2.401 PLYWOO]l FLtlORING

Bruce PlyWelsh Debuts in California

Bruce PlyWelsh, leading prefinished hardwood wall paneling, is being distributed for the first time in California from Oakland and Redondo Beach.

Produced by E. L. Bruce PlyWelsh Company, Memphis, Tenn., the paneling is available in 29 woods and finishes. Bruce PlyWelsh also produces prefinished moldings in nine basic profiles, panel stretchers to "stretch" a standard eight foot panel to any wall height, putty sticks and match stain for accessory woodwork.

The company claims to have the only complete paneling package, allowing even novice builders to do a professionallooking job.

E. L. Bruce Co. Inc., the parent firm, will distribute. the panelings and moldings from its two large warehouses in Oakland and Redondo Beach. Bruce, world's largest producer of hardwood floorings, purchased PlyWelstr in 1958.

Installation of Bruce PlyWelsh paneling is simple, said the company. Even do-it-yourselfers with no previous experience can remodel an average size room with the 4 x 8 and 4 x 1O foot panels in less than a day.

Depending on the type of wall construction, the panel- iqg can be nailed to existing studs, to furring strips, or glued directly to the wall surface. Each panel is prefinished with the patented Bruce process that bakes into the wood a finish that outlasts ordinary surface finishes 14 to l.

Panel stretchers are availible in matching finishes. All are eight feet long, and in widths of one, two, three or four teet.

Although they're normally used below regular paneling to "stretch" a high wall, they can also be integrated with paneling in a variety of ways to create unusual effects.

PlyWelsh moldings are prefinished in 11 colors by a special Bruce-invented process that sands, burnishes, tones, fills, seals and applies a synthetic plastic top coat, then bakes the finish into the wood. Each piece is sealed in a polyethylene tube to prevent soiling.

The wide range of colors and styles, say Bruce PlyWelsh officials, makes it easy to complete any paneling installation without the once difficult task of sanding and staining molding to match the paneling.

PlyWelsh Match Stain comes in several size containers to match all PlyWelsh panelings. Old woodwork such as windows and door facings can be easilv stained to match the paneling s-imply by uiing the stain ih"t .o.r".ponds to the paneling finish.

Used like a grease pencil, Bruce PlyWelsh putty sticks are color corrected to match all paneling finishes. Their use _creates a clean, professional job, claims the Memphis Droducer.

Weslern Veneer And Plywood In Modernizqtion Progrom

$230,000 modernization program, designed to achieve better utilization of the log, is current$ underway at Western Veneer and Plywood Company, Lebanon, OrCgon, according to llarry W. Graham, general manager.

Involved will be the addition of a new gas-fired boiler for the plywood hotpress, and the elimination of the present steam-type boilers. The modernization will also include the conversion of the present dryers, which operate on steam, to natural gas. These dryers will be moved to a new 22,000 square-foot building which will provide some muchneeded additional warehouse space.

Other improvements will be the construction of a new shop building-, and ,the lengthening of the two present green chains from 35 to 55-feet-foot-long each, in older to obtain a better sort of veneer. The present six-deck system, which is 100 feet long, will be expanded to 180 feet in length.

"While the modernization will not increase production, n_o-r require the addition of any new employees to the Western Veneer and Plywood Company piytoll," pointed out Graham, "It will give us a more efficient operation and permit us to keep pace with the competitive market."

The only contracts let were to Truss Fab, Inc., for modernization involved in the main building, and to Cutts Construction Company, of Lebanon for all concrete and foundation work, reported Graham.

The conversion from steam to natural gas should be completed sometime in early July, and the overall construction and modernization program will be finished by the end of August.