Weyerhaeuser Ups Bid As Willamette Pursues G-P

Willamette Industries has agreed to finally meet with hostile suitor Weyerhaeuser Co. to discuss its revised $6.05 billion takeover offer.

Weyerhaeuser upped its bid by l07o three days after Willamette revealed that it had begun negotiations to possibly acquire Georgia-Pacific's building products division. Acquisition of the unit, with $7.9 billion in sales last year, 687o more than Willamette, would invalidate Weyerhaeuser's bid.

Stephen Rogel, Weyerhaeuser president and c.e.o., called the sweetened $55 per share, all-cash bid his company's "best and final offer."

Willamette's board will reconvene the first week of January to review its alternatives and, in the meantime, urged shareholders not to tender any shares until it issued its recommendation. In October, Willamette said it would negotiate only if Weyerhaeuser submitted a bid closer to $60 a share.

"On October 10, we publicly invited (Weyerhaeuser) to sit down with our investment bankers in order to set

Dealer Expands In Dallas

Construction supply distributor

Truckload USA is consolidating its office and distribution operations this month in an 80,000-sq. ft. facility on 5 acres in North Dallas, Tx.

Truckload supplies home builders and contractors with electrical, plumbing, lumber, wallboard and other construction supplies.

The company, which expects firstyear sales of $20 to $30 million, was Iaunched last February by Andrew Adler, a former contractor who operated builder CityHomes until selling it last year to Centex for $43 million.

Certification Surges In Canada

In four months, third party certification of Canada's forest management practices have increased 447o to 119 million acres of certified forests-the largest area of certified forest of any country in the world.

The total represents nearly 437o of Canada's annual harvest and over 607o of its managed forest lands.

A recent Forest Products Association of Canada survey revealed that Canadian companies remain committed to certification, projecting that the level of certified forestland will jump to another 507o by 2005.

the information they needed to revise their inadequate $50 offer," said Willamette president and c.e.o. Duane McDougall. "They publicly slammed the door shut on that overture in less than two hours without so much as a phone call, and we made it clear that we intended to pursue our strategic plan. That's what we are doing."

G-P's building products unit includes a network of distribution centers and produces lumber, structural panels, industrial wood products, gypsum and chemicals.

The sale would help G-P concentrate on its consumer products and reduce debt, primarily a result of its $11 billion acquisition of Fort James Corp. a year earlier.

Chairman and c.e.o. A.D. "Pete" Conell said Georgia-Pacific had been evaluating several dilferent strategic options, including a plan for a possible separation of the company into two entities, when it was approached by Willamette.

At Sou$ern lunbei, ie reolhe thol'our giqsdh b dependml upn lhe long-1stt suctes ol our cusfomers. As such, we ord dedicoted to provlding you with the highest qqolity, klln.dded southern plne dimension lumber ond boords. '

This slrotegy. hrir poid off. ilow relebrriling our gighteenth onniverrory, our conlony hoj tripled oul onnuol productioi of ' Srndomo* sodlhern yellow pind;ryhile niirlnfoining tlie highesf quolig

.Using completely renovoted, slole-oflhe.oil dquipnenf ond focilitier, wt monufocfure widths 2x4.2x12 and lengths 8'-25' withoui firigeriolntr; All lumber is TP grodd morked and kihi dried to 190,6 moislure conlenl. Itllxed shipnenls ore no problem.

So, fhe nexl lime you need lumber, coll on fhe compony inlenl on helping you surceed. Coll on Southern lumbet.

Builders Speak Out On SYP

Researchers at Louisiana State University recently surveyed 500 of the top U.S. home builders on their perceptions of southern yellow pine.

About 63Vo of builders stated that the species of wood used in building is important. Eighty-five percent went on to say that they would be selective about the species of wood they would use in building a new house.

In regards to species choice,63Vo felt that spruce-pine-fir is a close substitute for SYP, followed by steel and then concrete. lf you ore o deoler or distributor of Southern Pine lumber products, odd your compony to our directory so thot interested buyers con find you! The listing is FREE, ond signup is eosy. Just go to www. southernpine.com/signup. htm. r rwrrv.southernpine.com

The LSU study found that 527o of builders had a "positive perception" of SYP, although 49Va felt the quality of SYP had declined (citing warping in service and a perception that SYP is grown and kiln dried too rapidly).

A clear majority (83Va) said they would be willins to build with SYP.

Southern Pine Council promotions generole thousonds of inquiries from folks who wont to know where to find Southern Pine moteriols. Our website, www.soulhernpine.com, feotures on eosy-to-use "where to buy" directory.

Eontact our csuJteous stalf: Sales: Victoria, Ehris or Janie f,el Us A*isldl lour

Producl lienlilicalion l{sads lfesd Laba|r Ws Gan llo Il

Eni Tagri Elanlr Thcrmsl Teg: Bunrlla Tagr Thermel Pre'Print3 lnvenlory Tagr UPE-far Godrs

EPA Gonrlrnar Tag: I 2 ol 5 Tegs

"We just need lumber prices to go up and business to get better-other than that, things are great."

- Barry Edwards, Pollard Lumber Co.. Appling, Ga.

Spruce, Fir Deep Treatment

A Swedish firm claims that they have become the world's first company to offer a commercially viable technology that impregnates coniferous wood other than pine.

Lign Multiwood says its technology uses environmentally friendly agents and is able to penetrate to the core of such woods as spruce and Douglas fir.

"The global construction industry has been waiting for impregnated construction timber from conifers other than pine," said Lign's Curt Lindhe.

Lindhe also noted that this new technology is the first to allow timber to regain its original dimensions after impregnation.

German Mills Keep Exporting Kullik & Rullmann

German Timber Export Co., a consortium of European mills, now has sales offices in Pittsburgh, Pa., as well as in Japan and China.

Currently Kullik & Rullmann is shipping 70 containers a month of solid products and glulam beams to the U.S.

The group recently developed a new online production planning system that links the mills, allowing capacity and inventory figures to be accessed.

The exporting company has also implemented a new container loading and trucking system, as well as a claim management system.

Osmose Builds Anti-Bug House

Osmose has teamed up with a Florida contractor to build one of the mainland U.S.'s first "all borate" houses in central Florida.

This whole house method of wood treating, in which borates are applied to both the exterior and interior wood frame of the house, has been used effectively in Hawaii for some time.

"Borates have become increasingly popular among home builders over the last decade," said Osmose's George Stein. "Borate treated wood combines the advantages of wood construction, such as durability and energy-efficiency, plus structural protection in termite prone areas."

Wood can be treated with borates at the manufacturing facilty or later on the job site where cut ends can be touched up with brush applications. Additionally, borates are dispensed in sprays and concentrates that can be applied pre- and post-construction to interior and exterior wood.

U.S. Lumber Totals To Drop in 2$)2

An uncertain economy, shaky consumer confidence and continuing U.S. actions overseas will most likely reduce U.S. lumber demand this year.

Western Wood Products Association expects levels to decline 2.87o to around 51.7 billion bd. ft. of lumber in 2002.

New home starts, which performed better than expected in 2001, are expected to dip to 1.52 million this year. As a result, lumber used in residential construction will likely fallto 19.9 billion bd. ft. Lumber usage in the repair/remodeling market is expected to decline 2.5Vo to l5.8 billion bd. ft.

Spegtes

Western Red Cedar Incense Cedar

Redwood

. Hem-Fir. Douglas Fir

Pine. WhiteFir

Alder

.

Proiiugts

Fingerjoint Boards

. Pattern Sidings

Spa Components

. Engineered Products

. Edge-Glued Panels

In response to lower demand, U.S. lumber manufacturers are expected to curtail production 1.47c to 34.4 billion bd. ft. Southern lumber production is anticipated to fall slightly to l6.l billion bd. ft. this year after a2.87o decline in 2001.

Overall U.S. lumber imports are expected to drop off 4.6Va in 2002 due to an anticipated 5.2c/o decrease in Canadian shipments.

Imports from Europe and New Zealand are fbrecast to increase in 2002, but will still only represent a small share of the overall lumber supply.

Anderson, Ca.: (800) 427-8253. (530) 378-6980

Fax 530-378-6987 . Fred Duchi. Don Cherovsky

Mike Webster. Darren Duchi Dean Duchi Weed, Ca.: (800) 374-0210. (530) 938-2771

. Fax 530-938-3227 Bill Duchi Dennis Ducht