April 21, 2010

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SRS Buys Roofing Material Dealer in Houston

SRS Acquisition Corp. continues to grow at a rapid pace, revealing today that it has acquired certain assets of H&S Building Material L.P, a distributor of roofing materials in northwest Houston. H&S will now operate under the Southern Shingles banner. SRS operates 32 locations from Florida to Washington State.
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1Q Loss Deepens at Temple-Inland's Building Products Segment

Temple-Inland Inc.'s net loss in its building products segment deepened to $9 million in the first quarter of 2010 from $2 million a year earlier even though sales rose by $2 million to reach $153 million, the company reported this morning. It expects the segment will return to profitability this quarter.
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USG's L&W Sales Fell 30% in 1Q

L&W, the building products distribution arm of Chicago-based USG Corporation, reported first quarter 2010 net sales fell 30% from the year-earlier period to $248 million. That helped lead to an operating loss of $39 million for January through March. Wallboard volumes fell 21% in the quarter while sales of products other than wallboard fell 29%.
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Beacon Buys Roofing Supply Firms in Louisiana, Florida

Beacon Roofing Supply, America's fifth-biggest pro-oriented building material supplier, revealed Friday it has acquired Louisiana Roofing Supply (LRS), a roofing and shingles dealer based in Baton Rouge, La. And earlier last week, Beacon announced it has acquired Phoenix Sales Inc., a distributor of commercial roofing systems and related accessories with four branches located in Tampa, Orlando, Pompano, and Fort Myers, Fla., and sales of approximately $20 million in 2009.
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Huttig Shrinks 1Q Net Loss; Sales rise 3.5%

Huttig Building Products trimmed its net loss by close to two-thirds in the first quarter, posting a $5.8 million shortage, thanks in part to a 3.5% rise in net sales to $103.5 million.
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Housing Starts, Permits Rise on Multifamily Construction

Housing starts, driven by a surge in multifamily construction in the South, rose 1.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000, 20.2% ahead of the same month last year, the Commerce Department reported. Single-family starts fell 0.9% to at rate of 531,000, still 47.1% ahead of March 2009 and compared to a February estimate that was revised upward to a 5.7% gain from the previously reported drop of 0.6%. (BIG BUILDER)
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Remodeling Market Finally Turning Upward

For the first time since 2006, home improvement spending is on the upswing. Annual growth will be nearly 5% in 2010, and all signs suggest that the positive trend will continue in 2011, according to the latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), released by the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
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Universal's Sales To Builders Inch Up in 1Q

Universal Forest Product Inc.'s (UFPI) sales to the site-built construction market grew just 0.9% in the first quarter to reach $60.9 million, the company reported late last Wednesday. But gains by other divisions enabled UFPI to increase its overall sales by 8.7% to $393 million and swing to a net profit of nearly $1 million from a year-earlier $1.2 million net loss.
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WebbThreads

• Stock Building Supply named Phil Randolph vice president of East Operations. He’ll be responsible for Stock’s residential operations in marks from Georgia up the Atlantic coast to Pennsylvania, plus Arkansas. Randolph most recently led Stock’s internal process improvement program.
• Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chose Citizens Hardware and Building Supply in Notasulga, Ala., as the venue to meet some of his constituents earlier this month. Story
• Wholesale distributor Rawles-Aden Building Products of Petersburg, Va., will open its doors to retail customers this Friday and Saturday, a local newspaper reports. The sale is designed to help clear out some of the distributor’s inventory.
• ProSales’ corporate parent, Hanley Wood, has become the exclusive media sponsor for Principia Partners’ Wood-Plastic and Natural Fiber Composites conference in Charlotte on Oct. 4-5.
• If you enjoyed the no doubt unintentionally hilarious Web advice column called “How to Start a Lumber Yard,” which declared the task “Moderately challenging,” you probably will get a hoot out of one lumberyard exec’s revisionist advice on what it really takes to start a lumberyard. Column

• Tools of the Trade, a sister publication to ProSales, recently tested nine 5-inch Random-Orbit Sanders. Review
• CertainTeed introduced Restoration Millwork Beadboard Panels, PVC products that the company says installed up to three times faster than standard beadboard and are suited for large exterior areas.
• Boise Cascade announced the immediate availability of FSC Chain-of-Custody certified Alljoist engineered wood products in the Eastern United States and Canada.
• Parksite and bpEnnovations introduced the Aerix Roof Ventilation System.
• Kwikset announced the availability of two new door hardware designs, the Belleview handle and Balboa lever, both available with built-in SmartKey re-key technology.
• Geocel launched Geocel 4515 Pitch Pan & Repair Sealant. It can be used with most pitch pans as a pitch pan sealant and also as a sealant to repair seams, tears, and holes, the company says.
• Temple-Inland added a tile backer to its GreenGlass family of products. The tile backer is designed for walls, ceilings, shower and tub enclosures, countertops and residential or light commercial floors.
• AZEK Building Products announced the HIDfast deck hidden fastening system will become available exclusively through AZEK’s distribution channel.
• MFM Building Products Corp. introduced Peel & Seal PowerBond White 250. The product is designed to tape seams on insulated aluminum panels and can be used as a flashing material for roof and gutter repair, window flashing and as a general-purpose waterproofing product.
• Globe Union and Hajoca Corp. were honored last week by the Storehouse of World Vision with the Crystal Vision Award. Globe Union was selected for its donation of many products to underprivileged families, the support of World Vision’s School Tools program. Hajoca was honored for making World Vision one of its key charities.
• Temple-Inland added a tile backer to its GreenGlass family of products. The tile backer is designed for walls, ceilings, shower and tub enclosures, countertops and residential or light commercial floors.

Do you have a question, a tip, or a sage piece of wisdom? Feel free to contact ProSales' editor, Craig Webb, at cwebb@hanleywood.com.

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