FLASHBACK

BPD’s First Advertisers

Building Products Digest today celebrates its 40th anniversary—as well as the 100th anniversary of sister publication The Merchant Magazine—with gratitude to our faithful readers and invaluable advertisers. Here, we look back on—and pay special tribute to—those who stood side by side with us in our earliest years and are still going strong four decades later. We thank and appreciate each of you.

• Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, Ga., started in 1927 wholesaling lumber from its five southern sawmills. Within a decade, it expanded to plywood and was among the advertisers that supported BPD in March of 1982. Today, G-P is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building products, and related chemcials, with over 30,000 employees at 300+ locations in North and South America.

• Norfield has been serving the machinery needs of North American pre-hung door manufacturers since 1959 and BPD readers since March 1982. Last year, the company was acquired by GED Integrated Solutions.

• Mid-States Wood Preservers, Simsboro, La., was formed by brothers Bert and Bill Jones in 1979 to provide pressure treated wood throughout the mid-South region. In March 1982, MidStates became the first treater to place an ad in BPD. it

• Windsor Mill was launched by Ray Flynn in 1971 to mill western species into millwork, such as the paneling shown in the March 1982 BPD. In 1996, it introduced its now-namesake WindsorONE primed radiata pine.

• C&D Lumber Co., Riddle, Or., was born in 1943, deriving its name from its location near southern Oregon’s Coos and Douglas Countylines. First teaming with BPD in March 1982, C&D is now guided by the sixth generation of the Johnson family.

• North American Wholesale Lumber Association has closely aligned with BPD since day one, placing a congratulations greeting in issue one in March 1982 . We are currently the official publication of NAWLA.

• Hampton Lumber patriarch Bud Hampton purchased his first sawmill in Willamina, Or., in 1942, initially to supply his own Tacoma lumber business. His son John launched the wholesale division, Hampton Lumber Sales, in 1950. First advertising in BPD in March 1982, Portland, Or.-based Hampton is now under its fourth generation, with SFI-certified timberlands and nine sawmills in the Northwest.

• Setzer Forest Products, another of our issue-one advertisers, began in 1927 as an agricultural box manufacturing plant. Four generations of Setzers and 95 years later, the demand for housing now surpasses the need for vegetable crates. Consequently, Setzer’s mills in Sacramento and Oroville, Ca., have become one of leading producers of MDF mouldings.

• Timber Products of Springfield, Or., was established in 1918 and soon began producing a diversified range of wood products, including the special industrial panels it highlighted in BPD’s premiere issue in March 1982. Best known for its hardwood plywood, TP now has nine manufacturing facilities, an import division, and a nationwide logistics and transportation division.

• Louisiana Pacific was spun off from Georgia-Pacific in 1973 under flamboyant president Harry Merlo. From its initial holdings of timberlands and lumber and plywood mills, LP helped pioneer OSB and a range of other building products, though it first teamed up with BPD to promote its now-long-since-divested pressure treated wood division in April of 1982.

• California Cascade Industries, Sacramento, Ca., opened as a regional distributor in 1974. By the time it first ran with BPD in April 1982, it was also selling western species into the South. Cal Cascade was purchased by CanWel Building Materials in 2015.

• Great Southern Wood Preserving, Abbeville, Al., first advertised in BPD in June of 1982, initially promoting lumber pressure treated with preservatives supplied by Osmose and identified by Osmose’s “little yellow tag.” Twenty years later, the company decided to turn the mark into its own YellaWood brand.

• Snider Industries, Marshall, Tx., from before its first BPD ad in January 1983 and continuing to this day, has always devoted its entire production to premium 1” SYP boards. As Snider’s original tagline touted: “Boards are our ONLY business.”

• Lee Roy Jordan Lumber Co., Dallas, Tx., started life in 1952 as Redwood Lumber Co. of Dallas—the largest exclusive dealer of redwood in the Southwest. The company was purchased and renamed in 1977 by Dallas Cowboys football great Lee Roy Jordan and began teaming up with BPD ad in March of 1983.

• T.R. Miller Mill Co., Brewton, Al., this year is celebrating its 150th anniversary, producing southern yellow pine lumber for a century and a half. In fact, it’s even older—its predecessor company built its very first mill in 1848! (The company was incorporated in 1872.) Now one of the 150 largest sawmills in the U.S., T.R. Miller first marketed through BPD in April of 1983.

• Culpeper Wood Preservers was founded in 1976 by Joe Daniel as a local pressure treating company with a single location in Culpeper, Va. The company had grown to three locations by the time of its first ad in BPD in April of 1983. Joined by son Josh Daniel in 1990, Culpeper is now one of the largest producers of pressure treated lumber in the country, after just completing its purchase of its 15th and 16th facilities.

BPD’s First Advertisers

• American International Forest Products, Beaverton, Or., founded in 1964, has been an industry leader in lumber commodities trading. Spread across seven departments covering major lumber commodities and specialty building materials, AIFP boasts the largest trading floor in North America. It first advertised in BPD in July 1983.

• States Industries, Eugene, Or., originated in 1966 as a manufacturer of walls panels—showcased in their October 1983 ad— before eventually concentrating on industrial hardwood plywood.

• Weyerhaeuser, which made its BPD debut on the cover of the January 1984 edition, began in Tacoma, Wa., in 1900 as a timberland owner, quickly growing into one of the world’s largest lumber manufacturers and distributors.

• Schlage Lock pioneered the first cylindrical pintumbler locks and first pushbutton door-knob locks in the early 1920s. Schlage was acquired by Ingersoll Rand in 1974, first ran in BPD in February 1984, and became part of Allegion in 2013.

• Timber Products Inspection, a BPD advertiser since February 1984, started out as a two-man company in 1969 and has since grown to be the largest accredited agency under ALSC for lumber, treating, WPM and wood pellet auditing programs. TP currently serves clients in 16 countries and handles over 20 different wood products.

• Boise Cascade was formed in 1957 through the merger of Cascade Lumber Co., Yakima, Wa., and Boise Payette Lumber Co., Boise, Id. Within a year, it had more than 100 retail outlets for its wholesale distribution business. It quickly expanded to a full range of forest products, paper, concrete, plastics, textiles, sand/gravel, and office products.

Boise Cascade made a big splash with a two-page spread for its first BPD ad in November of 1983.

• Maze Nails originally started as Maze Lumber, a modest lumberyard in the small town of Peru, Il., in 1848. In the late 1800s, to address builder complaints of shingle blow-offs due to nail failures, Maze bought a used nail machine to make its own, using pure zinc. The fastener business took off, with Maze introducing 50-lb. bulk packs in 1900, 5-lb. boxes in 1905, hot-dipped nails in 1914, spiral shank nails in 1930, and StormGuard double hot-dip galvanizing in 1955, which it first promoted through BPD in April 1984.

• Performance Coatings Inc., Ukiah, Ca., introduced its Penofin brand of high-performance wood finishes to BPD readers in June of 1984.

• Snavely Forest Products, Pittsburgh, Pa., was founded in 1902 and grew to five distribution locations by the time it was acquired in 2018 by Weekes Forest Products. Snavely first appeared in BPD in August 1984.

• Wasco Products was formed in 1935 to manufacture a revolutionary throughwall flashing system, expanded to acrylic dome skylights in 1949, and introduced aluminum-framed, glassglazed skylights in 1974 and low-profile, vinyl-framed skylights two years later (showcasing its ongoing innovations to BPD readers in January 1985). Wasco was acquired by VELUX America in 2018. • Canfor began as Pacific Veneer, Vancouver, B.C., in 1938, adding milling operations through the next decade and in 1947 taking on the new name Canadian Forest Products Ltd. Aggressive growth followed, including selling into the U.S. through a network of wholesalers (at right, May 1985). Canfor began establishing its now-formidable foothold in the Southeast U.S. in 2006 with its purchase of New South.

• Western Red Cedar Lumber Association was founded in 1954 as the “voice of the cedar industry.” First advertising its promotional materials to dealers in The Merchant in September of 1985, the non-profit currently represents 27 quality producers of western red cedar lumber products in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

• Williams Lumber Co. of North Carolina, Rocky Mount, N.C., owes its beginnings to D.C. Williams Jr., who in 1914 borrowed $150 from his mother to purchase a portable sawmill and a pair of mules to haul his loads. The company has promoted its Tidewater Cypress products in BPD since October 1985.

• Sierra Pacific Industries traces its beginnings to 1949 with Curly and son “Red” Emmerson’s first leased sawmill in Humboldt County. The current corporation was established in 1969. First advertising in BPD in November 1985 to announce its expansion into the finish market, SPI now manages 2.3 million acres of timberland and operates 18 sawmills, plus millwork, door/window, reman plants, and more.

Maze Nails would like to congratulate BPD and The Merchant on 100 great years serving the LBM industry!

We want to welcome you to the Century Club, and thank you for always providing quality practices and products to the industry. As Maze Nails is getting ready to celebrate 175 years, we still stand by the same motto we did many years ago: “Don’t let the nails be the weak link in your building project to save a dollar.” As an example, see one of our historic ads (above) addressing just this issue.

Just like Maze, you have stayed consistent, and will continue to flourish and be the best in your field. Lisa Martin, marketing director Maze Nails s s s s s s s

Congratulations on your 100-year anniversary. The Merchant/BPD continue to be at the forefront of our industry, covering events and providing relevant content. I cannot help but reflect back 46 years ago when I first got into this industry, our office couldn’t wait to get the monthly issue and see the photos of who’s who. Technology wasn’t the same back then and The Merchant kept us all connected. Technology has come a long way, and so have Merchant/BPD.

As you may have heard, I have begun the transition to what many call retirement. On July 1, I will be handing over the reins of CEO to Mark Avery. He is a great leader and will take this company to greater heights. I have had a great run here at Timber Products and look forward to seeing what the next era will entail. Thinking back on my career, hiring someone smarter and better than me has been the factor that led to any of the successes I have enjoyed. I still get to stay connected as I have accepted a position on the board. While I appreciate the congratulations I am receiving for being retired, I really see it as a transition to a new chapter.

This has been a time of reflection. While I can point to some pretty tough situations and events in my history, I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of this industry. I had some remarkable mentors and I hope I have offered mentorship to those who have worked with me. I’ve always joked that my resumé looks like I cannot hold a job from all of the mergers and acquisitions. I got to be a corporate guy and I had the era of owning my own companies. Customers, suppliers, co-workers, competitors and trade associations, all go into the “stew” I call my career. It all went by too quickly.

My purpose for writing was really to thank you and all of your predecessors for the amazing support over the years. Again, congratulations. It really is about the relationships and the people. I am grateful for all of it and believe you are too. Steve Killgore, CEO Timber Products

Celebrating 100 years

Four generations of The McGinnis Lumber Company Serving 40 states from Meridian, Mississippi

since 1922 On the occasion of our 100th anniversary, we would like to thank our customers and suppliers for your support, and our employees for their dedication.

We look forward to another century of service to the forest products industry.

Meridian, MS w (601) 474-3155 www.mcginnislumber.com

MARCH 2022 Building Products DigestBPDCheers to Another THE VOICE OF THE LBM SUPPLY CHAIN — SINCE 1982 SPECIFYING SUSTAINABLE WOOD PRODUCTS • CYPRESS NICHE • NELMA UPDATE Century of Partnering!

19 & STRONGER TOGETHER22 1933 1937 1939 1940 First issue of THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT, sister publication to BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST, by Jack Dionne, publisher of THE GULF COAST LUMBERMAN NELMA Established - New York City - 2 Employees 1st Eastern White Pine Grade Rules 1st NELMA Grader Training School NELMA Exhibits at New York Worlds Fair 1946 NELMA releases film “The Story of Wood in the Northeast” 1955 1st NELMA Exhibit at Lumber Retailer Shows 1962 Arrival of future publisher David Cutler 1967 After several name changes to reflect coverage of more products and the entire West, the magazine is shortened to its longtime nickname, THE MERCHANT MAGAZINE 1970 First Voluntary Product Standard for Lumber Published (PS-20) 1982 NELMA celebrates 50th anniversary in Boston 1982 First issue of BPD by David Cutler, initially distributed to the Southeastern states that received the now-defunct GULF COAST LUMBERMAN 1994 BPD launches companion website, BUILDING-PRODUCTS.COM 2001 Start of the Heat Treatment Inspection Program 2001 Alan Oakes succeeds Cutler as publisher of BPD and THE MERCHANT 2003 BPD expands its coverage beyond the South to the mid-Atlantic region 2004 BPD expands to the Northeast and Midwest, now covering 37 states East of the Rockies to perfectly complement THE MERCHANT 2004 BPD partners for the first time with NELMA on its first annual Eastern White Pine Special Issue 2008 NELMA celebrates 75th Anniversary in New York City 2012 1.29 Billion Board Feet produced by NELMA mills 2014 Grader Academy introduced 2014 Patrick Adams succeeds Oakes as publisher of BPD and forms 526 Media Group 2015 Skip & Wane debut 2016 526 adds new publication, DECK SPECIALIST, to reach the contractor customers of BPD that specialize in outdoor living projects 2017 NELMA merges with NSLB 2019 411 monthly series begins for BPD 2019 BPD launches email newsletter, BPD eWEEKLY 2020 526 EVENTS hosts its first-ever virtual event… NELMA’s annual meeting