Wood Pro Expo Florida and the Closets Conference began on June 11 with a day of educational sessions designed to share insights, spark innovation, and prepare woodworking professionals for the future of the industry. The conferences covered trends in residential and commercial design, best practices in shop management, business growth strategies, and where the closets, storage, and woodworking sectors are headed.

The Association of Closet and Storage Professionals kicked off the 20th Closets Conference on June 10 with an anniversary reception, celebrating two decades of the closet industry community. Much like the Wood Pro Expo and Closet Conference itself, the reception brought together industry professionals, partners, and supporters from across the country to honor two decades of growth in the industry.

VersaPod will showcase its flexible vacuum pod and material alignment system for CNC router operations at Wood Pro Expo Lancaster, October 23-24 at Spooky Nooks Sports.

The construction industry added 4,000 jobs on net in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 126,000 jobs, an increase of 1.5%.

The votes are in! For the first time ever, the design community weighed in on its favorite Best of NeoCon-winning products. The five standout designs that captured hearts and votes, earning the inaugural People’s Choice Award, include:

A system developed at a Switzerland based polytechnic institution uses augmented reality (AR) to help carpenters make extremely precise timber cuts without having to measure or mark up beams.

Fifty U.S. public high school skilled trades teachers were named as finalists for the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. A total of $1.5 million in cash prizes will be awarded in the fall when the field is narrowed down to 25 winners.

Senior leaders from IWPA and the Vietnam wood products industry explored opportunities to deepen cooperation and advance the shared goal of promoting legal and sustainable timber trade.

WASHINGTON — Associated Builders and Contractors reported June 10 that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.4 months in May, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 20 to June 3. The reading is up 0.1 months since May 2024.While the South maintains the longest backlog of any region, it was the only one to experience a decline in May. Only the Northeast has longer backlog on a year-over-year basis, while the other three regions experienced annual declines.

Correction: This story has been corrected and updated. The original story said that Palmer Renewable Energy was now known as Palmer Capital. In fact, they are separate entities, and Palmer Capital is not involved in the biomass project in Springfield. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A plan to build a biomass plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, appears to have new life after the developer of the project won a legal victory reversing previous decisions to revoke key permits.