THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, April 5, 1995               TAG: 9504050479
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D6   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   35 lines

CHICAGO-BASED COMPANY BUYS ALLIED OFFICE SUPPLY FIRM ISN'T PLANNING IMMEDIATE CHANGES IN JOB LEVELS LOCALLY.

Allied Office Supply Co., a Chesapeake office-products supplier to businesses in Southeast Virginia, has been bought by Chicago-based Boise Cascade Office Products Corp., the companies announced.

``We have not had a physical presence in southeastern Virginia and this is a way for us to fill that hole,'' said Vincent Hannity, spokesman at Boise Cascade.

Boise Cascade, with annual sales of more than $1 billion, is one of the largest office-supply companies in the country. It has 26 distribution centers, and the purchase of Allied will give it a distribution center in Chesapeake.

Allied built a $1.75 million, 52,000-square-foot distribution center and office complex in Chesapeake in 1991 when it moved out of Norfolk. Allied reported annual sales of about $20 million in 1994.

Boise Cascade said it has no immediate plans to change its level of employment in Chesapeake.

``Over time, there will be changes,'' Hannity said. ``For example, we do a lot of our buying centrally, and human resources functions we run out of our headquarters.''

F.R. Margolius and his wife, Ann, started Allied Office Supply as a small retail store in downtown Norfolk in 1967. Over the years, it evolved into a contract stationer for businesses. by CNB