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Darrell Smith, operations mgr., Conrad Forest Products and Conrad Wood Preserving, North Bend, Or., completed a three-week trip through Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Utha, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona, scouting locations future expansion. Jeff Locke, ex-J.H. Baxter, has joined Conrad as a new products marketing representative.

Claude "Scotty" Scott has joined the sales team at Peterman Lumber Co., Fontana, Ca. He recently attended the National Hardwood Lumber Association grading short course in Ontario, Ca.

Garry Tabor has been promoted to executive v.p. at BMD, Galt, Ca.

Jerry Gustafson, v.p., Tumac Lumber Co.. Portland, Or., has retired after 26 years with the company.

Doug Holt has come out of retirement to rejoin K-Ply, Inc., Port Angeles, Wa., as marketing mgr.

Zach Bell, ex-Burton Lumber, and Scott Madsen, ex-Boise Cascade/ BMC West, are new account mgrs. at Capital Lumber Co., Salt Lake City, Ut. Dan Hurt, ex-Weyerhaeuser, is new to the company's Capital Building Materials division. Harold Dodero is new to dry dimension sales at Sierra-Pacific Industries, Redding, Ca.

Todd Kitch has joined the sales team at D&G Lumber, Three Forks, Mt. Ronald Skidmore, ex-Manke Lumber, is new to sales at Superior Wood Treating, Sumner, Wa.

Wayne M. Rancourt has been elected v.p. and treasurer for Boise Cascade Corp.. Boise. Id. Jay Brown, ex-Valspar, has joined Do it Best Corp. as v.p. of hardware products. Michael Zadylak has been promoted to global sourcing specialist in the co-op's Import Purchasing area.

Lee T. Alford has been named senior v.p.-residental wood products for Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., overseeing Softwood Lumber, Weyerhaeuser Building Materials, Structurwood, Trus Joist, Southern Plywood, Western Veneer & Plyrvood, and Residental Marketing Development. William R. Corbin, ex-International Paper, was named executive v.p.-industrial wood products and international, managing Weyerhaeuser Forestlands International, Weyerhaeuser Asia and European Wood Products. David Bickell is unit mgr. for Weyco's Pacific Veneer mill in Aberdeen. Wa.

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Judy Rolan, ex-BMA, is new to Vanport Forest Products, Boring, Or. Domingo Negrete is a mrg. trainee at 84 Lumber Co., San Leandro, Ca. Chaz Johnson is a new mgr. trainee in Reddinc. Ca. r

Peter Slade, ex-Baldwin Hardware, has joined Azsr Trimboards as territory sales mgr. for Oregon and Idaho. Niki Depew is now territory sales mgr. for Southem California, and Gregory Smith is territory sales mgr. for Colorado.

Rick Hogue has been promoted to v.p.-marketing and western region engineered sales at Krauter Storage Systems.

Robert F. Roth has been named mgr. of Washington timberlands and Blake S. Rowe mgr. of Oregon timberlands for Longview Fibre Co., Longview, Wa.

David S. Ziegler, Garden Acres Ace Hardware, Longmont, Co., was reelected to Ace Hardware Coro.'s board of directors.

Ross McColeman retires July 9 after 40+ years in the industry, the last 33 with Weldwood of Canada, Vancouver, B.C.

Bob Legg will retire Dec. 31 after 14 years as president and c.e.o. of the Temperate Forest Foundation, Beaverton, Or.

Steven Hofer has joined the Beck Group, Portland, Or., in business development.

Carl Liliequist has been promoted to executive v.p.-sales and operations for Huttig Building Products.

Jim Kraft, ex-Kohler, was appointed v.p.-operations at Canyon Creek Cabinet Co., Monroe, Wa.

Wayne Collins, ex-Texwood, is now western regional v.p. for Merillat.

Paul Saini, ex-Slocan, joined the sales and marketing dept. of the TealJones Group, Surrey, B.C.

Robert F. Hull Jr. has been promoted to executive v.p. and chief financial officer for Lowe's Cos.

Susan Katz has been appointed director of corporate events for TruServ Corp.

Ken Langone was re-elected to another one-year term on the board of directors of The Home Depot.

Mark Young, Arauco Wood Products, was elected president of the Wood Moulding & Millwork Producers Association.

Gregory McCoy, Sierra-Pacific Industries, Camino, Ca.; Dan Mclntire, SPI, Redding, Ca., and Larry Mespelt, Guy Bennett Lumber Co., Clarkston, Wa., have achieved the rank of Master Lumberman.

Tom Romero, 86, was recently honored for his 50 years with Spiegelberg Lumber, Laramie, Wy.

Peter Dachowski has been named president and c.e.o. of CertainTeed.

Laine Weaver is a new truck driver at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.

Wickes Selling Most Of Yards

As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Wickes Inc. agreed to sell the assets of 50 of its 59 locations to three different competitors.

Hope Lumber & Supply Co. will acquire 11 locations, primarily in Colorado and the South. Lanoga Corp. will buy 27 yards in the Midwest. Bradco Supply Corp. will acquire 12 units in the Northeast.

"We are pleased with the progress in marketing the company and the level of interest the employees and the assets have generated," said c.e.o./ president Jim O'Grady. "We will continue the efforts to market the assets not included in these transactions."

The deals are subject to bankruptcy court approval and are anticipated to close in late July.

Truss Plant Plans Expansion

Two years after being acquired by Minnesota-based Lyman Lumber, TriCounty Truss, Burlington, Wa., is ready to take its expansion to the next level.

General manager Gary Lund said that the company is planning two new production lines that could create 60 new jobs.

Business has been booming for the truss plant. It expects to earn $17.5 million in sales this year, over $10 million more than it earned in 2001, and has sold $3.1 million worth of trusses last March and April alone.

The growth, due in part to low interest rates, population growth and an aggressive sales staff, has forced Tri-County Truss to reach the limits of its production and storage capacity at its current location.

Tri-County's I I boom trucks must take turns driving on and off the site to pick up loads of finished trusses for delivery. The truss plant finally decided to lease another lot across the street to replace an employee parking area that had been taken over by a new administrative building.

Lund said he's planning to put in one new production line at the compa- ny's existing location, but is hoping to lease two acres of adjacent port land to add a second new line.

"We'd like to be a $24 million truss company," Lund said. "We can get there if we have the room and the people."

Pony Lumber Buys L-P Mill

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has completed the sale of its Tacoma, Wa., sawmill to Pony Lumber Co., LLC, Portland., Or.

Pony Lumber is a partnership between Walt Wirfs, a former vice president of LP's lumber and plywood division, and Veber Partners, a Portland-based merchant bank.

"We strongly believe the work force in the Tacoma area is perfect for our needs. We are excited about the prospect of continuing to provide jobs to the local economy, while operating a successful and profitable sawmill," Wirfs said.

The State Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing a portion of the financing.

The Tacoma facility produces kilndried hemlock studs and other dimensional lumber.

The sale the latest divestiture as part of L-P's debt reduction program.

Court Certifies Trex Suit

The Superior Court of New Jersey certified a nationwide class action May 28 against Trex Co. and ExxonMobil Corp. The case, originally filed in 2002, alleges that Trex and Timbrex products rot, splinter and degrade because of faulty manufacturing processes.

The court certified a class of consumers from 1992 through 2004 who claim the warranty issued by Trex and ExxonMobil in conjunction with the sales and distribution of composite lumber products is unconscionable and must be reformed. The consumers will also be certified for those years on claims that the sale, marketing, and distribution of the products violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

According to the claim, the product defects are inconsistent with marketing materials distributed by Trex, which say the product does not need sealants. However, after the product starts to show mold, Trex allegedly recommends applying a sealant.

The plaintiffs want to alter the warranty to include repair and replacement costs.

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Crown Sells Last Of lts Yards

In an effort to remove itself from bankruptcy, Crown Pacific Partners is selling its three remianing Alliance Lumber yards in Queen Creek, Scottsdale, and Glendale, Az., to ALC Acquisition. Portland. Or.. for $45 million.

ALC is headed by True Carr, who sold the yards to Crown Pacific six years ago.

A week earlier. Crown Pacific agreed to sell a yard in Reno, Nv., to Reno Lumber for $16.2 million. Two months earlier. it sold a North Las Vegas, Nv., yard for $12 million to its previous owners (see May, p.26).

Once the Reno and Arizona yards are sold. Crown Pacific will be completely removed from the wholesale lumber business.

EWP Maker, Framer Partner

Anthony Forest Products Co. is partnering with Framing Systems, Inc., Las Vegas, Nv., and Los Angeles, Ca., to offer its "wider and deeper" floor framing system across the western United States.

"Our partnership with a manufacturer of Anthony Forest's reputation means that we are financially strong and better positioned to take the Power Building System to wherever our builder customers want it, just in time," commented Steven Conboy, president and c.e.o. of Power Building System, Inc., successor company to Framing Systems, Inc.

The new firm's offices and distribution yards will be housed in Las Vegas and Riverside, Ca.

Sawmill Explosion Hurts Five

Five sawmill workers were injured when an air compressor exploded and blew out a wall June 23 at Simpson Timber Co., Shelton, Wa.

Duane Wilson, manager the Lumbermen's hardware store about 500 yards from the mill, said he felt the explosion from his store. He said he felt a blast and a rumble, then saw steam. "It shook our whole building," Wilson said. "I thought it was the start of an earthquake, and I thought it was way farther away."

According to Simpson spokesperson Bev Holland. there had been no problem with the machinery before the explosion.

Simpson Timber president Ray Tennison said there has been speculation that lubricatine oil leaked into a spray that ignited in a blast and that a pressure relief valve has been sent to a lab for analysis. Tennison said the mill will be shut down for one or two weeks for repairs.

The Fire Department and the state Department of Labor and Industries are investigating the exact cause of the explosion.

Holland said all five victims were able to walk out of the mill. before being taken to a nearby hospital.

Port Says No To Weyco

The Port of Olympia, Olympia, Wa., has denied Weyerhaeuser's request to relocate its wood chip plant from the Port of Tacoma, Wa.

Weyco has been asked to vacate its leased facility in Tacoma to permit widening of the Blair Waterway.

Weyco needs 15 acres for the wood chip operation. Had the Olympia deal gone through, it would have returned regularly scheduled shipping calls to port, and could have brought six to 10 regular calls per year.

Weyerhaeuser continues to be optimistic, though, and is discussing other location possibilities with the Port of Tacoma. either in Tacoma or at another port.