osB's hi-tech road to ptance

ments that have contributed or promise to contribute to the continued grorvth and success of OSB.

Strand orientation: Cross-orienting layers of strands rather than forming panels from randomly oriented flakes or strands improves panel properties and requires less rvood fiber to meet end-use performance requirements. Orienting strands also reduces panel weight compared to panels randomly oriented.

Conveyor drying: "Gentler" drying produces better products from the standpoints of both physical abuse and lower temperature. Lorver dryer temperatures minimize VOC emissions. reducing the need for costly dryer stack treatments.

Resin technology: Improved control of viscosity and reactivity of liquid phenolic resins increases performance and productivity. Research is leading to safer and more economical use of isocyanate resins. and more efficient use of phenol formaldehyde resins. Faster cure rates and moisturetolerant bonding improves throughput and increases production.

Improved resin efficiency: Electric atomizers provide better dispersion of liquid resin compared to pneumatic and hydraulic devices formerly used. The result is equivalent structural performance at lower resin application rates.

Strand production: Provided logs can be adequately tharved. tree length flakers reduce the machinery needs and processing steps required rvhen processing short blocks.

Longer strands: Longer strands improve the structural performance of the panel and reduce the generation of fines. lYider forming lines: Originally 4 ft. rvide. forming lines have been progressively extended to 8, 9 and norv l2 ft. rvide. reducing trim loss and permitting the economical manufacture of panels in dimensions sought by broadening foreign and domestic markets.

Sawlines: Although still uncommon, computer-controlled book sarvs (capable of cuning an 8" stack of panels simultaneously) have some advantages over conventional skinner and cross-cut iurangement of sarvlines.

Press controls: Improved control of panel thickness and density profile can be obtained through bener control of hydraulic florv rate, press closure rate. and platen positioning.

Species utilization: Greater tolerance for mixed species. including hardrvoods. helps extend the rvood fiber supply. improve mill profitability. and lower the cost of the finished product to the consumer.

Decal' and fire resistance: The addition of borates and other compounds to strands or resins is being explored as a means to improve decay resistance. reduce flame spread. and improve dimensional stability.

Edge sealing: Improved edge sealers reduce thickness srvell.

Process control: Better use of computerized feedback and controls has helped improve manufacturing efficiency.

Process control is also an underlying principle of APA's Quality Management System, developed in the late 1990s and used in most APA member OSB mills. The program is based on the recognition that every aspect ofthe manufacturing process is vital in determining the quality of finished products. It encourages manufacturers to move quality control upstream rvithin the production process. and to build corrective capabilities into the system.

The process improvements of the past 25 years have catapulted OSB beyond the expectations of most early observers and even supporters. By the end of 198 1. just a ferv months after recognition of APA's performance standard. l2 North American OSB and rvaferboard mills produced 812 million sq. ft. of product. Trventy years later. some 60 mills produce more than 20 billion sq. ft.-compelling testimony to the importance and rervards of technological innovation and continuous process improvement.

BUILDING PRODUCTS

Wi$ LP@ WeatherBest@ you get a signature look and a product that is built to last. While it is engineered to look like real wood, LP WeatherBest is also engineered to be resistant to rotting, splitting and warping. Plus, it doesn't require any sanding, sealing or staining. All of this means that your customers will enjoy your work for years to come by spending more time living on their decks rather than working on them.

Available in six natureinspired colors and multiple textures, LP WeatherBest gives your customers the style they want at a price they can afford. And, LP WeatherBest helps guarantee its decking products with a fully transferable, i0-year limited warranty. To discover the beneits of LP WeatherBest, visit us online at www.weatherbest.com or call l-888-820-0325 to learn more.

Formula for success: Space x2 = Revenue x2

By Carla Waldemar

((ln you build it. they will come."

lBefore the move, Wheelwright Lumber Co., Ogden, Ut., had been operating from a two-acre location set up in 1908. Eighteen months ago, a brand-new, built-from-scratch store dominating nearly seven acres boasts the best sales in the company's 98year history.

Revenues have almost doubled since the move, along with the customer count of pros, who represent 95Vo of Wheelwright's clients. But the surprise has been that the new store, by happy accident (location, location, location), has developed a thriving retail market, too.

Four years ago, Paul Wheelwright, the fourth-generation owner, determined it was now or never: Bite the bullet and expand, or take a hit and end up in the obituaries. He'd seen the company flirt with bankruptcy back in the early '90s when the faltering economy threatened Wheelwright's very existence.

"We were lucky to survive," says Paul, who had put a college degree on hold back then in order to fill a staffing gap when the dispatcher quit. "I came on full-time. As a kid. I'd loved seeing the trucks, the forklifts. the lumber. Even though my dad tried to point me somewhere else, from the outset I was hooked."

Together father and son pushed revenues from a lorv of around $l million up to $15 million before the move in August 2004. But Paul sarv further room for growth. The driving force promoting the brave project as his father neared retirement, Paul. made new president and owner, took the gamble and drew up plans.

"Business had grown quite a bit; we needed to expand," said his instincts. rvhich proved true. Three months into the new site. revenues reached $22 million and climbed another $5 million last year.

"l ago back in college, when I bought lumber based on price only. As the dispatcher back then, when they couldn't use it, I got all the phone calls. I learned fast: buy the good stuff.'

A couple of inside salespeople rvere added, along with a couple of SKUs-more power tools. more hardware. a line of L&G. a nicer door display-but the biggest plus was just plain space.

"lt's more presentable." Paul says, "all nerv. Nerv builder customers tell me, 'At your other store, I didn't think you could handle our volume.' Norv. we're taking care of our pros better: separate entrance. separate counter. We've hired a fulltime estimator to do take-offs and bidding, which frees our four outside salesmen to get out on the jobs more often. They'll measure up and create the whole order for their contractors, schedule it rvith our door shop, and take care of special orders. too. We've got a large fleet of trucks and forklifts so we can get orders out more quickly. Even in summer. rvhen we're running hard. there's not more than a four- or five-hour wait."

Just as important, he says, "We know pretty much all our customers as they come in. To build good relationships, we socialize at dinners and golf outings and take them skiing. I built my new office right next to the yard office on purpose so they can talk to me about anything-business, sports.... It's pretty informal; I count them as my friends."

Even after the growing pains are history, Paul won't lie to you. An ordeal, he calls it, "a pretty hectic couple of months. Getting approval from the city was a lot more stressful than I'd thought it could be. But I knew what I wanted, laid out the buildings and pounded in the stakes. We more than doubled our sales floor space to 12,000 sq. ft. We doubled the size of our door shop to 10,000 sq. ft.-and," he adds in mock despair, "I should have made it bigger. It's l5%o of our business."

"I also added a rail spur, which is a huge plus. Before, we had to run down to the city center. Its biggest savings are in labor, but we also save on freight charges and get a discount for buying by the carload," he explains.

Paul, as is human nature, expected his 58-strong staff to be overjoyed by the new quarters, but, also in accord with human nature, "there was an adjustment period, on which I hadn't figured. One bookkeeper cried every day for a week. But now she wouldn't even dream of going back to the way we were. Now," he swears, "everybody's happy.

"We've always been a pro shoP, with business coming to us unsolicited, by referrals, but the tripling of retail business fueled by the new store came as a pleasant surprise. TheY found us," he says.

Both sectors seem to Prefer Wheelwright's informed service to that of the looming boxes. "They have more to spend on advertising than I do, but otherwise we are very competitive. Orgill helped us figure out a pricing structure that's very competitive. But our real niche is quality: only studs stamped 'premium', for instance. I buy all our 2xl0s and 2xl2s of select structural stock. I don't send out material that'll give the customer an opportunity to complain.

"I learned that years ago back in college," he confesses, "when I bought lumber based on price only. As the dispatcher back then, wheY they couldn't use it, I got all the phone calls. I learned fast: buy the good stuff."

Do that, and the future takes care of itself. "Ogden City itself is pretty well built out, but West Ogden has a lot of area in which to grow. The economy's good here, and unemPloYment almost the lowest in the country."

But it's people that have welded Paul to his post. "I love interacting with customers and employees. MY accountant has to remind me that it's work, but it doesn't feel like thatl"

- A former award-winning LBM trade magazine editor, Carla Waldemar writes frequently on the lumber and building material industry. Contact her at cwaldemar@mn.rr.com.

l:rrtrtm

Toledo True Value Hardware, Toledo, Wa.., has been put up for sale after 22 years by owners Michael and Linda Kann, who will shutter the store if unable to find a buyer...

Parr Lumber, Hillsboro, Or., paid $1.2 million for 6.5 acres of the Ridgefield Commerce Center, Ridgefield, 'Wa., on which it intends to build a 25,600-sq. ft. retail and distribution building

Great Falls Ace Hardware, Great Falls, Mt., has purchased a 45,000-sq. ft. building to add a second store in town, projecting a mid-May opening

Westlake Hardware Inc.Ace Hardware's biggest dealer with 80 stores in 8 states including New Mexico-sold a controlling interest to private equity ftrm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison lnwe's Cos. opened new stores Feb. 3 in E. Tucson, Az.; NW Las Vegas, Nv., and Fountain, Co.; Jan.27 in Longview, Wa., and Jan. 26 in Lake Elsinore. Ca.

Lowe's expects to open in 2nd quarter 2006 in Santa Fe, N.M.; proposed building a store on the undeveloped portion of the old Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Bend, Or.; will build a 148,000-sq. ft. replacement store in Salt Lake City, Ut., by year's end; has started construction of a I16,000-sq. ft. store with 25,000-sq. ft. garden

Send us your news!

Have a notice of your recent expansion, promotions or other company changes published in the next issue of The Merchant Magazine. Just Fax your news to 949-852.0231 or email to kdebats @ building-products.com.

(a lree seNice) center in Torrance, Ca., and will open its first San Bernardino, Ca., store in late2007 ...

Home Depot unveiled a new prototype store with four-lane drive-thru lumberyard Jan. l8 in Thatcher, Az. (Scott Varney, operations mgr.) other store openings include Jan. 26 in Tooele, Ut. (John Hyland, mgr.); Tulare, Ca. (Brenda Boggs, mgr.), and Salem, Or. (Clint Berry, mgr.); Jan. 12 in Liberty Lake, Wa.; Dec. 8 in SE Anchorage, Ak.; Dec. 15 in Signal Hill (Long Beach), Ca. (Nick Crooks, mgr.), and a relocation the same day in Tucson, Az.

Home Depot is eyeing a site in Dixon, Ca.; plans a new store on l5 acres in Pleastanton. Ca.: is still awaiting approval for a proposed store in Capitola, Ca., and postponed opening of a store in Bonney Lake, Wa., from midJanuary to Feb. 23 due to weather delays ...

Home Depot signed 3O-year leases to take over former Kmnrt sites in Chula Vista and El Cajon, Ca.; is ahead of schedule building a 102,000-sq. ft. store with 44,000-sq. ft. garden center in Victorville, Ca., allowing for an Apnl27 opening, and will anchor a large waterfront development planned by the Coquille Indian tribe on land in North Bend, Or., purchased from Weyerhaeuser two years ago

Kellstrom Bros., Klamath Falls. Or., has closed its paint store after more than 30 years due to big box competition

Wror:snns/ilmutrcurrrs

Chase Lumber, Aurora, Co., has been acquired by Kachi Partners through a recapitalization in conjunction with management

International Forest Products Ltd. has pennanently shuttered its

Marysville, Wa., sawmill-one of three facilities acquired l8 months ago from Crown Pacific IJd. ...

Manke Lumber Co., Tacoma, Wa., had is wood pellet manufacturing plant damaged in a Jan. 8 sawdust fire; the sawmill was unaffected...

Boise Cascade planned to revive the 7O-worker second shift at its La Grande, Or., sawmill by the end of January, following a three-month layoff due to high natural-gas prices ...

Boise Cascade's wood fiber procurement operations have been recertified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative standard ... Boise appointel Crown Tfunber plc as its wholesale distributor of engineered wood products in the U.K. and Ireland ...

Freres lmber, Salem, Or., had a fire in a veneer dryer Dec. 15, that was quickly extinquished by firefighters

Progressive Solutions Inc., Vancouver, 8.C., will offer Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Microsoft Great Plains) to complement and integrate accounting & financial capabilities with its Lumber Track business software, in addition to offering it with its bisTrack business software

Anniversaries: Economy Lumber Co., Campbell, Ca., 70th ... Forest History Society,60th ... Paul's Ace Hardware, Scottsdale, Az., 50th ... Kuzman Forest Products, Hillsboro, Or., 50th Reliable Wholesale Lumben Inc., Temple City, Ca., 35th ... Western Woods, /nc., Chico, Ca., 35th Habitat for Humanity International,30th

Housing starts in Dec. (latest figures) fell 8.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.933 mil-

(Please turn to page 54)