Sinrro Redwood Compqny

Flinrkote Executive Optimistic

L J. Harvey, Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive officer of The Flintkote Company, in his annual year-end statement, said 1960 promises to usher in a period of prosperity greater than this or any other nation has ever experienced. The decade ahead will be particularly important to The Flintkote Company and the general construction field to which it supplies an ever-increasing line of products.

"Since early in 1956, when we embarked upon a planned program of expansion and diversification in anticipation of the building boom ahead, we have added sigr-rificantly to the product mix of Flintkote. We have moved into such fields as cement and gypsum and we have expanded in others. Today Flintkote produces the broadest line of building products in the country.

t'The explosive population boom coming into being in this country can't help but be reflected in all our product lines. While we anticipate some decline in new residential housing starts this year, we do not believe the decline will be as great as generally expected. Most authorities agree that general construction will be up in 1960 and that repa-ir, modernization and expansion of existing unitsa far greater market potential than new startsis also on the rise."

Mullin Re-elected to M&M Boqrd

Wayne F. Mullin, president of the Mullin Lumber Co., Los Angeles, has been re-elected to the 72-man board of directors of the Nlerchants and Manufacturers Assn. Also re-elected in the balloting among the 1,800 member companies in the M&M was lL C. McClellan, Old Colony Paint & Chemical Co. A new director elected this year is Richard A. Grant, president of California Portland Cement Co.

Drop in Housing Conslruction

Sharp declines in contracts for highways and housing caused-total construction contracts in November to drop 9/o below a year ago, reported F. W. Dodge Corporation. Total contracts for future construction in November amounted to $2,372,826,000, down about $220,000,000 from November 1958. Housing contracts fell by a little more than $100,000,000. In contrast, contracts for manufacturing buildings rose by about $87,000,000 over November 1958.

Residential building contracts in November totaled $1,092,379,000, down 9% from the corresponding 1958 month. The number of dwelling units represented by the residential contracts was 82,940, a drop ol I2/o from a yeaf ago.

Cumulative totals for the first 11 morrths of 1959 show residential at $16,164,806,000, up l8/o.