BLUE IAKE FOREST PRODUCTS

Hampton Buys Tx. Mill

Hampton Resources, Inc., Portland, Or., has acquired from Precision Lumber Co., Inc. a sawmill and planing mill under construction in Pollok, Tx. Scheduled for completion early in 1993, the mill will have an annual production of 50 million feet of kiln dried southern pine for domestic and export markets.

The move is considered an initial step by the company to diversify into southern pine which is subject to fewer preservationist intemrptions and continue manufacturing growth impossible in the Northwest because of court challenges shutting off the supply of federal timber.

"While preservationists are also

Wood Supply To Open Shour

"Forest Products '93: Where Will The Wood Come From?" featuring senior executives from Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser and Canfor will launch the 1993 National Home Center Show and Conference March 2l-23, McConnick Place East, Chicago, Il.

A dealer and distributor panel is being formed to react to the messages of A. D. Correll, G-P president and c.o.o.; William R. Corbin, executive vice president for wood products, Weyerhaeuser, and Peter J. G. Bentley, chainnan and ceo, Canfor.

Several concepts introduced last year will be continued: mid-day workshops with box lunches, infonnal dealer-to-dealer breakfast or lunch assaulting the South, about 75Vo of southem timber is owned by numerous small woodland individuals who are a much more difficult target for broad scale attack," said John Hampton, chairman of Hampton Resources, Inc. "'We are excited about reaching new markets and developing resource acquisition oppornrnities in a geographical area which is new to us." roundtables on business topics, and Meet The Merchants, a pre-show program for exhibitors. Advertising and management uaining seminars will be offered.

Hampton Distribution Center has opened a new facility on Swan Island, Portland, Or., to service dealers in Washington and Oregon with lumber and plywood items. Rail service for Hampton Lumber Sales Co. will be provided by Union Pacific from the new 12 acre site, the company announced.

2nd Growth Movie Stars

For the forest scenes in the recent movie Last of the Mohicans, film makers cdnducted a nationwide search for a lush setting to double for the virgin woodlands of the 1200s.

The site they selected for their "ancient forests"? A North Carolina forest that was clear cut and replanted 30 years ago, reports the Western Wood Products Association.

Tools Get Smart

High tech hammers? State-of-the-art saws? 21st century tools are on the way.

Tools featuring electronics for quicker, quieter, cleaner operation may soon be replacing the traditional tools of the trade. Already available electronically enhanced levels, saws and measures also provide labor savings and the appeal ofhigh tech.

Among the latesu Porter Cable Co.'s new miter saw featuring a red laser to show exactly where the saw blade will cut. Carpenters no longer have to guess whether the blade will precisely match the desired line and often won't need to mark a line at all. It also improves safety; if the red bearn crosses your thumb, don't cut

The most successful elec8onic tool ever is Zircon's 12 year old StudSensor, which locates studs through walls by detecting variations in electromagnetic fields caused by the studs' greater density. A newer model is sensitive enough to pinpoint floor joists through floors.

Another popular electronic device, Wedge Innovation's Smartkvel, calculates how far from level something is and displays it in percent, degrees or pitch. Jobs that once took two people and three minutes can now be done by one person in three seconds.

Other smart tools on the market include electronic distance sensing devices and specialty calculators to convert inches, feet, yards and meters in either ftactions or decimals and automatically figure the angle to cut rafters in hip roofs and the height and number of risers needed for a staircase.

Some tool manufacturers, such as Stanley, don't offer electronic tools because they think the technology hasn't been perfected yet. They say they're still too difficult to use and are not accurate enough.

True, ultrasonic dis0ance detecting devices that offer 994o rccaracy aren't precise enough for carpenters cutting boards, but they're fine for real estate agents measuring rooms or estimators sizing up jobs.

The biggest barrier seems to be price. Electronic tools nomrally cost 507o to l0o7o more than their traditional counterparts.

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ALSC To Monitor New Treated Wood Program

A new consensus program to accredit and monitor quality control agencies for the inspection and analysis of pressure treated wood products was approved by the American Lumber Standards Committee Nov.6.

"The new program is now open for applications from agencies who wish co be accredited and monitored for inspection of treated lumber," said Tom Seades, ALSC executive vice presiden. "This will mean that buyers, users and specifiers of treated lumber can look for the approved new quality marks. These will indicate that the products are produced under accreditation procedures developed to assure confonnity to the highest quality standards."

Applications are expected from a number of inspection agencies including Southern Pine Inspection Bureau and Timber Products Inspection. In the past treated lumber certification and inspection was carried out by two separate programs from the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau and the American Wood Preservers Bureau.

ALSC and the Southern Forest Products Association played leading roles in developing the new single overview and accreditation program, alternately serving as catalysts and conciliators as the process moved along. The new program is built on the framework of several previous efforts which failed when all parties could not reach a consensus.

The new accreditation program will provide the first unified system of quality control in the treated industry's history. Industry observers believe that the ALSC is especially qualified to lead the accreditation and monitoring for treated inspection agencies because of its history of successfully accrediting grading agencies for untreated lumber. The newly recognized quality control program is expected to enhance acceptance of treated products in domestic and international markets.

1.33 Million Housing Starts

Housing starts will stay below 1.33 million a year through 1995, Resource Information Systems, Inc. forecasts.

They project U.S. softwood lumber consumption this year ar.45.9 billion board feet, aboutT7o higher than 1991, 46.6 billion board feet in 1993 and 47.1 billion board feet in 1994.