trdtu,, r rrr,f,' #.-*,b

FFGC terminal division offers full service break-bulk forest products/building materials handling & storage at Berths T-122 & T- 125 port of Long Beach, Ca.

600 feet of berth face with 40' or 12 meter draftaccommodates vessels to 750 feet or 229 meters.

. Barge discharge notch for ocean going barges for easy pass to storage.

16 acres offully paved outside storage and three covered warehouses.

. New 80'x300' fully enclosed storage building.

. 14 Hyster 250 &Zl0XL heavy forklifrs & 2 Komatsu FD 100 T-6 forklifts.

Rail service by Pacific Harbor Lines from BN/SFPCA and UP-PlusOne Reload Program.

Container dryage and stripping services within the overweight corridor.

. Fully computerized inventory tracking of mixed products.

Bonded cargo area movements to Mexico and off'shore destinations.

Tel: 562.945.291 | Fax: 562.696.8514

Cell: 360.901 .4640. Email: beizai@aol.com ww w. fre mo n tfbre stgrou p. cclm

Daisuke "Dean" Hashimoto. President & C.E.O. R. Lynn Forsberg. C.O.O. Jim Salo. C.F.O.

Dennis Parker, Sales Linda Garcia, Office Manager Sales Ernail: dp9686@aol.conr

800 Pier T Ave. Berth T-122. Long Beach. Ca. 90U01

Tel: 562.435.4839 Fax: 562.435.4519

Email: adel24850 I @aol.conr

Alex Delgado. Harbor Services Manager

Customer Service Team: Sue Bentley

. Kent Thornoson Joe Montova

Contact FFGC for the Following Products: Best Board Particleboard. CITIFOR. COMACO

Conrad Forest Products . Dura Products

ECO Lumber. Maderas de Aysen

. Amarant - Redwood/Cedar Products

Serving building products retailers and wholesale distributors in 13 Western states-Since 1922

Serving 13 Western states

PUBIISHER Alan Oakes (ajoakes@aol.com)

PUBLISHER EMERIfUS DavidCutler

EDITOR David Koenig (dkoenig@ioc.net)

ASSOCIATEEDITOR RobertFay (rfay@ioc.net)

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dwight Curan

AD SALES MANAGER Chuck Casey (chuck@ioc.net)

CIRCULATION Heather Kelly (heather@ioc.nel)

ADMINISTRATION DIRECTORFECRETARY Marie Oakes {mfpoakes@aol.com)

How to Advertise

Coolact our advertising offices for rales: the yeor to plon for hundreds of industry events.

U.S.: Chuck Casey,4500 Campus Dr., Ste.480, Newport Beach, Ca.92660-1872; (949) 8521990: Fax949-852-0231 ; chuck@ioc.net

II,ITERNET ADS: Alan Oakes, www.buildingproducts.com; (949) 852-1990; Fax 949-8520231; aioakes@aol.com

How to Subscribe

Contacl tleather at (9{9) 852-1990

U.S.:1 year(12 issues), $15; 2years,$24; 3years,$30

FOREIGN (Per year paid in advance inUS funds): $35; Air ratesalsoavailable.

SINGLE COPIES: $3+ shipping; Backissues (whenavailable), $4.50+shipping

CN{AiiOE 0F ADDRESS Send ad&ess hbel from recent issus ifpossible, rFw addr€ss and $digit zip to addl€ss bolow.

PoSIUASTER Ssnd addrsss dlangos t0 The Merd|ant Magazine, 1500 Cflpus Dr., Ste. ,180, N€wpon Beach, Ca. 926601872. 'lhB tvlsrciant Magazine (USPS 796-5en0) isprblished flronthly d l5d Gfflpus Dr., stc. 480, iltrvpotl Bcocn, Ca. 91060'1872 by Cuder Publishing, Inc. PododicdsPosaqs paid d N€ilpdt B@dr, Ca., and addilional postofficos.lt is an indspendently-owned ruilication for he dail, wfidesale ard ctstrbdkn lw€ls of lhe lumb€r ard building Foduct8 malkets in i 3 westem sutos.Copyrigh@0@ by Cukr Pub*ahiu, Inc. Colier and entiro conleds ats tu||y protoclsd and must nQt be reproduced in any mann* wittrout wdnq peflnisniorl.Al Ridrb Rxened ll nseiles the dght h acospt or reiect any sdtofi6l or a&ertisbl0 mattor, and asamasro hbil[y loi matedab fumished b il.

Thelronteover is a paid advertisement, this monthspon$ored byKelleher Cotp.

221 W. Baywood Ave. (P.0. Box 4989), Orange, CA 92863-4989 since te6s Fl4) 998'8680 ' (800) 660'8680 ' FAX 714-921'8249

. Building code compliant

Preservative system meets American Wood Preservers' Association standards

Issued NER # 628 from the National Evaluation Services, Inc.

. Carries [Jf third party agency logo

Currendy featured in ARCAI and other architectural specifi cation services

. Backed by a Lifetime Residential and Agricultural Limited'Warranty*

Also available in naturd heartwood colors

Contact Osmose'for

We survived-Happy Holidays

I always take this time to look back through the year, both fiom a business and a personal perspective. As I get older and hopefully wiser, the more I think back to years gone past and all the changes I have witnessed in my still relatively short lifetime. I grew up in England, in tough times after World War II, but sometimes I think back on this period as the good old days, when even a cardboard box and a tangerine seemed to be great presents at holiday time.

A friend recently sent me the following, which may not be original, but I would like to share it at this holiday time:

How Did We Survive?

Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have. As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat, but on cold winter days not so much fun.

Our baby cribs and play pens were covered with bright-colored, lead-based paint. Our toys had all manner of buttons and beads that were sometimes swallowed. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, knee pads or elbow pads. And we learned how to ride those bikes without training wheels.

We sometimes hitchhiked to friends' houses, the Saturday afternoon matinee, and to school. We drank water from the garden hose and not tiom a bottle. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. And don't forget the skateboard made fiom a piece of wood to which we had nailed the front half and rear half of our metal roller skates. After running into the bushes or falling down on the sidewalk a f'ew times we learned to solve the problems. We didn't immediately get carted off to the doctor or hospital if we had a little f'ever or cold.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. We didn't have cell phones, so no one was able to reach us all day. We played

And Thank You

hardball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We climbed big trees and sometimes got hurt when we fell out of them. We swam in the local swimming hole without life vests and lifeguards.

We drank soda pop, ate cupcakes, candy, ice cream, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with lots of gravy, eggs and bacon, and biscuits and bread with butter on them, but we were never overweight. We couldn't leave the table until we ate our veggies and had to ask for permission to get up and leave.

Adults were addressed as Mr. or Mrs. and Sir or Ma'am'. The Little League and school had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. We got beat up by the class bully at least once. When you did something wrong at school you had to stay after and write 500 times that you would not do it again-you were not just sent home. Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade. We got paddled at school and/or home when we did something wrong.

That generation produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we leamed how to deal with it all. If you are one of them, congratulations.

I would like to thank my staff at The Merchant Magazine for helping our magazine continue to grow in 2002. I would also like to thank all of you who have provided and shared your company news with us, and especially those companies that have partnered with us in promoting themselves this year Qtlease see our Buyers Guide on page 48 for a list of those companies). Our magazines cannot survive without you, and I am truly thankful for the confidence you place in us. I hope that in no small way we have given back as much as we have received, and I thank you for all your friendship, and as always we pledge to do our very best to support the industry that we should all be grateful we have an opportunity to serve.

Lumber should be used to build

homes, not walls.

There's a wall between the U.S. and Canada. And its being built of 2x4s,2x6s and 2x8s. NoW the time has come to tear it down once and for all.

At issue is the disoute over Canadian and U.S. lumber trade, which has dragged on for decades without any kind of meaningful solution. In fact, the recent 27o/o duties on Canadian softwood lumber; meant to slow imports and benef it U.S. lumber manufacturers, have failed to do either. Mill workers and communities on both sides of the border face uncertainty. lt's obvious the duties don't work.

Clearly, this situation cannot go on. At Weyerhaeuser, we're proposing a two-part solution to help resolve this complex issue.

First, take immediate action. Put the current legal case on hold and replace the current U.S. duties with a Canadian border tax on softwood lumber exports. This would bring a degree of stability to the market and allow both countries time to develop a thoughtful, long-term solution. The second step requires negotiated changes in Canadian provincial forest policies to make them operate similar! to the U.S. model for timber sales. There's only one way for this plan to work. Both sides must be willing to give a little. And at Weyerhaeuser, we're willing to do our part.

Weyerhaeuser operates on both sides of the border. Because our families live and work in communities throughout North America, this is an issue we care about deeply. We don't have all the answers - but we do offer a olace to start. To learn more, or to make your voice heard, we encourage you to visit, wrnrw.softwood I u m berissue.com