r DEALER Brfeft

Dunn Lumber Co. opened a new store on a S-acre site in Mill Creek, Wa., it will share with Parker Lumber Go., which Dunn acquired in late 2009.

HOME Center, Heber, Az., held a July 2 grand opening for the new showroom at its 8-month-old Payson, Az., branch.

Ace Hardw?IO opened an 8,750-sq. ft. store Aug. 3 Kamas. Ut.

R. Ace Hardware, Lompoc, Ca., is closing after 11 years, with the retirement of owners Richard and Nora Harrison.

Liquidator Wingate Sales Solutions expects to sell the last of the merchandise and close the doors by Sept. 4.

Ace Hardware opened a 23,000-sq. ft. store July 19 in Billings, Mt., owned by Skip King and Jeff Averill, who also serves as mgr.

Sharps Ace Hardw?ro, Hemet, Ca., is liquidating after 65 years. Tim Heffley, owner since 1995, expects to close in early September.

San Manuel Do lt Best Hardware, san Manuel, Az., recently added U-Haul truck and trailer rentals.

Habitat for Humanity is moving its ReStore oiscount LBM outlet in Medford, Or., to a larger facility and is opening a new 10,000-sq. ft. store in lssaquah, Wa.

ProBuildClosing Regional Offices

ProBuild Holdings reportedly will close its regional offices and consolidate support operations, including marketing and human resources, at its corporate headquarters in Denver, Co.

The regional centers-located in Winona, Mn.; Tulsa, Ok.; Moorestown, N.J.; Kennesaw, Ga., and Lacey, Wa.are expected to be closed by the end ofthis year.

Repofis are that some regional staffers may remain. At Midwest headquarters in Winona, for example, ProBuild is expected to cut back from two office buildings to one, where IT and supply chain personnel may stay on.

The closures are planned to have no effect on ProBuild's 470 LBM distribution, manufacturing, and assembly centers in 42 states.

Bohnhoff Gunman Convicted

A 53-year-old man who shot and killed his boss and a co-worker at Bohnhoff Lumber Co., Los Angeles, Ca., two years ago has been convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.

Saul Gastelum Moreno was found guilty of killing Charles Alan Bohnhoff, 55, and yard foreman Jaime Sanchez, 31, after refusing to fill a lumber order. Charlie Bohnhoff, Alan's father, cradled his dying son in the office where he was shot. He later found the mortally wounded Sanchez in a shed.

Co-workers described Moreno as a skilled certified lumber grader who could be distant and temperamental and prone to leaving work for weeks. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16, when he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Hampton Restarts Warrenton Mill

Hampton Affiliates, Portland, Or., has completed upgrades to its sawmill in Warenton, Or., and planned to restart the facility August l. Hampton idled the mill soon after acquiring it from Weyerhaeuser in January 2010.

"The timing is not ideal because the market is so poor," said c.e.o. Steve Zika. "We have put a lot of investment into the plant, so we feel pretty comfortable with the log supply there, from Hampton timberlands and state of Oregon public lands."

The company said that it has invested millions of dollars to make the sawmill competitive, through improved procluctivity and recovery. New environmental controls will dramatically reduce green house gas emissions' compared to the mill's previous operation. The facility will produce kiln-dried hemlock and Douglas fir lumber for the export and domestic markets.

The mill will initially employ about 100 workers. "We will eventually go to two shifts, and at that time we will hire another 75 people." said Zika. "That could be a year or more, depending on the market."

Plum Creek Buys Southeast Tracts

Plum Creek Timber Co., Seattle, Wa., agreed to pay $75 million to buy 50,000 acres of timberland in Georgia and Alabama from Forestar Group, Austin, Tx. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

Of late, Forestar has inked deals to sell about 166'000 acres of timberland in Georgia, Alabama and Texas for a total of $270 million, allowing it to pay down debt by more than $ l20 million and repurchase over 1 million shares of stock.

Trussed, Inc., Perris, Ca., inked a deal with Eco Building Products, Vista, Ca., to produce its patented Smart Component prefab shear wall components with Red Shield coatings.

Capital Lumber, Phoenix, Az., has purchased the assets bf Snavely Forest Products' branch in Chandler, Az., and will consolidate operations at its Phoenix facility.

Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Snavely continues operating eight distribution centers, including what is now its western-most branch in Denver, Co.

Capital has aiso begun distributing GertainTeed CeOar lmpressions polymer shake and shingle siding.

iLevel by Weyerhauser's distribution-centers in Santa Clarita ind Fontana, Ca., are now carrying Versatex trim products.

iLevel's new Stellar 2011 v4.3 fabrication software converts framing plans into detailed instructions for automated saws and fa-brication equipment, batches jobs, enables more efficient production runs, and makes better use of short drops.

And, its Forte sizing software notched its 10,000th user.

Carlisle Gonstruction Materials will build its seventh polyisocyanurate insulation plant by third quarter 2012in Frederickson, Wa.

The California Redwood Co., Eureka, Ca., has added Dream Builder, a 3-D design tool, to its website, www.californiaredwoodco. com.

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ldaho Mill Devastated by Fire

Authorities are still seekine the cause of a July 24 blaze rhat ciused about $1 million of damase at Willmore Lumber Co.. St. Ant-hony. Id.

The fire completely destroyed the building where the planing mill operation was housed and damased a nearby shop. Firefighters from three departments prevented the spread of the fire to other areas of the mill.

"We're all well and alive and nobody's hurt-it's all material things," said co-owner Rod Willmore. "A lot of people in the community came and helped move equipment."

The company plans to rebuild its