Murphy Unveils Oregon LVL Plant

Nearly three years after fire destroyed Murphy Plywood's mill in Sutherlin, Or., the company has opened a new 200,00-sq. ft. laminated veneer lumber plant at the same location.

"The fire that destroyed the plant did not destroy our dreams or dedication, as this new plant testifies," said president John Murphy, who hosted an open house at the new facility on March 17.

The first regular shift at the new plant was added in early January; a second shift was added last month. Murphy, who has plans for a third shift once conditions improve, said he is confident the current market slowdown will not last forever.

The original plywood mill was built in the 1940s, although additions were added over the years. Murphy said that the new plant is more efficient and has a lot of enhancements, including a new veneer dryer that does the work of three dryers from the old plant. Annual production is estimated at 4.5 million cu. ft. of LVL.

Mill Layoff Puts Biomass Expansion At Risk

Warm Springs Forest Products will lay off half of its I l5 employees April 29 and put its mill in Warm Springs, Or., in "conditional shutdown" mode. The move could hinder the company's planned $50 million expansion of its existing biomass facility, which relies on an adequate supply of wood waste from the adjacent sawmill.

"We're still very positive about biomass," said c.e.o. Mark Jackson. "But it would be very difficult to make it work without a mill. The mill and the biomass plant would be synergistic together."

He also said that the "company is in jeopardy. If it wasn't in jeopardy, you wouldn't have seen the layoffs."

Started in 1966, the mill is owned by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Jackson said that any remaining logs will be sold to other mills or ground into chips and sold to paper and pulp companies. "It would be difficult to support all those people on revenue from chips," he said. "We saw the need for a large layoff to make it through this downtum. I hope it's the only layoff this year."

Tolko Settling OSB Lawsuit

Tolko Industries Ltd.. Vernon. B.C., has reached a tentative settlement in an OSB class-action lawsuit concerning alleged antitrust violations, according to Random Lengths.

Documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastem Division of Pennsylvania showed that Tolko agreed to pay $4,325,000 and to cooperate in litigating claims against the remaining defendants. Similar agreements have already been reached with defendants J.M. Huber, GeorgiaPacific, and Ainsworth.

Although the company denied allegations of wrongdoing, it agreed to settle to avoid further litigation expenses.

On March 24, District judge Paul Diamond held settlement conferences between plaintiffs and defendants Grant, Potlatch, and Weyerhaeuser. A trial is scheduled to besin June 3 in Philadelphia, Pa.

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Miguel Gutierrez, ex-Adobe Lumber, has joined the sales staff at Thunderbolt Wood Treating, Riverbank, Ca., specializing in marine and industrial sales.

Lance Lozano has joined the sales staff at Greenwood Products. Lake Oswego, Or.

Kaylynn Poplawski, ex-Home Depot, has joined Fiber Composites LLC, New London, N.C., as the company's first builder accounts specialist, focusing on contractors in the Pacific Northwest. Terry Anderson is new as a Home Depot account mgr., and Carol Kelly is now director of national builder accounts and specialists.

Rick Hermanson, ex-Bluelinx, is now branch mgr. at PC Wholesale, Rancho Cordova, Ca.

Scott Moe is new to the Lake Oswego, Or., office of Pacific Western Lumber.

Joe Clegg retired April4 from Simpson Timber, Tacoma, Wa., after 3l years with the company and 36 with the industry.

Doug Nelson, ex-ilevel by Weyerhaeuser, has joined Capital Lumber, Denver, Co., as an account mgr.

Robert Burgess has been appointed associate v.p.-consumer marketing at Orchard Supply Hardware, San Jose, Ca. Janis Healy has been appointed associate v.p.-visual merchandising.

Dave Lockart is store mgr. of the new Lowe's Home Improvement Center in Redmond, Or.

Howard Cohen is serving as chairman of the board and interim c.e.o. of Bluelinx Holdings Inc., Atlanta, Ga., following the resignations of chairman Jeffrey Fenton and c.e.o. Stephen Macadam, who has joined EnPro Industries.

Laura Iten has joined Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co., as its new field representative in Arizona. New rep Karin Bruhn is now covering Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.

Robert Husk has been appointed national sales/technical mgr. for Met-Tile, Ontario. Ca.

Rob Mitchell has been promoted to president of BW Creative Wood Industries, Maple Ridge, B.C.

Curt A. Barker is now v.p.-salesNorth American building materials distribution for Owens Corning. Scott G. McDonald has been named v.p.-business development for residential insulation.

Albert 6'Al" P. Carey, PepsiCo, has been elected to the board of Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga.

Dorvin D. Lively was promoted to chief financial officer of Ace Hardware Corp., Oak Brook, Il.

Edward Matsuyama is the new director of the American Forest & Paper Association's office in Tokyo, Japan.

Gary Gessel has rejoined Masco Corp., as president and chief operating officer of Milgard Windows & Doors.

Alan Barry, retired president and c.e.o., Masco Corp., was recently presented City of Hope's Spirit of Life Award.

Misty Dawn Boy6, co-owner, Ace Hardware, Canyonville, Or., was honored as the town's woman of the year for her role in local events, charities and youth activities.

Carey Quick is now in charge of deliveries at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., report co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.

l{ews Briefs

(Continued from page 24) multi-family starts single-family activity fell 6.77o to an annual pace of 707,000 ... regionally, starts climbed 5.IVa in the West permits continued to slide, decreasing 7.8Vo to a 978-million rate-the lowest pace in nearly two decades

Viance's Ecolife treated wood is now listed in the GreenSpec directory of the "best of the best" environmentally preferable building products ...

Pavestone will sell its concrete landscape business to CRH/Oldcastle for $540 million, to focus on its stone veneer business ...

Weston Forest Group, Mississauga, Ont., was named one of Canada's 50 best managed companies by Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, Queen's School of Business, and the National Post ...

Universal Forest Products, Grand Rapids, Mi., was listed among Fortune's 2008 Most Admired Companies ...

Powermate Corp. has filed for Chapter ll bankruptcy

Dixieline Lumber & Home Centers, San Diego, Ca., now carries the full line of 3Blind Mice Window Coverings.

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