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Wickes Cos., Santa Monica, Ca., including Builders Emporium & Ole's will be acquired by two New York investment firms, Blackstone Group and Wasserstein Parella, for $538.9 million; the deal, put together when a management buyout stalled, does not include Wickes chairman Sanford Sigoloffstaying past the transition period

Home Club opened a 103,909 sq. ft. warehouse store with a 9,880 sq. ft. nursery in Chico, Ca., this month. Joe Hill mgr.; a similar size store is being built near Boise Town Square mall, Boise, Id., for a spring opening...

Al Meier's stores in Gig Harbor and South Hill, Wa., are being remodeled while the co. looks for a site in the Auburn. Wa.. area for a seventh store. The new Pay 'N Pck store at Century Plaza, Pittsburg, Ca., reports business 500/o over projections

All American Hame Center, Downey, Ca., recently completed a redecorating project, and is now shopping for a replacement POS system to utilize bar coding and eliminate irem pricing . . Sundance Lurnber & Hardware. La Verne. Ca.. has remodeled its office area, adding a computer room for its new central processing unit

Haley Bros. lnc. has opened a new flush door cut stock plant in Sacramento, Ca. . . . Weathervane Window Co. has opened a commercial div., Mike Rodgers, sales mgr., at its Kirkland, wa., Hq..

Brad King and John Wright havemoved the Dover Forest Products office from Fremont. Ca., to Sisters, Or. . Hesperia Wholesale Lumber, Hesperia, Ca., has moved to new quarters, adding Janetta Cardoza. ofllce mgr.. and Dwight King. yard mgr. ...

Mokelumne River Forest Producls, Lodi, Ca., formed by John Diedrich and Cordon Roby, is a new office wholesaler of hardboard siding, green DF and plywood..

Conil'er Pacil'ic is the new name for Veneer Service, Inc., Newberg, Or., which includes Triangle Veneer, Eugene, Or.; Elma Plywood, Elma, Wa.; Con' ilbr Plywood, Willamina, Or., Lebanon Plywood, Lebanon, Or., and distribution centers in Clackamas. Or., and Lacey, Wa. (see page 38 for story) ...

Farmers Lumber & SuPPIY, Fresno, Ca., is now offering loading and unloading, storage and delivery services to the trade

Cavenham ltorest lndustries. Portland, Or., will sell its Omak, Wa., operation to Omak Wood Products Inc., a company formed by an employees group Copper State Wholesrzle, Phoenix, Az., is keeping its yard although the main emphasis is now on office wholesaling. ABZ Lumber Co.. Denver. Co.. has closed

Den-Pack Building Materials has been opened in Denver, Co., by Jerry Burglund and Tom Kostslecky {see p.58 for story.,

Trus Joisr Corp. wlll builcl a new laminated veneer lumber mfg. plant at its existing facility in Stayton, Or. Fibreboard Corp. has moved its Concord, Ca., Hq. to a larger building within the same office park

Soutlru:esl Laminating, St. John, Az., has declared Chapter I 1 bankruptcy,, . Jones Stevedoring, Puget Sound, Wa., and Columbia River, Or., is celebrating 130 years of operation .

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Manville Corp., Denver, Co., is on its way t0 successful reorganization with bankruptcy proceedings left behind now that the .Supreme Court has rejected a reorganization challenge by the Mac'Arthur Co.. a distributor of their asbestos products . .

Potlatch's wood products group had $2.5 million third quarter earnings ... T,l Internationql Inc. has a 3306 increase in third quarter income ; .

Georgia-Pacfic Corp.'s building products profits rose to $ I 20 million in the third qu,arter Louisiana-Pacfc posted an 1l% corp. drop ... Weyerhaeuser Co. had a l5o/o earnings gain despite curtailedlogging and sagging lumber and structural panel prices Saf es of existing homes fell 2.20/t, in Sept, wirh sales in all areas except the west dropping; western sales increased 6.0%

Housing s/drls rose 1,50[ in Sept. (latest figs.) to an annual rate of 1,453,000 units single family starts were down 2.3%; multi family starts rose 13.20lo; permits were down 4.40/o contracting for total new construction was down 3o/o in Sept., the 3rd monthly decline in a row lor new construction starts .