Opens Western Yard

Bison Building Materials.

Houston. Tx.. has opened a new pro yard in Las Vegas. Nv., promising overnight delivery of a broad range of building materials to homebuilders throughout Southern Nevada.

Bison Building Materials-West features an 89,fi)0-sq. ft. indoor facility, environmentally controlled to protect the largely wood-based inventory from the sun, and another I 15.0fi) sq. ft. of outdoor storage in covered sheds.

The management team includes John Davis. regional v.p.-business development: Paul Tihista. v.p.-sales; Todd Bybee, corporate commodities buyer; Swede Nelson. sales account manager; Bill Bailey, general manager, and Trina Willardson, v.p.-operations.

Bison promises ovemight delivery in the greater Las Vegas market on all orders submitted by 5 p.m. Shipping crews rvill work through the night to load trucks for delivery to jobsites the next morning.

"Second day delivery service is pretty standard in our business. We intend to beat that by a full day," said Davis. "Giving our customers a 24hour head start on deliveries will mean finishing homes a little faster. getting them on the market a little earlier, and selling them a little soonersavings that can really add up for builders."

The facility also operates the area's first SawTek automated cutting equipment to provide faster, safer processing of engineered rvood products rvith virtually no waste. The system can process nearly 30.000 lineal ft. in an eight-hour shift.

Inventories feature a full line of dimension lumber. plyrvood, OSB. engineered rvood products. builders hardware. adhesives and specialty items. All products are available on a next-day delivery basis except custom roof truss systems. rvhich are typically engineered and manufactured to order. A full in-house engineering department rvill help value-engineer builders' projects.

A grand opening and open house were held at the facility March 31.

With projected 20O6 sales of over $400 million. Bison's l9locations are primarily in Texas, but also include an engineered wood products facility in Casa Grande. Az.. and MillTech shops in Albuquerque, N.M., and Denver. Co.

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Lowe's Adding Rocky Mountain DC

Lowe's Cos. is adding a 200.000-sq. ft. flatbed distribution center in Henderson. Co.

The compan y rv ill retrofi t a I 9- acre former Transportation Management Services facility to begin shipping operations in July 2006. lt rvill initially employ 35 people.

The flatbed center. Lorve's fourteenth. rvill receive rail and truck shipments of lumber and building materials from suppliers. Products rvill then be quickly loaded as customized orders on flatbed trucks to supply more than 45 Lorve's stores in Colorado. Wyoming. Utah. Idaho. Montana. New Mexico. and South Dakota.

Longview Reconsiders Takeover

Longview Fibre Co.. Longvierv. Wa.. is "re-examining" an unsolicited takeover bid from Portland. Or.-based investment groups Obsidian Finance Group and Campbell Group. weeks after rejecting the $1.3-billion offer and vowing to proceed rvith its conversion to a real estate investment trust (REIT)

According to Longview. its board had broken off talks rvith Obsidian and Campbell after the company rvas unable to "obtain information regarding the viability of the transaction structure and the source of Obsidian's equity capital." The board called in financial and legal advisors to help analyze the proposal after receiving additional information from Obsidian and Campbell "regarding the potential financing and structure for their previously announced unsolicited acquisition proposal."

After first announcing plans to reject the deal. Longvierv postponed issuance of l0 million shares of the common stock and $150 million of senior unsecured notes maturing in 20 16. and terminated a related tender offer and consent solicitation for its outstanding l07c senior subordinated notes due 2fi)9. all planned as part of a refinancing associated with its conversion to a REIT.

StudyPuffs Up Air Barriers

Air barriers can result in energy savings of 3O% to 4OVc in heating climates and l07c to 15% for cooling climates. according to a new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The report shows a simulation study of the energy impact of improving envelope air tightness in U.S. commercial buildings. Despite common assumPtions. measurements usually shorv building envelope leakage. rvhich can result in significant heating and cooling loads.

To evaluate the potential energy savings of an effective air barrier requirement. annual energy simulations rvere prepared for three nonresidential buildings (a two-story office building. a one-story retail building. and a four-story apartment building) in five U.S. cities. A coupled multizone airflorv and building energy simulation tool rvas used to predict the energy use for the buildings at a target tightness level relative to a baseline level based on measurements in existing buildings. Based on assumed blended national average heating and cooling energy prices. predicted potential annual heating and cooling energy cost savings ranged from3% to367c. rvith the smallest savings occurring in Phoenix. Az.. and Miami. Fl.

"This study shows tremendous support for using an air barrier to construct an airtight building envelope." said Lisa Petsko. product manager for Sto Cuard. Atlanta. Ga.

Welco Gets Golding Sullivan

Welco Lumber of Canada has acquired 28-year-old office wholesaler Golding Sullivan Lumber Sales, Costa Mesa, Ca.

Bob Golding will retain his homebased office in Costa Mesa and Bill

Sullivan his in Sequim, Wa., continuing to specialize in the same western species but as employees of Welco.

"We've been doing business with Welco for 20 vears." Goldine said.

Almquist Moves To Arcata

After 24 years in Blue Lake, Ca., Almquist Lumber has outgrown its facility and will move to a new $2 million building on an ll-acre site in Arcata, Ca.

An open house is planned for Memorial Day weekend.

"Originally, I wanted to be in the Arcata Industrial Park, but the politics at the time were anti-wood producs," said owner Eric Almquist.

Now the center is considered a hub for contractors. Almquist Lumber supplies fine hardwoods to contractors, cabinet makers, and furniture makers-as well as instrument makers and hobbyists.

With solar panels and a radiant heating system fueled by a woodwaste furnace, the new building is considered green.

Another plus is that everyone at the company is an experienced woodworker. The owner was a contractor who had a love of hardwoods that evolved into a full-time business. General manager Chris Amaral, who has worked there for l0 years, was a custom furniture maker and customer for 13 years before that.