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Cook County Home Center, Grand Marais, Mn., has acquired the assets of local competitor Sawtooth Lumber.

Sawtooth Lumber will become the Westside branch of Cook County Home Center, which is located just east of Grand Marais. The new Westside location will serve as the receiving location for all building supplies. The Eastside location will remain the Ace Hardware Store and self-service lumberyard with most of its current building supply inventory.

“We were outgrowing our Eastside location,” said Cook County president Nate Sheils. “This acquisition gives us more space, consolidates the buying power of the two lumberyards, and allows us to manage a larger inventory. That is a real benefit for our contractor customers and vendors.”

Customer deliveries from the lumberyard will originate at the Westside location, allowing for maximum consolidation of jobsite deliveries, improving delivery efficiency and timeliness.

Tom Junker, Sawtooth’s former owner, will continue to operate his family’s other lumberyards, Voyageur Lumber in Ely, Junker’s Lumber in Littlefork, and Porky’s Building Supply in Eveleth.

Cook County Home Center is owned by Sheils and Jeff Buetow, who acquired the business—formerly Superior Lumber—in 2015.

“This acquisition allows us to continue the growth of our business,” Buetow said. “And we plan to continue providing our hardware store and lumberyard customers with all the best products and service.”

ABC Supply Co. has purchased the assets of Thermal Tech, Inc., a siding distributor in Kalispell, Mt.

The Kalispell facility will be managed by Craig Metzler and operate as an ABC Supply branch focused on distributing roofing, siding, windows, gutter and rainwear products, decking and railing, as well as other related exterior building products and accessories.

“Contractors in this area of the country are experiencing increased demand, and we know that Craig and his team will do an excellent job supporting contractors as they continue to grow their businesses,” said Matt Cooper, ABC Supply’s West Region vice president. “Craig is a seasoned associate who knows the opportunities and challenges that contractors face and how ABC Supply can help.”

In 1975, Roy Nordwall started Thermal Tech, Inc. in Columbia Falls, Mt. Roy retired in 1993, passing the company to his son, Jay Nordwall. In 1996, the company moved to its current site in Kalispell.

Ontario, Canada-based forestry equipment manufacturer Woodland Mills has added a distribution center in Houston, Tx.

The warehouse joins existing warehouses in Portland, Or.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Canada to give the company 100,000 sq. ft. of operating space in North America.

The new Houston location will allow Woodland Mills to utilize Port Houston, giving the company a third port of entry in the U.S. This diversity will help enhance shipping efficiency and mitigate the impacts of elevated port congestion. Regional consumers will no longer have to wait for their orders to ship from the Oregon or New York locations.

“You hear about the price of gas, the price of diesel, and all the surcharges,” said co-founder Neil Bramley. “That was our big driver—not wanting to charge the customer more freight to do the same thing.”

The southern Cypress Manufacturers Association recently unveiled a new logo—debuting a revitalized and easily identifiable brand mark for cypress products. Coinciding with the fresh look, the SCMA also will launch a completely renovated website at CypressInfo.org, which will serve as a hub of inspiration and information for consumers and design professionals who are looking to learn more about cypress. And that’s why it also will serve as a valuable tool for lumber dealers who are looking to sell more of this beautiful, durable, and versatile species to end users.

“Times have changed,” says Cassie Lewis of Turn Bull Lumber Co., Elizabethtown, N.C., and current SCMA president. “And it was time to give the SCMA a modern look with a new logo that can easily be resized and used in a variety ways, including on social media, as well as in digital and print communications. The new logo features a familiar design element in a towering cypress tree, as well as some not-so-obvious ‘cypress knees’ at the foot of some letters, which is a nod to a bald cypress tree’s buttress or flared trunk base.

“And speaking of time, it’s been a decade or more since the SCMA last updated its website. A lot has changed since then, especially with the technology and devices we use to browse the internet. It was important to us to have a website that has a clean, eye-catching design that adapts to different screen sizes, and that is a resource that consumers and professionals find valuable and want to spend time on.”

A Center of Inspiration

The revamped CypressInfo.org will feature an improved user experience with fluid navigation to assist information seekers in finding information quickly.

A new Inspiration Center will target homeowners with trendy content on a variety of home design, furniture, and décor topics; vibrant photography of indoor and outdoor applications; case studies featuring project architect and designer interviews; and DIY projects with video tutorials and articles for weekend doers and hobbyists.

Build Like a Pro

The redesigned website also provides a Specification and Technical Data tab with a wealth of information for architects, designers, and builders. The section provides details on grade rules, drying guidelines, engineering design values, span tables, and working properties that design and building pros utilize every day.

There’s also an Installation and Finishing tab featuring siding and decking installation guidelines with handy tips and tricks. There, visitors also will find finishing information with best practices for sealing, staining, and painting cypress.

Members Only

A new and improved Members Only section will provide active SCMA members with a number of association resources to use in their businesses, marketing collateral, a monthly member newsletter, and upcoming meeting details and past meeting archives.

To learn more about cypress building products and browse the valuable resources and materials available to lumber dealers, visit CypressInfo.org. And be sure to follow the SCMA on Instagram at @cypress_info.

THIS YEAR marks my 50-year anniversary in the forest products industry, as well as my 40th year working in the redwood forests on the Central Coast of California. These pending milestones have caused me to reflect on my industry and my observations during this time.

One thing that stands out is how disconnected most of our population has become regarding the countless products we use. This includes how they are produced, where they come from, and what are the implications to the environment—and the planet, for that matter. This disconnectedness is not a harsh criticism. It is more a recognition of countless recent changes in society. Two hundred years ago approximately 85% of the population of the United States was procuring at least some of their own products necessary for survival. They grew gardens, had farm animals, had their own wells or water systems and cut trees for fuel and lumber.

Today, agricultural technology has advanced to the point where a small percentage of the population can produce these essential commodities for a vastly larger population. This has freed people and industries to expand in other areas. Jobs became available in large population centers, which went hand in hand with the technological/industrial revolution. Disconnectedness was a predictable outcome given this transformation.

In my career I’ve had numerous conversations with people who are passionate about the issue of cutting trees. Some of these conversations have been congenial. Some not so much. The level of passion has been particularly elevated here on the Central Coast where the primary merchantable timber is coastal redwood. What are the most honest and factual things I can say in such discussions?

First, I try to explain our involvement as consumers. In 2007 the California Forest Products Commission calculated that the annual per capita consumption of forest products was 720 bd. ft. That is, a tree 24” in diameter at the base and 100 ft. tall. California has about 40 million residents. Imagine a stack of 40 million trees that size. That is what Californians consume in a year. They will consume the same amount next year and each year after that. As recently as 1980, California was self-sufficient in forest products. Today, 80% of the forest products Californians use comes from other states and countries. The disparity is not because California has run out of trees.

There are multiple factors. The cost of business is high in California. This includes complying with the California Forest Practice Rules, which are more stringent than other areas. California’s forest products infrastructure has declined. This contributes to products being imported. This should concern people who don’t want trees cut in their area. There are significant environmental consequences associated with transporting products from distant lands. Not only does that transport produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, as Californians we usually have little or no say in how that logging is conducted.

Lastly, I try to explain that wood is one of the truly renewable and sustainable products we consume. Here on the Central Coast our local forests are annually producing forest mass four times faster than it is harvested. Recent wildfires have altered the equation, but the system will restore itself very quickly.

After my first two years falling timber on the Central Coast (1983-84), I meticulously kept track of every tree I cut. After two years, I calculated my average tree size was 720 bd. ft. Today, harvesting trees in the same area (and on many of the same acres) the average per-tree volume coming into our sawmill is over 1,300 bd. ft. From my perspective, this is a testament to our selective harvesting practices and proof that both wood and forests are truly sustainable.

Bob Berlage is communications director for Big Creek Lumber, Davenport, Ca. (www. bigcreeklumber.com).

EGGER Wood Products has begun production on a third lamination line at its thermally fused laminate (TFL) facility in Lexington, N.C.

The $21-million investment will expand the company’s TFL production capacity by 50%, increasing production to more than 155 million sq. ft. per year, and alleviate supply chain and logistical challenges for customers.

EGGER has also announced an additional $22 million investment to install a decorative paper impregnation line. This new line will supply locally-produced, resin-infused decorative papers to the lamination lines, allowing the company to have greater production flexibility to better meet the needs of its customers. Construction is expected to be completed this summer.

“Currently, we import impregnated papers from our manufacturing facility in St. Johann in Tyrol, Austria,” said Markus Frevert, plant manager for production. “Ideally, the impregnated papers should be laminated within six months for optimal quality. Local impregnation will eliminate up to three months of shipping time, resulting in a longer lifespan for the papers, which will significantly reduce waste and costs, improve our service for special orders and shorten lead times.”

Novo Building Products is introducing Custom Mouldings On Demand, a new program offering custom and short-run moulding orders supplied through its Empire Moulding & Millwork and Southwest Moulding & Millwork divisions.

The new program is in response to increased demand from residential builders and contractors for smaller runs of top-quality wood mouldings. The new program allows customers to choose from 500 different existing profiles or to submit virtually any custom profile design. Mouldings are available in a variety of wood species and a wide range of sizes.

“Our Custom Mouldings on Demand program allows us to make virtually any moulding our customers need,” said Nathan McCarly, director of sales – SE pro dealer division at Empire Moulding & Millwork. “This is one more way that we can be the ‘Easy Button’ for our dealers and by extension the builder, remodeler and homeowner customers that they serve.”

Other key features:

• Minimum run of only 3,000 lineal ft.
• Choose from over 500 available
• Ability to match sample mouldings or CAD drawings

Sunbelt Forest Products, Bartow, Fl., has unveiled a new logo and redesigned website reflecting its enhanced offerings in the wake of two years of unprecedented company expansion.

In 2021, Sunbelt Forest Products acquired Spartanburg Forest Products to become the leading supplier of pressure treated lumber and wood fencing to Lowe’s and independent lumberyards throughout the Eastern U.S. With the Spartanburg acquisition, Sunbelt Forest Products has grown to 12 locations with a service area stretching from Florida to Maine.

In addition to the northward expansion, Sunbelt has been diversifying its product offerings. The Deckorators brand of designer decking and accessories, the DIY-friendly Outdoor Essentials fence, lawn, and garden products, and the stylish UFP Edge line of siding, pattern and trim, highlight the expanded slate while an expansion into non-lumber products is being piloted in select markets.

“With our new products, we are prepared to provide optimized personal service to our customers of all sizes,” says Sunbelt president Ken DelleDonne. “Our goal is that every truckload from Sunbelt Forest Products will deliver a wide variety of building materials designed to meet each customers’ needs.”

The new website will highlight the augmented product selection while effectively directing customers—contractors and consumers alike – to the entire line of premium quality pressure treated fencing and decking products. The redesigned website will also contain a new blog and a wide variety of collaborative and knowledge-based service programs designed to promote growth for our customers.

“The new logo and website signal to the industry that Sunbelt Forest Products is bigger, better, and ready to serve our customers in more ways than ever,” said DelleDonne. “Sunbelt is proud to offer independent dealers the perfect partnership for success. With our extensive selection of building material products, fast and efficient service, and long-standing history of exceptional customer experience—this opportunity assures mutual growth in profitability.”

With a pressure treating production capacity of more than 1.2 billion bd. ft. and over 65,000 outbound loads shipped annually, the new Sunbelt Forest Products is positioned to provide full-service solutions for decking, fencing, and expanded catalog to more clients than ever before.

Cole Lumber Co., Paducah, Ky., has purchased its eighth location and first outside of Kentucky—50-year-old Portland Builders Supply, Portland, Tn.

Longtime employee Aaron Whitten will take over as manager of the Portland location for former owner Bruce Reid. The name will change to Cole and it will cut back its hardware inventories, while increasing its stock of lumber, doors and windows.

Do it Best has broken ground on a major expansion of its Woodburn, Or., distribution center to support member growth along the West Coast. The multi-year project will grow the space by about 50% and will dramatically increase the company’s efficiency and responsiveness with state-of-the-art systems and equipment.

“Driving growth is central to our success,” said president and CEO Dan Starr. “Together, we’ve been achieving that by selling more of the right products to our member-owners, helping them sell more of those products to their customers, and welcoming even more members to the Do it Best family. All of these initiatives have led to record sales and new member growth over the last several years.”

To sustain that level of growth, Do it Best has committed $100 million in infrastructure investments to support its members’ needs. That includes a next-gen warehouse management system, a new distributed order management system, and a streamlined core financials package.

“We’re building out our capacity within our warehouse network, beginning with our Woodburn distribution center. Warehousing technology has continually advanced and we’ve partnered with industry leaders to further enhance our operational excellence,” said vice president of logistics Tim Miller.

As part of the project, Do it Best is also increasing work and office space for their teams in both the warehouse and their regional lumber office as the company gears up for additional growth in hardlines and lumber & building materials.

“We’re committed to building and maintaining the facilities, equipment, and systems necessary to support all our members’ growth,” Miller said.