The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers has announced the opening of attendee registration for the upcoming AWFS Fair, July 19-22, 2017 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

A Day of Wood at Vincennes University drew wood manufacturers from Herman Miller, Haworth, Kimball, MasterBrand, OFM, Jasper Group and others to the recently opened Center for Technology, Innovation and Manufacturing in Jasper. Purdue U.'s Dan Cassens coordinated.

At IWF 2016, Uniboard showcased various textured panels that it says look and feel very similar to real wood.

Schlage Hardware says signs of an evolution of existing interior design trends are pointing to new buyer preferences for 2017, such as the Farmhouse & Country Chic style, which has evolved from being based in dark-toned woods to including lighter wood finishes and softer color schemes.

Universal Forest Products, Inc. signed an agreement to purchase idX Corp., an international provider of store fixtures, retail displays and customized merchandising products.

Kukun, a digital home renovation platform, partnered with a French company, Fine Signature, to offer homeowners and interior designers access to handmade, made-to-order exclusive products through La Boutique, Kukun's new e-commerce site.

Accuride's Claudia Tuttle and Greg Rewers met with IWF TV to discuss some of their featured products on display at IWF 2016.

Gladiator GarageWorks, a maker of garage and household organization and storage systems, released four new products garage organization.

"Industry 4.0 is probably the most important opportunity for the world to improve efficiency and automation," said Biesse President and CEO Federico Broccoli at IWF 2016.  Broccoli, who refers to Industry 4.0 as the smart factory, says Biesse has been working to help small to medium sized woodworking operations achieve automation. He also said Biesse is working to make all components compatible with the Internet of Things, in which machines would provide feedback on how to improve efficiency to management.

The glues available today are strong, super strong, stronger than the wood itself.