IMPORTED HARDWOOD LUMBER SPECIALISTS HARDI TED

(909) 272-1000

Office and Yard Address: 1695 California Ave. Corona, Ga.91719

WEAAtt THER

ALLWEATHER WOOD TREATERS is the FORCE in wesl coost vood preserving. ll/e hove CAPITALIZED, plonned, stoffed, built plont copocity, conlrocled for long-term RAW moteriols, developed UNIQUE producr, estoblished disribution, ond sel up IIARKETING progroms. We ore reody for the FUTURE, ond we ore READY to fill oll of your treoled needs. In foct, we hove BUILT our business oround meeling your product ond morketing needs. Our GOAI is to build PARTNERSHIpS with our cuslomers fhol go BEYOND normol "supplier" relotionships. We believe lhol by working wilh you os o TEAM, we con lruly be "pARTNERS in success". We will listen to you, leorn oboul your BUSINESS, ond develop o STRATEGy with you lo ENHANCE your soles ond SUCCESS.

Seattle Southern Pine DC

Willamette Industries, Albany, Or., plans to open a summertime "distribution area" for southern pine products in the Seattle, Wa, area.

Willamette plans to lease space at Vandermeer Forest Products' reload in Kent, Wa., since "the problem with pine in the Pacific Northwest is ransit time," said Steve Webb, plywood sales. "Customers want product on such short notice, and southern pine would require two to three weeks for mill orders, then two weeks for ransit time."

The company successfully experimented with the idea last summer, with Sturd-I-Floor and some 1/2" four-ply CD.

Webb expecs the arrangement will be seasonal. "There's a fair amount of southern pine being used in the Seattle market, but the problem is it has a tendency to buckle," he said. "So people around here are kind of nervous to use it in the winter."

Timing is another big factor since southern pine must have a sufficient price spread advantage over fir tojustify shipping it so far.

Oregon Store Adds Space

It was a long time coming, but Jerry's Home Improvement Center, Eu- geng Or., finally has a building permit allowing its owners to begin a $100,000 expansion.

In addition to getting a zoning cbange approved by the Lane County Board of Commissioners and the Eugene City Council, the company had to buy four houses to gain more space. Now the way is clear to double the indoor retail space to about 160,000 sq. ft. and increase outside sales space from two to five acres. The extra space will allow the storc to expand all departments and add a selection of kitchen cabines.

The expansion, which had been under consideration since 1990, became more urgent when Home Depot opened a 100,000 sq. ft. store in northeast Eugene last Augusl coowner Dennis Orem, said.

Last Days At Chandler

Despite announcing a fonnal close date of December 10, Chandler Lumber Co., Van Nuys, Ca., will remain open as long as necessary to fill all orders already taken (see Nov., p. 18). Achral peflnanent shutdown is expected by the middle of January.

Hit hard by the recession, the 47year-old pro-oriented business has put up for sale its Van Nuys yard, nearby five-acre shipping yard, plus yards in Palmdale, Ca, andLas Vegas, Nv.

Chairman of the board Marc Myers said the company is negotiating with "several interested parties, including an employee group, on the possible sale of our California operations or the entire @mpany."

81o/o ol D-l-Yers Need Help

"Owner of a new single family home, 30 to 35 years old, manied with young children, upper-middle to lower-upper income," is the description Builders Square II president Frank Felicella gives of the average do-ityouselfer.

In addition, he maintains SlVo of these consumers need how-to information before they can start a project. "It's the serious do-it-yourselfer that's going to be the biggest customer," he explained while visiting a store in The Woodlands, Tx. "We want to make the small-time do-it-yourselfer comfortable enough to 8y larger projects."

Builders Square II considers those doing home improvement projects to be good customers since they buy 70Vo of their merchandise from hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building material outlets. They also are involved in an average of 6.5 maintenance, repair or remodeling projects ayeu.

Felicella credits the boom in home improvement to cocooning or the desire to spend more time at home, atftibuting this to changing social conditions, such as aging baby boomers, a weak economy, changtng work modes, and technology changes including working at home and converting bedrooms into offices.

"A lot of people think that projects are too hard when actually nany ideas are simple and easy," Felicella points out. "These projects can really make a home a better place to live."