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Miami-based Costa Farms hired Hispanic writer Andrés Fortuño as “the voice for Costa Farms’ new Facebook page, Costa Farms en Español.

The plan is for Fortuño speak to the growing number of Hispanics who love to garden, said the company, which describes itself as “the largest producer of indoor plants in North America.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to ban the sale of 12 d-CON mouse and rat poison products produced by Reckitt Benckiser because these products fail to comply with current EPA safety standards.

Eagle Materials, producer of basic building products including cement and gypsum wallboard, reported sales of $154.0 million in the quarter ended June 30, up 29% from the same quarter last year.

The sales increase was driven primarily by increased wallboard average net sales prices and increased sales volumes for all of the company’s diversified businesses.

Net earnings for the quarter were $13.98 million, up from $807,000 in the prior-year quarter.

Oldcastle Architectural, a leading producer of concrete masonry products in North America, has renamed its high-density, pre-finished architectural concrete masonry unit Cordova Stone, according to a company announcement. The rebrand is part of the company’s research and development in artisan stone veneers.

Forest products producer Weyerhaeuser reported net sales from continuing operations of $1.49 billion for the first quarter of 2012, compared to sales of $1.42 billion in the first quarter of 2011. Net earnings for the quarter were $9 million excluding special items, compared to earnings of $3 million, also excluding one time charges, in the first quarter of 2011. 

Abbeville, Ala.-based Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, the nation’s leading producer of pressure treated pine lumber, acquired the assets of the Rocky Top Building Products companies. 

With the asset acquisition of Rocky Top and other wholly owned subsidiaries of Rocky Mount, Va.-based The Franklin Group, Inc., Great Southern Wood Preserving’s distribution coverage now stretches from the Florida Keys to Texas to Canada including all or parts of 27 states and the District of Columbia.

CalPortland Company (CPC), a major producer of Portland cement and building materials in the United States, has agreed to pay a $1.425 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its cement plant in Mojave, Calif.

As announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), CPC will spend an additional $1.3 million on pollution controls that will reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), pollutants that can lead to childhood asthma and smog.

A price index of lumber and panels used in actual construction for Nov. 11, 2011

Masco Bath, a producer of showers, bathtubs and whirlpools, was given the  “Unsung Hero” award at the Lowe's Fashion Plumbing vendor forum. Masco was honored for the research, design and execution of new merchandising concepts for the bathing aisle and accessible home special order areas. These merchandising concepts have been included in the Lowe's "store of the future" layout, according to the announcement.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp., the Nashville, Tenn., wood products producer, reported sales of $362.4 million for its second fiscal quarter, a 19% drop from sales of $447.5 million during the same quarter last year. Net loss from continuing operations for the quarter, which ended June 30, was $33 million, compared with a net gain of $23.6 million a year ago.

Southern Diversified Products, producer of Mythic Paint, has relocated its headquarters to a new Hattiesburg, Miss., location. The company cited a need for larger space and greater potential for future expansion as the main reason for the move. The company also added that the entire office has been painted with Mythic Paint brand products.

Wood products producer West Fraser reported C$687 million in first-quarter sales, a very slight dip from sales of C$688 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net earning were C$19 million, compared with C$29 million in the corresponding quarter of 2010. 

In the lumber division, sales were reported as C$411 million, compared with C$409 million a year ago. Shipments were down 6%, the Vancouver, B.C.-based company said, although production rose by 9%. West Fraser’s Canadian mills operated at capacity, while its U.S. mills operated at approximately 75% of capacity.