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Mid-America Lumbermens Association will hold a clinic on interviewing, hiring and appraising employees Nov. 8 at the Best Western Saddleback Inn, Oklahoma City, Ok.

Lumbermens Association of Texas is holding an open house Oct. 26 at its new office in Austin.

Southern Building Material Association is sponsoring a building code seminar Oct. l6 followed by a

E-Trading System Upgraded

TRLpx recently upgraded its e-marketplace for building products. The new system architecture addresses limited role support, disconnected systems, system constraints and management obstacles to e-commerce in the building products industry.

The system is a product of more than two years of industry feedback board meeting Ocl 17 in Statesville, N.C. and uses open XML technology for integration with existing systems.

Bill Sharp leads seminars Oct. 23 in Charlotte, N.C., and Oct. 25 in Richmond, Va.

Construction Suppliers' Association's fall dealer roundtables will take place for district two Oct. 28 in Augusta, Ga.; for district three Nov. 37 at Melon Bluff Plantation, Midway, Ga., and for district one Nov. I l-13 at The Quail Plantation, Albany, Ga.

Telpx president Steve Tonissen believes the new version will overcome obstacles that have typically prevented businesses from taking advantage of e-commerce. "It supports the need to communicate, gather and organize information, analyze the situation. decide. act. and learn from the results," he said.

Tonissen added that the upgrade "facilitates information management within roles, provides for communication between roles and across enterprises."

Tariff Hits Value-Added

The U.S. Commerce Department has expanded its countervailing duty judgment on Canadian softwood lumber imports to cover value-added lumber products such as fencing, decking and siding.

The action marks a departure from earlier decisions that had given partial exemption to value-added manufacturers.

The decision is expected to impact l0%o of Canada's overall softwood imports.

John Rogosta of the U.S. Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports said, "It's all lumber and you're going to pay the 19.3%o (dily) on all lumber."

Final rulings on the duty are expected later this month from the Commerce Department and from the U.S. International Trade Commission in early December.

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Dealer's Door To Door Side Business

Expensive entry doors had been a tough sell for Kocher Lumber Co., Montgomery, Al.

Builders didn't want to add costs to construction projects that they didn't think they'd recoup in the sale price of the homes. And, selling to homeowners meant stocking a large, varied inventory that required a lot of space to display effectively.

So, about a year ago, the dealer decided to take its business door to door-literally. It added a side business, Dream Doors, to install leaded glass inserts into customers' existing 6-lb. steel and fiberglass doors, transforming non- descript entries into showpieces.

Kocher Lumber acquired a solar-powered mobile workshop from decorative glass manufacturer ODL for traveling to homes or jobsites. A worker can remove a door, precision cut a hole in it, insert decorative glass, and reinstall the door in less than an hour.

Homeowners end up with a classy new entry-without the expense and hassle of replacing the entire door. And the inserts brighten up not only dark-colored doors, but illuminate interiors as well.

The company markets the products through word-ofmouth and fliers featuring before and after photos, making the side business one of Kocher's biggest areas of growth. "It's been a good after-market sale for us," says John Kocher. "It's also allowed us to reduce inventory."

Other dealers installing ODL door glass are in Fort Myers, Hernando, Jacksonville, Port St. Lucie and Wesley Chapel, Fl.; Buford and Dawson, Ga., and Nashville, Tn.

Anthony Buys Out lP's Interest

Anthony Forest Products, El Dorado, Ar., purchased a substantial minority ownership from International Paper, ending a 30-year investment and formal arrangement.

"We are now 1007o family owned," said president John Anthony. "Our energies can now be focused 1007o on the growth of our business and personal service for our customers."

George O'Brien, senior v.p. for forestry at IP, resigned from Anthony's board of directors at the end of July. In a written statement, he said, "We have been honored to have been part of Anthony Forest Products for the past 30 years and we wish them the hiehest level of continued success in the future."

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