename under the PRP-108 Performance Standards and Policies for Structural-Use Panels," Kositzky said. "We've now also had reports, particularly in Puerto Rico, of South American plywood being falsely labeled as 'Sturd-IFloor,' which is an APA tradcnamc lor a product used in U.S. c<lnstruction applications."

Many applications targetcd by forcign producers and importers-such as furniture and fixtures, cabincts, truck trailer Iiners, concrete forming, and thin underlaymcnt-are not regulatcd by building codes. Kositzky still advises buyer beware: "lt's wisc lbr plywood retailers and users to look lbr confirmation that the panels have been subject to an accredited quality auditing program, and to seek documcnta- tion that the panels are designed and produced to meet recognized product or performance standard criteria, such as bond durability, dimensional tolerances, bending strength and stiffness."

"Reliability of supply and availability of support services, such as product performance claims assistance, should also be purchase-decision considerations," he adds.

Glulam Leftovers Gain Value

Glue-laminated beam distributors now can get more value from their stock glulam beams, thanks to a recent change in the way stock glulam cutoffs are classified for use.

According to APA, glulam cutoffs now can be resawn, regraded by an AlSC-approved agency and sold as a glued lumber product. The revision aids distributors who, after cutting specified glulam lengths from stock sizes, were sometimes left with random pieces.

"Glulam beams are usually stocked in long lengths, longer than most residential builders need," explains Jim Enright, Western region EWP sales mgr. for Willamette Industries. "After a beam is cut according to a contrac- tor's order-three 16-ft. lengths, for example-the distributor is left with a remnant that has no specific use."

"Previously, cutoffs from stock glulams were sold to the highest bidder or given to the lowest-price waste hauler," says Mike Hunsaker, EWP sales mgr. for Willamette's Southern region. "Now that the cutoffs can be resawn and graded, distributors will be able to get some value from what previously was of very little worth."

A leftover piece of 5-ll8"x24" glulam, for example, can be ripped twice to produce four 3"x12" nominal pieces of glued lumber, then sold for lumber market price. "Basically, once you resaw cutoffs into conventional lumber sizes, they can be used in any application where you would use a similar size and grade of lumber," says Hunsaker.

Cascade Pacific On Rebound

Cascade Pacific Industries, Inc., Jasper. Or., has a new operating plan underway, following a restructuring of its debt and naming of new corporate officers.

Jim Costello is the new president and ceo, and Bob Hansen, v.p. and cfo. Prior managers retained include Mike

Boone, general sales mgr., and Mike Pittenger, general manufacturing mgr.

According to the company, it "fell into a serious financial crisis in 1997 ... unable to maintain a current position on its debt payments and unable to pay many of its trade creditors." Owner Trish Thompson used personal funds to help keep the business alive and out of bankruptcy.

CPI recently obtained a new real estate loan from Key Bank and a new line of credit with NationsCredit Commercial Funding, a subsidiary of Nations Bank.

Kingsley Sells Last Yard

Blake Kingsley has sold E.D. Kingsley Lumber Yard, Montavilla (Portland), Or., to Milwaukie Lumber Co., parting with the last piece of the 91-year-old Kingsley Lumber Companies.

Milwaukee Lumber also operates yards in Vancouver, Wa., and Milwaukie, Or.

Earlier, Kingsley closed a smaller yard, Montavilla Lumber, Montavilla. He plans to move to the East Coast to run a segment ofhis brothers'furniture business.