SAN FRANCISCO, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Building Materials HoldingCorporation (NYSE: BLG), a leading provider of building materials andconstruction services to professional residential builders and contractors,today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary SelectBuild Arizona willdiscontinue its residential framing and concrete operations in Tucson,Arizona, effective July 18, 2008.
'The difficult decision to discontinue our residential framing andconcrete operations in Tucson is a necessity based on today's challengingbusiness environment and weakness in the Tucson housing market,' said StanleyM. Wilson, President and Chief Operating Officer. 'Housing permits in theTucson market have fallen sharply from 1,349 in the first quarter of 2007 toonly 738 in the first quarter of 2008. Tucson has been hit particularly hardby the downturn in the housing market, and we have to realign our operationsaccordingly.'
The discontinuation affects approximately 180 employees, who have beennotified that residential framing and concrete operations will wind down andclose in 60 days. SelectBuild Arizona will complete all pending contractsduring the 60 day period and will provide ongoing service for prior contractsfrom its Phoenix operations. SelectBuild Arizona will continue its framing andconcrete operations in Phoenix.
'We thank all the employees of our Tucson operations for their hard workand dedication. Today's announcement is in no way a reflection on theirperformance. Unfortunately, despite their hard work, the market factorsforcing this closure are beyond our control,' added Mr. Wilson.
About BMHC
BMHC is one of the largest providers of building materials and residentialconstruction services in the United States. We serve the homebuilding industrythrough two recognized brands: as BMC West, we distribute building materialsand manufacture building components for professional builders and contractorsin the western and southern states; as SelectBuild, we provide constructionservices to high-volume production homebuilders in key markets across thecountry.
