Prefabricated Timber Structures to be Marketed bv New Concern

San Francisco, Sept. 29-Active operations by a commercial organization to be operated under the name of Western Timber Structures will start on October lst according to an announcement made today.

The corporation is cornposed oi producers of Douglas fir lumber suitable for high-grade structural use; about thirty of the leading lumber manufacturers of the Pacific Northwest'hold all of the stock.

The main objective of this new company will be to market prefab- Typical

A, C, Horner, Manager, Vestern Timber ricated framed timber structures Structures. which, in accordan,ce with the most modern engineering developments, will be designed to take advantage of the economy and efliciency now possible with timber connectors. Initial developments will include oil derri,cks, walking beams, pipe and casing racks, bridges, radio and tank towers, roof trusses and tunnel lining. Sp.cial emphasis will be placed on using the proper design ancl proper grade of lumber. Stru,ctures will be made of either treated or untreated lumber. Standard treatments will be confined to creosote and Wolman salts, applied under pressure.

It is planned to concentrate immediate activities on the Pacific Coast although the agreement with Timber Engineering Company for the use of connectors applies to the United States. The principal office will be in San Francis,co, with branch offices in Portland and Los Angeles.

A. C. Horner, at present consulting engineer for the National Lumber Manufacturers Association, Timber Engineering Company and other similar organizations, was appointed manager of Western Timber Structures, effectivc October 1, and has opened an office at 85 Second Street, San Fran,cisco.

Mr. Horner, a graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, was manager of the Western office of the National Lumber Manufacturers Asso,ciation from 1927 to 1933 and has been closely identified with the lumber industry since that time. Previous to 1927 Mr. Horner was with the engineering department of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Building Inspe'ctor and Assistant to the City E,ngineer of Stockton, California, and, for a short time, in ,charge of structural and products promotion work for the P,ortland Cement Association in Los Angeles.

The policy of Western Timber Structures will be to market its products through lumber retailers. Arrangements are already being made to select retail outlets in important consuming territories.

It is expected that many of the structures produced bv the company will be stocked, ready for immediate shipment, at ,central points in both San Fran,cisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Special structures such as radio towers and bridges, treated or untreated, will probably be fabricated at lumber mills or treating plants and shipped direct to the job.

Officers of the new company are: president, C. H. Watzek, Crossett Western Company; vice-president, If E. Horrocks, West Coast Wood Preserving Company; treasurer, C. G. Briggs, Booth Kelly Lumber Company, and secretary, F. C. Haworth. The board of directors consists of the officers and C. H. Ingram, Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, and F. C. Reed, Simpson Logging Company.