Depot Reviews Safety Policies After Fatal Accident

Home Depot is reviewing company safety procedures in the window and door departments at all its stores following the death of a 6-year-old boy at its Pharr, Tx., home center.

Ivan SanMiguel was with his father and stepbrother May 2 when he was struck by large patio doors that fell from a pallet overhead. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.

Police are investigating the accident to determine if anv criminal

Windows And Doors Are

U.S. window and door demand is projected to increase 4.9Vo a year through 2007 to $31 billion, according to a new Freedonia Group study.

Strong growth in non-residential construction spending will support gains, offsetting a weak outlook for the large residential market.

Several factors will work to offset the effects of the soft housing environment on residential window and door demand. including increases in average home sizes and the growing use of value-added products.

charges should be filed. "Home Depot has a lot of explaining to do about that child's death," said Homer Vasquez of the County District Attorney's Office. "We want to see if anyone was criminally negligent."

An unidentified manager told the local newspaper that on the night of the accident, a worker had moved the pallet from a shelf to the floor, then removed the packaging that held the doors upright to get a door for a customer. According to the source, the

Looking Up

Plastic windows and doors will continue to lead demand gains through 2007, advancing 7 .37o annually to $6.2 billion. Gains for products such as fiberglass entry doors will be particularly strong as they quickly increase market penetration.

Despite the strong growth for plastic windows and doors, products made from metal and wood materials will continue to dominate dollar value demand through 2007. Most significantly, metal windows and doors will rise 5.87o yearly to $13 billion.

employee allegedly left the pallet unattended without securing the remaining doors, which later fell on the boy.

The manager claimed Home Depot promptly issued a new policy requiring removal of all doors and windows from pallets if the packaging is removed and posting of instructions on all four sides of affected packages.

Weyco Sells Carolina Forests

Weyerhaeuser Co. has agreed to sell 172,000 acres of North and South Carolina timberland it acquired when it bought Willamette Industries in 2001.

The deal includes all 50,000 acres of Weyerhaeuser's holdings in South Carolina and less than 2O7o of its 675,000 acres in North Carolina. The company deemed the land of little strategic value and designated it for sale as soon as it acquired Willamette.

The company is also trying to sell 172,OOO acres in Tennessee.

Overall, Weyerhaeuser owns 7.5 million acres in the U.S. and manases 50 million acres.