Doors, Windows Up Globally

Worldrvide demand for windows and doors is forecast to rise 4.7% annually through 2009 to $125 billion, according to a new Freedonia Group study. Advances will be driven by acceleration in economic grorvth. ongoing develoment efforts, and rising personal income levels.

Growth in the industrializing nations of Afria/Mideast. Asia. Eastern Europe and Latin America will outperform demand in the U.S.. Western Europe and Japan, although intensity of product use will remain comparatively low in most developing countries. China, India and Russiaalong with the smaller markets of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia-are expected to register some of the strongest increases in window and door demand.

Demand for doors, which accounted for just over half of the global market totaf in2004, is projected to rise at roughly the same pace as rvindorvs through 2009. Vinyl, fiberglass and other plastic doors will be the fastest growth category.

Sales of plastic and metal rvindorvs will also climb at above-averase rates.

Plastic rvindorv suppliers rvill benefit from the comparatively lorv cost of products such as vinyl rvindows, as rvell as the durability and energy efficiency that plastic units offer.

Metal rvindorv and door demand will be stimulated by _erorvth in nonresidential construction expenditures. and supported by stron_s market conditions in China and India and an upturn in demand in Japan-areas in rvhich metal products account for the majority of sales.

Demand for rvood rvindotvs and doors rvill advance at a somervhat slorver pace. although increased use of plyrvood and other engineered rvoods will help make rvood products more affordable.

The residential building market accounts for trvo-thirds of global rvindorv and door demand. but nonresidential rvill -srorv even faster. spurred by rising commercial construction. Residential sales rvill be driven by rising per capita income. greater urbanization. and further growth in the number of households. Nerv construction applications. rvhich represented rvell over half of all fenestration products in 2004. will climb at about the same pace as repair and remodeling.

World Window & Door Demand

(Billion dollars)

Transload Opens In Fontana

Tristar Transload, Vancouver, Wa., is adding an operation in Fontana, Ca., to better serve the Southland.

"Southern Califomia represents our biggest receiving point," said Peter Howe, president of Tristar. "Our new location is perfectly positioned to serve our customer base."

"We are very pleased to be able to offer an end-to-end solution for transporting lumber and building materials from the manufacturing points in the Pacific Nortwest to Southern California," said Burke Rice, president of the Fontana location. "We feel fortunate to be in such an ideal location."

Built on 38 acres, the center is near BNSF lines and three major highways. Dedicated switching services route up to nine inbound railcars to the appropriate track, reducing transit time. Another plus, said Rice, is that the location has two of its own locomotives. "We have more flexibility onsite because we can move the rail cars ourselves," he said. Pickup and delivery by truck is also available.

All of the site is fenced and well lighted; l8 acres is dedicated to transload and short-term storage of dimensional products. Additional warehouse capacity is available at nearby BNSF transloading facilities.

Big Blaze Strikes Sunroc

A Thanksgiving day fire at Sunroc Corp.'s Lindon, Ut., plant caused close to $l million in damages, but most operations were back to normal the following Monday.

Nearly 10.0m sq. ft. of its 50,000sq. ft. truss plant/warehouse was destroyed by the fire, as was fiberglass insulation and garage doors in storage. A forklift and I I pickup trucks were also destroyed. "We've placed orders to replace the pickups from local dealerships in Utah. as rvell as the forklift." said Brent Smith, v.p.-business development rvith parent company Clyde Companies, Orem. Ut.

"We rvere able to replace the burnt inventory rvith supplies from our insulation and garage door vendors in Utah." said Smith. "We also have arrangements for temporary warehouse space in Orem for at least 30 days, until the damaged part of our building is rebuilt."

The cause of the fire may remain unknown. since fire crews bulldozed burning materials out of the building in order to properly extinquish the blaze. "But had they not done that, we rvould have had four times more damage to the building," said Smith. "They saved the south end of the building rvhere our computers, phone systems, administration and accounting offices rvere located."

Green Hq. For Lumbermens

Lumbermens has relocated its corporate headquarters from Olympia, Wa., to a 16.800-sq. ft. "green building" in Lacey, Wa. The Lanoga division has 6O lumberyards in the West.

"Our goal was to build a building nestled in the rvoods that has expansion ability and is environmentally sensitive." said president M. David Dittmer. More than 50Vc of the rvood used in the nerv building was Forest Stervardship Council-certifi ed.

In fact. because of both construction materials and design features, the entire building is certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Glass-filled rvalls and halhvays drarv in as much natural light as possible. The lobby floor is 1SO-year-old center heart pine salvaged from a mill in Alabama. Carpets. rvood finishes and paints are virtually free of the glues and solvents that can impair indoor air quality and affect employee health.

Building green is "simply just the right thing to do." said merchandise manager Gary Hardin.