New GE micro-kitchen concepts include full suites of appliances to address urban growth and downsizing trends.

To reduce Bulgaria’s heavy dependence on imported energy, a landmark biomass-to-energy plant powered by GE’s Jenbacher gas engine technology is being built near Stroevo, in Plovdiv province.

TechShop, a membership-based, do-it-yourself workshop and fabrication studio, says Intel Corporation is its newest corporate sponsor. The companies plan to collaborate on a series of workshops giving thousands of TechShop members hands-on access to Intel technology

GE teams with TechShop to launch CNC-based business incubator and skills-building center in Chicago Sept. 20. A month of free workshops, with expert sessions, will include training on high-tech prototyping equipment.

GE and Chicago Ideas Week announced GE Garages, a skill-building center opening Sept. 20, will host a month of free workshops, with training sessions and a guest speaker series.

The University of British Columbia opened a $34 million Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility, a 'living laboratory' that will burn tree trimmings and wood chips for campus heat and electricity. The University's downtown campus will host Wood Tech Summit 2012.

I have been fortunate in my career to have had the opportunity to view firsthand the manufacturing methods used by wood products companies in countries outside of North America, including: Belgium, Germany, Italy and now China. I have been able to observe their similarities to North American high-production woodworking operations in terms of the usage and level of technology, as well as note a general consensus on the need for lean manufacturing in the production process.