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Modernization ls Order Of D.y At Several Big Los Angeles \(/holesale Lumber Yards
(ireat changes and modernizations are taking place at this moment at many of the lumber yards in Los Angeles. Three of the largest rvholesale yards are doing big jobs along this line.
At the plant of the Western Hardrvood Lumber Company they are finishing up a modernization program that has been under way for the past year. The last paving is nor,v being laid, and the yard will then be entirely paved. Two of the old sheds have been given roof lifting treatments, making them high enough and open enough for handling lumber by Ross lift trucks. A new shipping department is in the making in the front of the yard. The big warehouse that holds the big stock of Roddiscraft hardu'ood doors has been modernized for facility of handling and care in storage. The whole plant has been given a sort of face lifting tl-rat changes its appearance and improves its efficiency. The modernization of their kilns was completed some time ago, so that they find themselves capable of drying thick and entirely green oak and gum, with no warping or checking. This is one of the big things they have learned at this plant cluring the war. The free use of salt on the u'et green lumber is one of the answers. President Frank Connolly reports an uneventful conversion from war to peace lumber program.
At the plant of E. J. Stanton & Son, wholesale improvements are being made. You absolutely won't knorv the big ten-acre plant when the work now in progress is finished, says Roy Stanton. The last patches of unpaved ground are now being asphalted. A new building program that will take months, has started. They are building a brand new lift truck type storage shed, 60 x 525 feet in size, truss roof structure so that there will be no uprights or obstructions. The shed will hold five million feet of lumber in lift truck packages. The roof r,vill be rounded, the lift truck roadway down the middle. It will be one of the finest sheds of the kind ever built anyu.here. Right after this is completed they rvill tear dor'vn a rvhole cluster of old type storage sheds, and replace them with a big ancl modern 'warehouse for storing and handling the special built hardrvood panels in which they are now specializing. They make them right in the plant, and the new warehouse will permit careful storage and efficient handling. The planing mill building will be enlarged and modernized, without changing the big and efficient bzLttery of machines they operate. Thel' 61lt. two lift trucks, a big and a smaller one, and a battery of carriers, that handle all their lumber. All their other older type sheds will be rebuilt or replaced, and modern installations will succeed them. With the exception of common Fir, all Stanton lumber will be handled and stored under cover in future. They have plenty of room in the yard, which gives ample opportunity for carrying through the complete program of remodeling and rebuilding. Also, a beautiful sales and display room is now being completed in one corner of the office building. Things are looking up at Stantons.
The Penberthy Lumber Company is doing a beautiful job of completely rebuilding and modernizing their new yard on Boyle Avenue. When they are finished-they are about half through now-they will have one of the most attractive looking wholesale lumber yards to be found anywhere. One by one old buildings have come down and been replaced. All the new sheds are the high type of sheds for lift truck use. In the middle of the yard is a brand new planing mill, attractively constructed. Down one side of the yard they are building one long shed along the railroad tracks, and down the center of this shed is a long sorting chain. The lumber rvill be unloaded from car to chain, then graded, selected, and unloaded on both sides of the chain. The entire yard has already been paved. Every building is being made to fit the same attractive architectural pattern, something seldom taken into consideration by lumber shed builders. Exceedingly large lift truck type sheds are being built down opposite sides of the long yard. The Penberthy plant, when completed, will have set quite a pace for attractive lumber plant construction. Their office compares favorably in interior looks and equipment with the best downtown business offices.