84 Consolidation Continues

84 Lumber continued its cut-backs, closing nine locations nationwide and terminating 25-some employees at its headquarters in Eighty Four, Pa.

The closures came in markets served by multiple locations.

"These consolidations give us a stronger and more efficient presence in markets that have exhibited strong growth in the past, and that we believe will post high growth again when the housing market turns around," said Frank Cicero, executive v.p. of store operations.

The Colorado Springs and Loveland, Co., yards were closed and operations merged into the Henderson, Co., location. The store and truss plant in Sacramento, Ca., were consolidated into Auburn, Ca.

Other consolidations include the Tampa unit into Plant City, Fl.; Sarasota into Bradenton, Fl .; Covington into McDonough, Ga.; Frederick into Mount Airy, Md.; Seabrook into Upper Marlboro, Md., and Omaha into Lincoln. Ne.

In addition to those terminated in

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Durastrand RimboardResists all forces mid-March, another 20 office personnel have transferred to other positions, while l5 unfilled positions were eliminated, according to spokesman Jeff Nobers. Over the last 12 months, the chain has released about 80 headquarters employees.

Early this year, 84 mothballed l0 other stores and two components plants. The chain has also formed an Atlanta Construction Service Hub. combining a door shop, engineered wood center, installed insulation, and whole-house installed sales program.

APA Warns Of Chinese LVL

Non-certified Chinese laminated veneer lumber used as scaffolding planks failed safety evaluations conducted by APA-The Engineered Wood Association.

"This does raise concern for life safety issues," said Dr. Borjen Yeh, director of APA's technical services. He said that even though the sample size was limited, the performance of the tested planks was substantially below the value proclaimed by the manufacturer. As a result, he advised end users to be cautious of all non-certified product.

APA evaluated LVL scaffold planks imported into the U.S. from China to compare their adhesive and mechanical properties to similar products manufactured in the U.S. and Canada. Although the imported planks were labeled 2.28, the 30 test specimens averaged 1.8 million psi-about 2OVo below the proclaimed value.

In two adhesive durability tests, the imported LVL planks did not meet U.S. Voluntary Product Standard PS I for glue-bond durability. The delami nation results indicated that the panels were probably manufactured with waterproof adhesives but the glue bond quality was inconsistent.

In addition to their poor strength and durability performance, the tested samples did not bear the mark of an independent certification agency. According to the OSHA scaffold plank regulations and the American National Standards Institute A10.8 Standard for scaffolding safety, "All laminated scaffold shall bear the seal of an independent nationally recognized agency certifying compliance with the design criteria referenced in the standard."

The full product advisory,Imported Chinese LVL Scaffold Plank (Form No. SP-1139), is available online at www.apawood.org.

Lowe's Slows Expansion Pace

The nation's fastest-growing home improvement chain, Lowe's Cos., Mooresville, N.C., will delay opening 20 new stores in several economically hard-hit states-including California and Florida-due to a soft housing market and tight credit.

President Larry Stone said the company must take steps to improve profit, rather than wait for the "housing gods to help us."

"We're not going to sacrifice long-term success to drive short-term results," he continued. "For example, we're not going to cut staffing in our stores to the point that it impacts service. But we are managing payroll to the current sales environment."

Analysts predict that home improvement companies face tough conditions this year. "We just simply can't be more optimistic about the overall industry until we see clear signs that the credit crunch is over and the recession is shallow and short-lived," said Stephanie Hoff, a senior retail analyst at Edward Jones.

She said that tightening credit is hurting home improvement retailers in particular. "Most people would either refinance their homes or tap into a home equity loan to be able to finance a $3090 kitchen remodel. Now it's harder and more expensive," she said.

Distributor Brands Green Flooring

EarthSource Forest Products, Oakland, Ca., has introduced the latest new product under its EarthSource privatelabel brand: exotic hardwood floorins that is either FSCcertified or salvased.

"These are beautiful exotic woods that have been sustainably harvested from tropical locales around the globe," said president Jeff Hunt. "And they are priced competitively with North American solid-strip products."

The new flooring is available in Guatemalan machiche and plantation teak, Australian cypress, Hawaiian lace- wood and Robusta eucalyptus, African afzelia, and plantation-grown Honduras mahogany.

Custom widths, plus standard sizes of 2-114",3", and 3114", are available in 314" thickness. Matching trim and accessories are also available.

Other EarthSource-branded products include ip6 and machiche deckine and outdoor fumiture.