Leaner Stock Emerges From Chapter 11

Stock Building Supply, Raleigh, N.C., emerged from Chapter 1l bankruptcy July 1 with l0l fewer stores.

"We are re-focused on our core markets and are well-positioned for the upturn in the housing market," said president Joe Appelmann. "We are pleased to have completed our recapitalization on an accelerated timeline, while meeting the commitments we made to our customers, vendors and employees-none of whom were impaired as part of the bankruptcy process."

Filing for Chapter 1 I was a requirement of Stock's sale to the Gore Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. The firm acquired

Huff Adds Industrials Yard

Huff Lumber Co., Santa Fe Springs. Ca.. is taking over operation of the industrial division of Reliable Wholesale Lumber, as of September l

Huff will lease the Temple City, Ca., property from Reliable and the Higman family. Huff also plans to open a reload on site, to take advantage of its Union Pacific rail spur.

All industrial sales staff is expected to remain, including George Kallas, who will manage the facility.

Reliable will relocate its Temple City wholesale operations to its new yard in Riverside, Ca. Reliable also has locations in Huntinston Beach and Stockton, Ca.

ldaho Mill Back in Operation

Whiteman Lumber, Catalco, Id., is back in operation six months after a fire destroyed the 81-year-old mill.

"Well, this is the big day," said owner Brad Corkill. "This is pretty exciting. Six and a half months I've waited."

After the Jan. 5 fire, Corkill rallied his employees, salvaged what he could, and brought in a portable sawmill to continue production. He then expanded the mill, creating more space for materials, and brought in new machinery.

A new 16,000-sq. ft. roof should be complete this month. A new storage shed is complete and there are plans to eventually add a second drying kiln. After the renovations, Corkill joked, the facility can claim to be both the oldest and newest sawmill in Idaho.

5l%o of Stock from its parent, UKbased Wolseley, which retains a 49Vo percent interest in the company.

During the reorganization process, Stock exited 32 markets. The company also eliminated 8l jobs at its headquarters just days before emerging from bankruptcy.

The company's 19 markets now include the Triangle, Triad and Charlotte areas of North Carolina; Greenville and Columbia. S.C.: Austin, Amarillo, Houston, Lubbock and San Antonio, Tx.; Salt Lake City and southern Utah; Spokane, Wa., and northern Idaho; Washington, D.C; Paradise, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Los Angeles, Ca.

The Gores Group invested $75 million in Stock and made a $150 million credit line available that has not been used yet.

"We believe the decisions made over the past several weeks have put the company on a path for success," said Timothy Meyer, chairman and managing director of The Gores Group. "The proactive steps Stock has taken will eliminate uncertainty about our future, an uncertainty that many of our competitors continue to face."

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Mountain States Lumber & Building Dealers Association will offer several educational programs during its fall conference Oct. l-3 at Inverness Hotel & Conference Center, Englewood, Co.

Tim Connor, president and c.e.o. of Connor Resource Group and Peak Performance Institute, will discuss "Meeting the Challenges of Uncertain Times" and "Employee Tension Management." One lunch session will present a panel discussion the challenges of change management, while another will present recent findings of the Forest Health Task Force Panel.

Western Building Material Association will offer a variety of 20minute training webinars that fulfill OSHA workplace requirements.

Fire safety is the focus of the Aug. 25 webinair. The importance of main- taining a neat and clean workplace will be presented Sept. 17, while safe material handling will be discussed Oct.22.

Lumber Association of California & Nevada's 2nd Growth group will hold its monthly dinner meeting and program Oct. I at Embassy Suites, Brea, Ca.

LACN's annual convention is Oct. 22-23 at the U.S. Grant Hotel in San Diego, Ca. Social activities will include a golf toumament at Coronado Municipal GolI Course. an opening reception, and a president's dinner and awards program.

Los Angeles Hardwood Lumbermans Club has elected Stephen Ondich, Commercial Forest Products, Claremont, Ca., as president, succeeding Bill Fitzgerald, Industrial Timber

& Land.

Other officers include v.p./treasurer Garrison Cox, GLC Millworks; sgt.at-arms Deonn DeFord, Ganahl Lumber Co.; membership chairman Walter Ralston, W.M. Cramer Lumber Co.; social chairman Dan Bohannon, Bohannon Lumber; golf chairman Bob Mitchell, Mitchell Forest Products, and directors-at-large Charley Fiala, GMC Hardwoods, and Fitzgerald. Sept. 17 is the date for the club's Alan Bohnhoff Memorial Golf

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Huttig Closing Alaska DC

Huttig Building Products will shutter its Anchorage, Ak., branch in fourth quarter 2009 and will serve the state from its distribution center in Aubum,Wa.

Over the last three years, St. Louis, Mo.-based Huttig has closed 2O locations, cutting its branch count by twofifths and its workforce in half.

Producer Buys Millwork Firm

Hardwood Industries, Sherwood, Or., has acquired hardwood millwork producer Braided Accents, Rathdrum, Id., and its Mountain Moulding & Millwork division.

Braided Accents' specialized equipment and inventory will be moved to Hardwood Industries' new 43,000-sq ft. facility north of Seattle, Wa.. by mid-September.

Clint Bower, who l2 years ago launched Braided Accents with his wife, Cheryl, to specialize in rope mouldings, will maintain an office in Rathdrum, continuing in sales with Gina Mather.

Bower said he selected Hardwood Industries "to carry on the Braided Accents tradition... due to their reputation, capabilities and professional- ism. We feel confident our customers will continue to benefit from the same excellent products and services with which they have become accustomed."

Northwest Yards Double Up

Two companies that deal with cedar products are now sharing yard, warehouse and showroom space at a 2.5 acre site in Spokane Valley, Ca.

Coeur Lumber Group, which opened March 2008 in Hayden, Id., wanted warehouse space closer to Spokane. The company will continue to operate in Hayden, where it produces siding, timber framing, and moulding. Spokane Cedar Products moved from a location in Otis Orchards that it had occupied since July 2003.

"We feel like the Spokane market is stronger and is going to rebound sooner from the recession than the Hayden area," said Shane Heick, who co-owns Coeur with Damon Shaw and Scott Carter. "We're trying to go where the most activity is going to be."

According to Heick, the new location is too large for either company to operate independently and sharing expenses will help both in the current economic recession.