llecfting

ProBuild is closing 12 locations by Nov. 15, including Granite Falls, Sedro Woolley, Coupeville, Bonney Lake, and Moses Lake, Wa., and South Fork, Co.

Malibu Hardware, Matibu, ca., held a grand opening Oct. 15 (Dave Anawalt, owner).

Colorado Hardwood Lumber & Flooring, Canon City, Co., has been opened by Tom and Janette Mize, sharing space with Harken Gabinetry

The Mizes relocated to Colorado, presumably to retire, after 35 years in the hardwood lumber business in Michigan.

Grigg's Hardware early next year will open its 4th Ace store, an 1 8,000-sq.-ft.'er in Kennewick, Wa.

Placerville True Value

Hardware, Placerville, Ca., has purchased the former True Value store in Penn Valley, Ca., closed since December 2010.

New owner Scott Gutierrez expects to reopen late this month, leaving his twin brother to manage the Placerville location.

Ace Hardw?re operator Terry Cain is opening a 13,000-sq. ft. store the first week of December in Beaverton, 0r.

True Value Hardware, creen Valley, Az., held a grand re-opening to celebrate its 12-week remodel.

Ace Hardw?IO will open a new store next spring on 1.'l acres in Denver, Co. (Mary Cottrell, owner).

Ace Hardware Express, Shasta Lake, Ca., will move into a temporary facility by Dec. 1, after suffering fire, water and smoke damage from a Sept. 28 blaze that destroyed an adjoining apartment.

The fire was caused by a 4-year-old boy playing with a lighter.

Anniversaries: ldaho Forest Group. Coeur d Alene ld is buying Clearwater Paper Corp.'s Lewiston, ld sawmill.

The $30-million deal includes sawmill, planer mrll, kilns, inventories, timber contracts, and promise to contrnue supplying chips and sawdust to Cleanvater's Lewiston pulp mill.

Spokane, Wa.-based Cleanvater is ramping down production at the operation in preparation for ldaho Forest's taking possession in the 4th quarter

Lifetime Lumber, San Diego, Ca., is shutting down its composite decking operatron after nine years.

SierraPine will shutter its MDF plant in Rocklin, Ca., by year's end.

Taiga Building Products, Burnaby. B.C.. has formed a partnership with Lignum, Vancouver, 8.C., to co-brand and market western red cedar from Kitwanga Lumber Co.. Kitwanoa. B.C.

Hoquiam Plywood, Hoquram, Wa., has idled its mill indefinitely.

Swanson Group. Glendale, Or.. has completed the sale of its Noti, Or., sawmill to Seneca Sawmill Co, Eugene, Or.

On Seot. 23. a week before the deal closed, Swanson idled the mill and exoected ooerations to resume Oct. 17.

Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Huntington Beach, Ca., is now distributing LiteSteel beams throughout California.

Onex Gorp. has completed its $87'1 -million acquisition of approximately 40% of Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls Or.

Tolko !ndustries' plyrivood plant in Kamloops, B.C., cut back from four shifts to three, effective Oct. 30.

Enduris' Endeck cellular PVC decking and Endeck PVC hybridcapped decking have been awarded Cal Fire certification by the California Department of Forestry.

Feeney Inc., Oakland. Ca.. has installed a solar system capable of generating more than 95% of its current energy demands

Vet Opens Own Home Center

Matt Chal'ez. tirlmcr store managcr lirr Sears Trostcl l-unrber & Millwork. Fort Collins. Co.. and his wif-e. Becky. have opened .losephs' Hardwarc & Home Centcr. Fort Collins.

The I 1.0(X) sq. ft. Do it Bcst unit operates fronr thc old Drake Harclwarc building. which closed early this ycar.

Fresno Sees Dealer Shake-Up

Hlrrtlwiu'c st()rc\ lre cotttittr:. Sttinq and relocating in Fresno. Ca. Orchard has taken ovcl thc lcase of il J().5J0-sq. lt. buildinr-1. lo convcrt it into its seconcl krcation in the city by spring 2012. Thc f'acility' is across I'rom the firrrncr horre of Mnyson Acc Hardware. which closcd in Septcmbcr and reopened Nov. I at a new sitc lcss than thlcc r.nilcs away. Thc owncrs say the1,' made their decision to nrovc long befbre hcarin-'r of' Orchard's plitrts.

In aclcl ition. Norm Bishop has closcd Willow Ace Harclu'are . Fresno. and rcopcncd Clovis Acc Hat'dware. Clovis. Ca.. Oct. l. Bishop shuttered thc Clovis store in 2(X)9 ovcr a lease tlispttlc. tonsolidulinl opel'ltlions in thc I-rcsno location.

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ROSEBURG FRAMING SYSTEM@

The Roseburg Froming Sysiemf consisis of: RFPI@ Joisfs used in floor ond roof construclion; RigidLomo LVL which is used for heoders, beoms, siuds ond columns; ond RigidRim@ Rimboord. All of the components ore engineered to the industry's highest slondords to help conlroctors build solid, durqble, ond better performing froming systems compored to ordinorv dimension lumber.

RFPIo-.loisf

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Capital Buys JM Thomas' N.M. DC

Eleven-unit Capital Lumber Co., Phoenix, Az., has agreed to purchase the assets of JM Thomas Forest Products' distribution center in Albuquerque, N.M.

Capital has its own facility in Albuquerque and will consolidate both sites into a single operation.

Ogden, Ut.-based JM Thomas will continue to operate its DCs in Ogden, Boise,Id., and Denver, Co.

The deal was expected to be finalized by Oct. 31

Hampton Keeps Trimming Hours

Hampton Affiliates, Portland, Or., will reduce operating hours from 80 to 50 and lay off 80 workers at is sawmill in Darrington, Wa., due to poor domestic sales and more logs being exported to China.

Similar reductions and layoffs have already taken place at the company's sawmill in Randle, Wa.

The company said it has no plans to close any of its sawmills, but will reduce schedules at most facilities while waiting for the U.S. housing market to recover.

Lowe's Closing 20 Locations

Lowe's Cos. is closing 20 underperforming stores in l5 states and eliminating 1,950 jobs-including locations in Westminster and Los Banos, Ca.; S. Tacoma, Wa., and Denver, Co. Half of the locations closed Oct. 16, while the others will be shuttered this month.

The chain, which will be left with more than 1,700 locations, will also cut back on it expansion plans-opening l0 to l5 new stores in North America annually starting in 2Ul2,rather than the 30 it had predicted.

Other closures are in Louisiana, Massachusetts,

Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virignia, Wisconsin, two each in Illinois and Maine, and three in New Hampshire.

Millbrae Lumber Goes Under

Battered by the poor economy, Millbrae Lumber Co., Millbrae, Ca., closed last month after 72 years.

Most of Millbrae's 10 employees had been with the yard for over 25 years. Its oldest worker was 75, its youngest 28-joining l0 years ago, straight out of high school.

A new owner acquired the l.5-acre property, but has not divulged his plans.

Stimson Fined for Blast

Stimson Lumber, Portland, Or., was fined $5,000 by OSHA for an explosion at its mill in Gaston, Or., that killed one worker and seriously injured two others.

Steve Allen, 60, a longtime millwright, died after a 6 ft.-tall hydraulic accumulator machine he was working on exploded May I l. Two other workers were injured. The three were trying to disassemble the machine, which acts like a large shock absorber for heavy mill equipment.

Stimson v.p. Debra Muchow said, "We'll never know from the employee's perspective if he was not trained properly or whether it was just a matter of a mistake at that time. But either way, we are brokenhearted by the fatality that occurred and we are taking responsibility for that with

OSHA,''

Although Allen's death was the first fatality at the Gaston mill in at least 25 years, she said, millwrights at each of Stimson's operations in Oregon, Idaho and Washington have received additional trainine related to hydraulic machines.

Universal has been a key supplier in Southern California for years. With the broadest lineup of Iumber and specialty products in the area, it's no wonder why dealers look to UFP as a key supply partner.