r DEALER Briefs

Williams Ace Hardware opens a new store late this month in Goddard, Ks., and another next month in a former Ace storefront in Andover, Ks.

Manchester True Value Hardware, Manchester, Mi., is reopening this month, 10 months after an electrical fire destroyed its prior building.

E&H Hardware Group recently opened its 8th Ace Hardware store, in Rocky River, Oh.

Store manager Lisa Bird and nine other emplovees had been with recently shutteied Ingersoll Hardware, Rocky River and Westlake, 0h.

Handyman Ace Hardware has takenbver the former Ballweg Hardware, New Carlisle, 0h.

Phelps Do lt Best Hardware, Louisville, Ky., has added a contract post office.

Annie's Ace Hardware, Washington, D.C., opened Feb. 7. lt is owner Anne Strom's first store.

Vassar True Value Hardware, Vassar, Mi., recently added UHaul truck and trailer rentals.

Brookings Ace Hardware, Brookings, S.D., closed afterfive years.

Owner Bryan Miller continues operating Dakota Ace Hardware, Viborg, S.D.

Do-Cut True Value Hardware, which lost its Canfield, Oh., store in a Sept. 14 fire, is reopening this month in Boardman, Oh.-minus the hardware.

Since the new facility is smaller, it will concentrate on outdoor Power equipment, as does its location in Wanen,0h.

Habitat for Humanit! recently added a ReStore discount LBM outlet in Arlington, Tx.

VALU Home Centers, Buffalo, N.Y., was honored as the 2011 Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation by the regional chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The 41-unit chain has raised more than $4 million for charitable organizations over the past 20 years.

Texas Dealer Opening DC

Cassity Jones Lumber, Longview, Tx., has purchased an existing 25-acre lumber distribution facility in Terrell, Tx., where it plans to consolidate distribution for its North Texas operations.

Located outside Dallas, the site has a 36,000-sq. ft. warehouse and office.

According to c.e.o. Jeb Jones, the chain is increasingly targeting custom home builders.

Cassity Jones operates seven yards, six floor covering operations, four equipment rental units, a commercial flooring firm, and a finance company.

MJB Priming Composite Trim

MJB Wood Group, Irving, Tx., has developed a new coating and priming process for the MoistureShield exterior trim and mouldings it distributes.

The primed composite products can be painted and will hold the paint under normal circumstances.

More FSC for RoyOMartin

RoyOMartin and its subsidiaries now offer an even wider range of Forest Stewardship Council-certified building products.

In January, RoyOMartin/Colfax Treating Co.'s treated poles and piling, made in Pineville, La., earned FSC certification.

Six months earlier, the Rainforest Alliance presented Roy O. Martin Lumber with an FSC certificate covering multi-site chain-of-custody and controlled wood. The certificate, which previously covered only RoyOMartin's OSB and plywood products, extended coverage to lumber and timbers manufactured at its Rocky Creek Lumber Co. mill in Mexia, Al.

Hood Expands Milling

Hood Industries, Hattiesburg, Ma., leased a74,240-sq. ft. plant in Ayer, Ma., for expansion of its custom milling operations.

The new nine-acre site with double rail spur joins Hood's two PlYwood plants, three lumber mills, and 18 specialty wood product DCs in 13 states.

New Cabinet Maker Formed

Private equity investment firm and US LBM Holdings founder Building Industry Partners, Fort Worth, Tx., has partnered with kitchen & bath cabinet industry veterans Terry Dickey and Michael Arnaud to form United Cabinet Holdings, Greensboro, N.C.

UCH will acquire or invest in North American regional K&B manufacturers. Its first is Touchstone Fine Cabinetry, formed via the recapitalization of Geppetto Kitchens, Rutherfordton, N.C.

Dickey serves as president and c.e.o. of UCH, Arnaud as executive v.p. of sales and marketing.

Ex-Manager Sues Over Age

A former general manager has filed an age discrimination suit against Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber, Fort Worth, Tx.

Rhett King claims that at age 55 he was fired after 32 years on the job, allegedly due to the performance of the branch, but was replaced by a 38year-old with less experience.