ligence No. l grade & cutting edge

By Carla Waldemar

nAVE Schroeder doesn't believe Lf in shortcuts. He won't pass off poor lumber as "good enough" for his customers, either. People looking for a deal that's too good to be true can find it at one of the boxes in town, perhaps, but not at Home Lumber.

The community of Sedalia, Mo., of 20,000 souls, is small enough that he can get to know all his customers and they, in turn, know whom to trust when it comes to quality building supplies. Only top-shelf products stock Dave's shelves and line the lumberyard, where they seldom have a chance to languish.

That's been his outlook from the very start. Dave began pushing brooms in his dad's yard at 14. There was never a doubt in his mind, he recalls, that he'd end up one day tak- ing over the business, which-true to his dream-he purchased from his father in the '90s. So if you're gonna devote yourself to selling sticks for a living, they'd darn well better be the best ones you can offer.

"We carry a little bit better grade than other people," Dave murmurs modestly: "No. I dimension lumber"-all the more important, he says, "because, overall, the quality of lumber has slipped in the past l0 years. I watch who we're buying from and specify select stud lumber, so you don't have folks having to pick through the bad ones."

His quality-oriented contactors were quick to figure that out.

And when it comes to preventativetreated wood, again you'll find him marching in the vanguard. When Dave learned that Arch Treatment Technologies had recently developed a new type of pressure treated wood that's entirely organic-that's right: carbon-based rather than based on metals-he took his place at the forefront. "We're one of the very first in the Midwest to carry the product," he testifies: "No. I grade and kiln-dried after treatment. Unique," he offers in his quiet, Missouri drawl.

"Yards usually carry No. 2-and wet. But when that stuff dries, it'll shrink and crack and give you all sorts of problems," he warns.

Dave handled CA-treated wood before, but, he allows, "I had a few issues with it. Because of how they dried it, with little sticks between boards so air could circulate, they left lines on the wood-which looks funny on a nice deck."

Problem solved. The new material isn't corrosive to metal. either. like previous treatment methods were, which was just begging for a liability suit as decks began to rot and collapse, due to incorrect fasteners. "Scary thought," the man intones. "Now you can just use standard fasteners and not worry." (Although, true to form, Home Lumber doesn't settle for simply "standard" here, either. Dave prefers to stock GRK screws. Again, he says, "unique."

The new pressure treated wood, called Wolmanized L3 (as in "cubed") Outdoor wood, holds double appeal for Home's high-end homeowners. They're willing to spend a little more for quality and also line up as the kind of consumer who's eager to buy "grccn."

"The two go hand in hand." Dave has discovered.

It's not hard to convince his pros that this new way is the way to -so. too. Wisely, he's installed a display deck in front of the store to show off differcnt types of lumber and compositcs along with railing systems options. "Go look at other yards," Dave invites, "then come biick ancl look at ours." Nine time out of l0 hc'll snag the sale.

Paint-as in Do it Best's private labeland high-end hardware are geared for finicky customers. too. And service doesn't la-e. "We give one of the most complete estimatcs in thc area bettcr thlrn the ctrnrpclilion. Same-day delivery service. too.

"For the public"-50% of Horne Lumber's business-"we lead'em down the right path, cxplain thin-cs to thcm. And thc pros. wc win 'em over on a one-on-one basis. Wc for-te relationships, with a staff that's prof'essional and fiiendly."

And experienced? Well, Joe's been onboard 40 years, while Tony. clocking 17, is a relative newcomer. They stick around, Dave guesses, "because we treat 'em well-pay dcccnt waqes. l00Vc of health insurancc. co-sponsor IRAs. and we just adcled acciclent insurance, for which we're paying half ."

After a sedate winter, when things tioze over like they're not supposed to do in Missouri. busincss is picking ri-ght back up whcrc it bclongs, and Dave's ready lirr thc long haul.

"This is a busincss whcrc nobody knows everything. If you don't learn somethin-t every day, something's wrong.' he figures. "It's gratifying to be in a business where you're able tcr help people-that's the biggest reward for me." Says Dave. in case you haven't guessed it. "It's a pert'ect fit."

- A forrrter ottuftl-trirtrtirtt! LIJM trutla rnugujne editor, Carlu Wuldcntor trrite.t Jretluerttlt ort tlte irilttstr.t. Corttu<l lttr ut cwaltlctnur@ nur .rr.(onl

R:rlruns

Parr Lumber, Hillsboro, Or., held a June 23 grand opening of its new 26,000-sq. ft. store and lumberyard in Ridgefield, Wa. ...

Homewood Lumber received planning commission approval to relocate to a new 8.84-acre site in Loomis, Ca. ...

Home Depot opened new stores June 28 in Lemon Creek (Juneau), Ak. (Troy Wolfinbarger, mgr.), and May 31 in Mesa (Riverview), A,:2....

HomeDepot proposed a 102,000-sq. ft. store on 9 acres in Medford, Or.; a 103,000-sq. ft. store in Springfield, Or.; a unit in El Dorado Hills, Ca., and a 141,000-sq. ft. store in Oxnard, Ca., to replace a vacant Kmart by theendof2008...

Home Depot has signed a lease to occupy a former Kmart in Chula Vista, Ca.; may build on the site of a former movie theater in Lynwood, Wa.; is considering sites in San Jacinto, Ca.; was banned from Carbondale, Co., in a vote by trustees, and has temporarily pulled its application to build in Novato, Ca., after being unable to reach a "suitable agreement" with the property's owner ...

Home Depot's store in North Hollywood, Ca., was robbed June 11 by a gunman who stole an undisclosed amount of cash from a vault then locked a store manager and another employee inside ...

Lowe's Cos. opened new stores June 26 in Tustin, Ca., and June 19 in central Albuquerque, N.M., and expects to open July 24 in NE Las Vegas, Nv., and by the end of the year in N. Apple Valley, Ca.

Lowe's received planning commission approval to build a 119,327-sq. ft. store with 27,265- sq. ft. garden center on 12 acres in Redmond, Or., and is seeking a state permit to construct stormwater facilities at a site in Spokane Valley, Wa., where it plans to build a 139,400-sq. ft. store with 31,700-sq. ft. garden center

Lumber Liquidators opened its 94th store late last month in Boise, Id....

Kirchner Building Center, Odgen, Ut., lost an undisclosed amount of cash in a June 1 armed robbery...

Pro-BuildHoldings Inc., Denver, Co., has been named Vendor of the Year by Centex Homes,Dallas, Tx.

Wror:snrrs/trrurlcrunrns

Silver City Lumber, Three Forks, Mt., has acquired the sales office of D&G Lumber; sales reps Rick and Todd Kitch will remain with the office ...

Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., filed a patent infringement suit against Dow Chemical, ovef a composite manufacturing process it planned to use for siding and other building materials ... Weyco agreed to buy a plywood mill and timberlands in Uruguay from Global Forest Partners LP

Weyerhaeuser has completed the sale of its 16 Canadian distribution centers to Platinum Equity LLC,Los Angeles, Ca., which will operate the DCs as a stand-alone company, Broadleaf Logistics Co., Vancouver, B.C., which will carry Weyerhaeuser products

KVO Inc.,Idaho Falls, Id., suffered an estimated $3 million in damage to its cabinet factory from a June 6 fire

Sierra Pacific Industries, Redding, Ca., has completed SFI certification of its forestlands and wood procurement in Washington, including for the first time its Hamilton Tree Farm lands

APEX Construction Systems, Inc.,Portland, Or., has opened a new plant in Phoenix, Az., to produce interlocking wall panels made of recycled polystyrene and cement r Jager and QBI l-Joist (PRI)

Duckback Products' Mason's Select semi-transparent stain coatings and solid finishes are now available on prefinished SmartSide siding and trim products from lP Building Products ...

Columbia Forest Products, Portland, Or., has received a Presidential Green Chemistrv Challenge Award from the EPA for its PureBond formaldehvde-free adhesive system for decorative plywood...

Do it Best Corp., Fort Wayne, In., has implemented Supply Chain Visibility software from Sterling Commerce ...

Amarr Garage Doors, WinstonSalem, N.C., is a new distributor for Dynasty Iron Doors, Phoenix, 42....

Railing Dynamics Inc. added a dealer locator to its website ...

Anniversaries: Larsen Brothers Lumber, San Leandro, Ca., l25th Eagle Plywood Specialties, Grants Pass, Or., 35th .. Barrelhead Building Supply, Newport, Or.,30th True Value Hardware, Escalon, Ca.,Zlth...

Housing starts in April slipped 2.IVo to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.47 4 million ... single-family starts slid 3.4Vo to a 1.17-million pace; multifamily was up 3.17o ... permits rose 37o, buoyed by a 16.5%o jump in multifamily activity ... regionally, housing starts in the West plummeted nearly 20Vo.

. Rim (LVL & OSB) o Glulams-Port Odord Cedar and Doug Fir o Laminated Veneer Lumber (West Fraser 3000 fb LVL) o High-Capacity Hybrid Glulams (Calveft-GL3OO0)

Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always verfu dates and locations with sponsor before making plans to attend.

Futv

Lumber Association of California & Nevada - July 12-14, board meeting, Groveland, Ca.; (916) 369-7501.

Western Hardwood Association - July 14-16, annual meeting, Sunriver Resort, Sunriver, Or.; (360) 835-1600.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association - July 16, golf tournaments, Ranch Golf & Country Club, Westminster, Co.; July 20, Sandia Golf Club, Albuquerque, N.M.; (800) 365-0919.

National Retail Federation - July 18-20, online merchandising workshop, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, San Diego, Ca.; (202) '783-'79'7 t.

Western Building Material Association - July 18-20, mid-year board meetings, Coeur d'Alene Resort, Coeur d'Alene, Id.; (36U943-3054.

Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers - July 18-21, AWFS Fair, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nv.;(714) 557-3663.

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association - July 19-21, annual buyers & sellers conference, Grand Okanagan Resort & Conference Centre, Kelowna, B.C.; (866) 778-9096.

Lumber Association of California & Nevada - July 20-22,2nd Growth summer conference, La Quinta Resort & Club, La Quinta, ca.; (9 l6) 369-7 501

Rogue Valley Hoo-Hoo Club - July 26-27,45th annual invitational golf tournament & dinner party, Rogue Valley Country Club, Medford, Or.; (503) 778-01 55.

NOFMA-Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association - July 26-29, summer meeting, Amelia Island, Fl.; (901) 526-5016.

Auousr

Humboldt Hoo-Hoo Club - Aug. 3, golf tournament, Ukiah, Ca.; (707) 268-3000.

Window & Door Manufacturers Association - Aug. 4-7, summer meeting, Cambridge, Md.; (800) 223-2301.

Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman's Club - Aug. 10, meeting, Steven's Steakhouse, Commerce, Ca.; (323) 723-9856.

Paulina Hoo-Hoo Club - Aug. 10, annual golf scramble, Meadow Lakes Golf Course, Prineville, Or.; (541) 447-5962.

Home Remodeling & Decorating Show - Aug. 10-12, L.A. Convention Center, Los Angeles, Ca.; (818) 557-2950.

Wood Truss Council of America - Aug. 15-17, open quarterly meeting, San Francisco, Ca.; (608) 2'74-4849.

Orgill Inc. - Aug. 16-18, fall dealer market, Las Veg3s, Nv.; (901) 754-8850.

Atlas Lumber Co. - Aug. 17, forest products careers open house, Chino, Ca.; (909)59 | -9442.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association - Aug. 18, golf tournament, Rochelle Ranch Golf Course, Rawlins, Wy.; (800) 365-0919.

Home Remodeling & Decorating Shows - Aug. 24-26, South Town Expo Center, Sandy, Ut., and Pasadena Conference Center, Pasadena, Ca.; (818) 557-2950.

Old Time Lumberman's BBQ - Aug. 25, Simpson Timber Co., Korbel, Ca.; (800) 637-70'17.

Stprrilsrn

Hoo-Hoo International - Sept. 3-9, annual convention, Pier Resort, Queensland, Australia; (800) 979-9950.

Horizon Distribution Inc. - Sept. 7-9, annual market, Yakima Convention Center, Yakima, Wa.; (8OO) 541-8164.

South Bay Spring Home & Garden Show - Sept. 7-9, Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, Ca.; (800) 321-1213.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Materials Dealers Association has invited the Lumbermen's Association of Texas & Louisiana to co-host its fall conference Oct. l'l-20 at the Hotel Contessa, located on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Tx.

Business sessions and dealer roundtables will cover technology, health insurance, compliance and liability, manufacturer and builder relationships, and competition and dealing with big boxes. Leisure activities include golf and local attractions.

BC Wood Specialties Group hosts its 2007 Global Buyers Mission Sept. l3-15 at the Whistler Conference Center. Whistler. B.C.

More than 100 Canadian woodproducts manufacturers will showcase their products for buyers from the

U.S., China, Korea, Japan, Mexico and Europe.

As an added incentive to major retailers, wholesalers and builders, free accommodations and meals are available for the first 40 qualified buyers registered from the U.S. For more information, visit www.bcwood.com.

Lumber Association of California & Nevada's 2nd Growth group meets Sept. l9 in Redding. Ca.

North American Wholesale Lumber Association elected Gregg Riley, Bloch Lumber Co., chairman during its recent executive conference.

First vice chair is Susan Fitzsimmons, Snavely Forest Products; 2nd vice chair George G. "Buck" Hutchison, Hutchison Lumber & Building Products, Adams City, Co., and secre- taryltreasurer Bill Barnett, Marathon Forest Products, N. Vancouver, B.C.

Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman's Club meets Aug. 10 at Steven's Steakhouse, Commerce, Ca.

On Sept. 16, the group will spend the day at Disneyland/California Adventure, Anaheim, Ca.

National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association will convene its annual industry summit Oct.4-6 at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, Nv.

National Retail Lumber Association has promoted Katrine Gavigan to marketing specialist in its publications department.

National Hardwood Lumber Association booked Colin Powell and Oliver North to keynote its convention Sept. l2-15 in Washington, D.C.

Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association holds its fall conference Sept. 9-11 in Salt Lake City, Ut., followed by a hardwood plywood grading/specifying workshop Sept. 12.

H&E Closing Barstow Yard

Due to big box competition, H&E Home Centers is closing its original yard in Barstow, Ca.

The 55-year-old store will close at the end of the month-one year after Home Depot moved into town. The chain's four other High Desert stores will remain open.

"It's the end of an era." said H&E president and c.e.o. Phillip Stein. "We always knew that if a heavy retailer would come in, our days would be numbered."

Stein actually decided to sell the store's Main Street property in 2004, but the sale to a private investor wasn't finalized until mid-May. "lf I hadn't sold the property, we'd still be in business." Stein said.

Although employees such as longtime assistant manager Hattie Finley expect to be submitting applications to work at Depot, Stein holds out a sliver of hope. "If the market permits," he said, "we'd love to come back."

Lowe's Opens Mega-DC

How big is Lowe's new distribution center in Lebanon. Or.? With 33 acres under one roof-fbr a total of 1.4 million sq. ft.-more than 30 NFL teams could play there at one time and still have room for several concession stands.

Stats for the building, which becomes fully operational this month, are impressive. Incoming materials can be unloaded at 221 receiving doors, nearest to where they will be stored. Some 4.5 miles of conveyors will transport items within the 1,131ft.-long, 735-ft.-wide, and 45-ft. high building. Ample storage is available fbr as many as 15,000 different products, on 72 aisles that reach 30 ft. high.

"In 24 hours, we could easily handle 200 to 300 trucks overall." said manager Andy Johnson. The DC services 80 Lowe's in Alaska, Northern California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. These areas had been served by DCs in Perris, Ca., and Cheyenne, Wy.

Archaic Law Delays Depot

Home Depot's plan to build in the proposed Ko Kwel Wharf project in Bend, Or., on land owned by the Coquille Indian tribe, has been delayed by a law signed by President George Washington in 1790.

Designed to protect tribes from unscrupulous speculators, the law also prevents them from selling or leasing land unless the federal government is a parly to the deal. Home Depot said it won't sign a lease and start building until a new bill introduced by Senator Gordon Smith (R-Or.) is passed to exempt the tribe in current and future proJects.

"When it's our $20 million going into a project, we want to make sure there is no question about the validity of the lease," said Brian Cannard, real estate manager for Depot's Northwest division. "This particular issue, at this point, isn't one that the whole project is going to hinge on. We are just waiting."

All sides are hopeful that the issue will be resolved. Susan Jane Brown, the natural resources counsel for Representative Peter DeFazio (DOr.), said the Coquille tribe isn't the first to ask for and win an exception to the law. "It's nearly identical to similar legislation for other tribes that has been done for similar reasons," she said.

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Firms Team To Buy HD Supply

Home Depot reportedly has agreed to sell its l0-year-old wholesale division, HD Supply, to a group of three private equity firms for roughly $10 billion.

Bain Capital, Carlyle Group, and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice submitted the winning offer, besting a bid from Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and CCMP Capital Advisors LLC.

In February, Depot announced that it was exploring a possible sale, spinoff, or public offering of the division-which produced $12 billion in revenues in fiscal 2006, accounting for 13.3 Va of Home Depot's revenues and 87o of its profit.

TP Buys Land So lt Can Sell

Timber Products purchased a property adjacent to its former mill site in Grants Pass, Or., reportedly in hopes of selling the entire parcel to Home Depot.

The mill was torn down a year ago, and the l5-acre parcel has been vacant ever since. The company now operates another facility in Grants Pass, which it purchased from the bankrupt U.S. Forest Product Industries.

When asked if Home Depot was a potential buyer of the large parcel, Timber Product's Eric Voss said that "we are working with a potential buyer, but we don't have anything signed yet."

He did confirm that it was important to buy out the land next door, home of a popular restaurant that Maria Carbajal has owned and operated since 1980. "For us to ever sell the property, we had to work with her," Voss said. "We negotiated a settlement and she's happy. It's a good deal for her."

lnvestor Urges BMHC Breakup

Building Materials Holding Corp., San Francisco, Ca., is being urged by its largest shareholder to sell the whole company or at least divest its construction subsidiary, SelectBuild.

The advice came from Robert L. Chapman Jr., who now owns 8.17o, 2.4 million shares, through his hedge fund, Chapman Capital LLC, El Segundo, Ca. In a letter to management, he noted that his fund's ownership exceeded that of either the executives or directors of BMHC "by a nearly 4-to-l ratio" and called c.e.o. Robert Mellor "San Francisco's own '$6 Million Man' in 2006" because he received $6.2 million in compensation.

SelectBuild handles only high-volume production and has been hard hit by the housing slump. Chapman and others say that the subsidiary's selling, general. and administrative expenses have not been cut to match declining revenues. BMC West, which operates pro building supply stores in the West, has fared better.

"l think the company developed an appetite to match the feasts of the home-building peak and now it's time to go on a diet to accommodate the famine," said Chapman. He wants BMHC to explore the sale of SelectBuild or the whole company, but not at fire-sale prices. "We want to make sure the price we accept is reflective of the fact that we are closer to the bottom than the peak."

In response, treasurer Mark Kailer said the home-building collapse "happened very rapidly and it takes a while to catch up with that." He said that the company has reduced employees from close to 25.000 in the middle of last year to around 18,000 today, but most of the cuts were field laborers. It is now reviewing staffing levels at its headquarters in San Francisco and office in Boise,Id.

Tner's