WESlIERN ASS0elATf[0N NEWS

Lumber Association of Southern California's board of directors appointed a committee of wholesalers and retailers to meet with Lumber Merchants Association representatives, study the possibility of merging with the Sacramento. Ca.-based association, and determine if the two groups have sufficient common interests to wi[rant a merger.

Benefits could include a stronger legislative voice at the state and national levels and a larger number of better attended educational programs.

Western Building Material

Association is hosting its annual Western Round Up of "education, golf, food and down home, barn raisin' fun" Aug. 23-25 at the Yogo Inn, Lewistown, Mt. The main event is the "Round-Up Open" golf tournament Aug. 24 at the Elks Club Golf Course. Lewistown.

Lumber Merchants Association has enlisted John Ascuaga as its welcome speaker at its Nov. 7-9 annual convention at John Ascuaga's Nugget, Sparks (Reno), Nv. Ascuaga is sole owner and operator of the 1,000room hotel, which he opened 35 years ago as a coffee shop.

Themed "Deal Yourself a Winning Hand." the convention also will feature a state update by Juli Broyles, California Chamber of Commerce: national update by Allynn Howe, National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association lobbyist; consultant Paul Wagner on "Beat the Odds in Business;" table-top displays; enter- tainment by comedian Rich Little, and roundtable discussions on "Deal Yourself a Winning Team," "Don't Gamble with Your Pricing," "Are You Playing Roulette with Your Computer Estimating Packages?" and "The Odds Are You Have Shrinkage."

Western Wood Products Association has set its fall meeting for Sept. 8-11 at the Coeur d'Alene Resort: Coeur d'Alene. Id.

Injunction Bans Tile Sales

Vinyl flooring manufacturer Halstead International has received an injunction against HomeBase, Irvine, Ca., from manufacturing, selling, marketing or otherwise distributing its trademarked tile patterns.

According to Halstead president Harlan Stone, HomeBase had purchased its top-selling Magic Marble line since its introduction in 1989 until last year, when it began stocking another manufacturer's vinyl tile with a seemingly identical pattern.

The appellate court refused HomeBase's request to stay the Central District of California's preliminary injunction, but is weighing their appeal to reverse the decision.

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Palco May Trade Headwaters

Pacific Lumber Co. is considering a swap of its 3,000-acre Headwaters Forest and a 1,500-acre buffer zone near Eureka, Ca., to the federal government in exchange for public land.

As part of the proposal, Elk River Timber Co. would trade 3,300 neighboring acres for federal or state timberland in the Sierra Nevada.

In the deal, Palco parent Maxxam Inc. could also receive housing development rights to 400 acres on San Francisco's Treasure Island.

Palco trading the Headwaters Forest deed to the U.S. Department of Interior could end a decade-old struggle over the largest privately owned tract of old growth redwoods in California.

Software Providers Merge

Sirvys Systems Group's Round Rock Technologies division, producers of Lumbercore software. has acquired and merged with Voelker, Thompson and Associates, providers of Woodstock and Inventrac systems.

Winnipeg, Canada-based Sirvys now supports nearly 1,000 sites using Lumbercore, ProfitMaster Canada, Woodstock and Inventrac systems in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Pacific Rim.

Bruce Voelker, past president of Voelker, Thompson and Associates, is now vice president ofresearch and development for the AS/400 Division. Woodstock and Inventrac users will continue to be served from its Metairie, La., offices.

Yard Moving To Larger Site

Northern Building Supply, Arcata, Ca., is moving this summer to McKinleyville, Ca.'s central business district to anchor a hub of new building supply and services businesses.

Developer Denis Cosby is purchasing the new l-acre site from Ted Mosier Sales, which sells a variety of construction supplies from a 12,000sq. ft. metal building and will relocate to the former Thomas Trusses plant in Arcata.

Cosby will remodel the building, providing Northern with a 2,000-sq. ft. store and a large covered area for lumber storage. The expanded quarters should allow Northern to grow from l0 to about 20 employees, he said.

On the backside of the building, Cosby will add six 800-sq. ft. shops to rent to contractors, plumbers, electricians and other building professionals.

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Ernst Declares Bankruptcy, Closes 25 Stores

With losses mounting and unpaid vendors refusing to ship them products, Ernst Home Centers has filed for Chapter 1 1 bankruptcy reorganization.

Listing assets of $252.2 million and liabilities of $257.6 million, the 103-year-old Seattle, Wa., chain said increased competition, large debts and bad weather made it impossible to continue normal business operations without seeking shelter from its creditors.

A day after the filing, Ernst closed 14 of its 86 stores in nine states. The company closed 11 more after receiving approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Ernst is now selling the leases to 82,000 sq. ft. of adminshative office space in Seattle, Wa., and the shuttered stores in Indio and Oroville, Ca.; Boise, Id.; Billings and Great Falls, Mt.; Reno, Nv.; Grants Pass. Medford and Salem, Or.; Layton and Sandy, Ut.; Cheyenne, Wy., and Auburn, Bellingham, Bonney Lake, South Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Milton, Mount Vernon, Puyallup, Seattle (Aurora Square), Spokane, Tacoma (Green Firs Village), and

Union Gap, Wa.

The shuttered stores' inventories were sold or transfered to other locations, and, when possible, affected employees reassigned.

"The restructuring will allow us to concentrate on the core group of stores that have historically been among our most profitable," said pres. and ceo Hal Smith.

"Our focus right now is on the operation of the remaining 61 stores, to become a leaner, more aggressive company," added Jim Fox, v.p.-marketing.

An immediate concem was replenishing its empty shelves after many suppliers stopped shipments to the stores. Fox explained, "Comparable store sales declined in part because of the restricted flow of merchandise due to our short-term cash challenge."

Ernst, which has lost money in six of the last eight quarters including $116 million in the past three quarters, said it obtained $80 million in interim financing from Congress Financial Inc. and expected it would take two to three weeks to fullv restock inventories.

Ernst's main supplier in its home state and its largest creditor, Jensen Distribution Services Inc., Spokane, was among those to resume shipments to the chain after the move.

"We feel comfortable that they're going to pay so we're going to support them and get the stores back in stock," said Mike Jensen.

Analysts say Ernst has shown in the past months, even weeks "warning signs" that a bankruptcy might be imminent. Stock that a year and a half ago sold for $16 a share plunged as low as 759 a share. Ernst quashed an aggressive expansion plan, abandoning expensive superstore locations weeks before their grand openings. Rumors circulated of slow payment or non-payment to vendors.

Just before the filing, at least four vendors sued Ernst for more than $1 million total for failing to pay for merchandise shipped to its stores. Plaintiffs include Julius Rosso Nursery, Seattle; seed and fertilizer company Chas. H. Lily, Portland, Or.; candy cane supplier Spangler Candy, and GE Lighting.

The retailer's subsidiary, EDC Inc., also filed a voluntary petition for protection under Chapter 11.

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