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Bill Esler
ConfSenior Editor

Bill wrote for WoodworkingNetwork.com, FDMC and Closets & Organized Storage magazines. 

Bill's background includes more than 10 years in print manufacturing management, followed by more than 30 years in business reporting on industrial manufacturing in the forest products industries, including printing and packaging at American Printer (Features Editor) and Graphic Arts Monthly (Editor in Chief) magazines; and in secondary wood manufacturing for WoodworkingNetwork.com.

Bill was deeply involved with the launches of the Woodworking Network Leadership Forum, and the 40 Under 40 Awards programs. He currently reports on technology and business trends and develops conference programs.

In addition to his work as a journalist, Bill supports efforts to expand and improve educational opportunities in the manufacturing sectors, including 10 years on the Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation; six years with the U.S. WoodLinks; and currently on the Woodwork Career Alliance Education Committee. He is also supports the Greater West Town Training Partnership Woodworking Program, which has trained more than 950 adults for industrial wood manufacturing careers. 

Bill volunteers for Foinse Research Station, a biological field station staddling the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland, one of more than 200 members of the Organization of Biological Field Stations.

Woodworking Industry News

Masonite, Door Sales Up 5.4%, Is Flat On Exchange Rate

Door manufacturer Masonite International (NYSE: DOOR) sales were flat at $475.7 million for the third quarter of 2015, a result of an unfavorable exchange rate. Excluding the $26 million negative impact of foreign exchange, net sales would have increased by 5.4% to $501.7 million. Masonite reported a loss of $16.3 million after selling a French subsidiary.

Canadian News

Gingrich Woodcraft Must Pay 35 Weeks Salary Over Employee Lockout

Wood components firm Gingrich Woodcraft, which shuttered its Ontario plant five days after employees voted to join the UNIFOR union, entered a concent order to pay its employee 35 weeks pay, beginning retroactively from August 17, the time of the closure. Owner Leon Gingrich told the Ontario Labor Relations Board he has a buyer for the business as an ongoing concern.

WMS News

Toronto Wood Machinery Show Busy to the Closing Bell

TORONTO - It was tough to end the Toronto Woodworking Machinery and Supply Expo Saturday as attendees hung out in clusters in booths. Exhibiting companies increased a dramatic 23 percent from the previous show at the International Centre in Mississauga, an industrial suburb at the edge of the city within where the Toronto airport is located.By the NumbersRegistered Attendees: 4,000Exhibitor Personnel: 1,400Brands Exhibited: 260+Product Categories: 50Countries Represented: 35

Pricing & Supply

Lumber Giants Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek Merge

Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek will merge, creating a $23 billion timber, land and forest products company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT), in an all-stock transaction. Plum Creek holds 6 million acres of forest in 19 states, and operates wood products mills in the Northwest.

Management

Countertop Manufacturer Faces $87,000 OSHA Penalties

Mass-Granite, a granite countertop manufacturer in Acton, MA, faces $87,000 in OSHA fines for exposing employees to safety hazards, including some for which it was fined previously but didn't correct, according to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

WMS News

Canada Moves Up to Global Wood Industry Leader at WMS 2015

The Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo 2015 opens this morning, with more than 250 companies represented at Toronto's International Centre exhibition hall, and a full-day conference session highlighting new technology and materials developments, many making their North American debut. The show runs Nov. 5-7, and opens at 10:00 a.m. each day.