Ply Gem and Russian trade firm form corporation.

PLY GEM AND RUSSIAN TRADE FIRM FORM CORPORATION

Allied Plywood, a subsidiary of Ply Gem Industries Inc. and A/O Exportles of have formed Russian Wood Express Inc. The new company will be based in New York and will represent all import-export trade for A/O Exportles; which accounts for 95 percent, or $6 billion of Russian wood products.

Russian Wood Express will handle softwood dimensional lumber, wood panel products, industrial roundwood, pulp paper and wood furniture. Jeffrey S. Silverman, chairman of Ply Gem and Russian Wood Express, said the wood products industry is one of the Soviet Unions "strongest and most promising industries."

"Since the USSR has over two-thirds of the world's deciduous forests, this is an enormous alternate wood source for the U.S. building and forest products industries," Silverman said.