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Mass. Store Calling lt Quits

Johnson True Value Hardware, Reading, Ma., is slated to close "in a month of two," according to owner Harold Creamer.

Founded in 1924. the hardware store survived a host of competitors over the years, but the current economic climate was too tough a foe.

"Business is bad," said Creamer, 70. Reading once supported four hardware stores: Allied, Atlas, Francis Brothers, Reading Supply. "We outlasted them all," he said.

Part of the reason for the decline is big-box stores, but not the ones usually associated with hardware store closings. According to Creamer, Kmart and Ames have hurt the store's sales most, along with the cost of insurance and taxes.

Despite the store's imminent closure, Creamer still sticks to his routine, even fixing lawn mowers like always. Creamer still works some days from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., but more from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

About a half-dozen businesses are interested in the property, according to Creamer. "They have nothing to do with hardware," he said.

Store Openings In Wisconsin

Ace Hilldale opened last month in Madison, Wi., three months after hardware retailer Wolff Kubly moved to nearby Middleton, Wi.

Ace Hilldale's owner. Bob Lochner, also owns Ace Hardware stores in the Wisconsin cities of Middleton, DeForest and Sauk City. Home improvement expert and Today Show contributor Lou Manfredini attended the store's grand opening.

So far, Wolff Kubly's owner Stan Vovos says that business has been great in Middleton.

"The hardware business is a bit recession-proof because people still need to take care of their house," Vovos said.

Vovos has owned and operated Wolff Kubly for about 10 years.

served in the Coast Guard during World War II. After the war, he and his brother, James, took over his father's hardware store, Homebuilder's Supply and renamed it Scotty's.

The brothers expanded the business until there were 150 stores in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. In 1988 they sold the company to a Belgian company GIB Group, which in 1998 sold it to 74 Scotty's managers.

Evelyn M. Smith, 84, former coowner of Smith Lumber Co., North Hartland, Vt., died June 4 in Rice Mills, Vl tr Aucusr

Ms. Smith previously worked for Green Mountain Box Co.. White River Junction, Vt.

James Hendrix, 56, a salesman for Anthony Wood Treating, Arkadelphia, Ar., died May 31.

Richard T. Parlon. 92. former owner of the old J.O. Perkins Lumber Co., Lafayette,La., died June 16.

Mr. Parlon owned the business from 1948 to1967.

Henry E. Royal, 85, owner of Royal Lumber and Junkyard, Coden, Al., died June 7.

Mr. Royal was a native of Waynesboro, Ms.

Sgt. Travis Lee Burkhardt,26, son of J.D. "David" Burkhardt, owner, Edina Lumber Co., Edina, Mo., was killed June 6 in Iraq while serving in the Army as a military policeman.

Military officials are investigating whether the death resulted from combat or a vehicle accident. Mr. Burkhardt joined the Army in 1995.

Arthur Jackman "Jack" Glock, 65, co-founder of the manufacturer's representative firm Growth Marketing Inc., Liberty, Mo., died June 14 while on vacation in Denver, Co.

During his career, Mr. Glock had worked as a district sales manager for Conwed Corp., Minneapolis, Mn., and as a national regional sales manager at RPM of Minneapolis.

Mr. Glock, his sons and a friend, Tony Lehr, established Growth Marketing in 1995.

O Certificatlon Special Issue, Jeaturtng the industry's onlg

North American Certified.Forest Products Bugers Guide tr Moulding & Mlllwork

E Alternative Building Products

D Outsourcing Trade

Credit tr How C5press Stacks Up tr SpprpnrBER

D OSB. Panels & Plyrpood

D Top OSB Producers

D The Resurgence of Interior Paneling tr Redwood & Cedar

A Trusses & Connectors tr OcroBER

Hardwoods Computers & Technologr Stairs & Millwork Stains & Coatings

Ewell E. Sweet, 82, former coowner of Scotty's, Winter Haven, F1., died May 12.

A native of Winter Haven. Sweet

At the time of his death, he was serving as an associate director of the Mid-America Lumbermens Association, Kansas City, Mo.

Rates: 25 words for $25, additional words 709 each. Phone number counts as one word, address as six. Headline or centered copy, $6 per line' Private box or special border. $6 each. Column inch rate: $45 camera-

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To reply to ads with private box numbers' send correspondence to box number shown, c/o Building Products Digest. Names of advertisers using a box number cannot be released.

Texas Dealer Adds 2nd Store

Bobby Hill, owner of Commerce Hardware, Commerce, Tx., has acquired a former grocery store building in Bonham, Tx., to add a second hardware store by the fall.

The company has begun renovating the store and building a 6,000-sq. ft. lumber warehouse.

The store will be affiliated with wholesaler Handy Hardware Corp., Houston, Tx.

Engineered Components

(Continued from page I0) trusses and/or prefab panels at over 1,800 locations, primarily small businesses serving local markets. Comparatively, EWP are made by just 38 U.S. companies, and more than a third are large corporations that produce multiple products. The majority produce only glulams. employment rose 7Vo in the EWP industry and23Vo in the truss industry. In 2001, about three-fourths of EWP and trusses were sold for residential, rather than commerical, applications.

Due to consolidation and an increasing number of producers, the market share of the three largest EWP producers (Weyerhaeuser's TrusJoist division, Louisiana-Pacific and Boise) reportedly fell from 83Vo in 1991 to 747o in 2002. From 1997 to 2002.

Truss manufacturers did benefit from declining prices of lumber, their largest expense.

Most of the trusses were used for roofs;9Vo were for floors. Wall and floor panels increased ftom 5Vo to 1 l7o. I-joists accounted for roughly half of U.S. EWP production, laminated veneer lumber for 2O-29Vo, and glulams for 26-347o.

Canada's shipments of wood structural building components increased during the study period. More than 9OVo of Canadian exports of structural components go to the U.S., with most of the remainder going to Japan. Employment at Canadian component manufacturing plants rose 9.57o.

Of the roughly 300 wood truss plants in Canada, two-thirds are in British Columbia and the majority are small, family-owned, single-site facilities. Nearly all roof trusses made in Canada are made-to-order for accounts in the U.S.

Fewer but primarily larger companies produce EWP in Canada, although several are Canadian divisions of U.S. coqporations. The study identified nine producers of glulam, three of LVL, and 14 of I-joists. The largest is Weyerhaeuser.

Canadian glulam production increased 67Vo, l-joist output more than doubled, and LVL production more than quadrupled during the five year period.

Still, Canadian EWP production is a fraction of the U.S.'s. The U.S. produces 10 times more glulams, l0 times more LVL, and four times more Ijoists than Canada. Nevertheless, the EWP sector experienced more than its share of consolidation. investment. capacity growth and new entrants during the study period. Capacity was increased through improving equipment, expanding existing facilities, building new plants, and converting traditional lumber capacity to EWPoutstripping the increases in production as well as demand.

The study found technology, modernization of equipment, skill levels and labor costs to be similar in the U.S. and Canada. Canadian shippers did enjoy a competitive advantage from the 7.8Vo avenge depreciation of the Canadian dollar.

Storing & Handling Glulams

( Continued.frrtm page I 2 ) avoid uneven discoloration due to exposure to the sun.

Glulam beams are commonlY loaded and unloaded with a forklift. "Our forklifts typically have carpet strips on the forks," says Boice, "and great care is taken to not bruise the finished product by impact when flipping a beam."

For greater stability, the sides of the beams, rather than the bottoms, should rest on the forks. Supporting extremely long beams on their sides, however, can cause them to flex excessively, increasing the risk of damage. Use multiple forklifts to lift Iong glulam members.

If a crane with slings is used to load or unload beams, provide adequate blocking between the cable and the member.

Use wooden cleats or blocking to protect corners. Only non-marring fabric slings should be used to lift glulam beams. Using spreader bars can reduce the likelihood of damage when lifting especially long beams with a crane.

When transporting beams, stack them on lumber blocking or skids. Boice says, "Banding requires corner protection with specially preformed heavy cardboard strips and someone with common sense to know where to attach."

Beams can rest on their sides or bottoms. Secure the load with straps to keep it from shifting. Protect beam corners with "softeners" when strapping down the load.

Finally, says Boice, "When loading -or storing-it is very important to see that dunnage is placed in vertical stacks so that when the tie-down straps are tightened, the first few layers of product could receive huge loads from unalligned dunnage above. If this loading condition was over several days, the product may alreadY have some permanent set to it and could be rejected by the end user."