The Las Vegas Convention Center is wood industry central for the next four days, with registration queues growing in anticipation of the opening of the AWFS Fair woodworking show at 9:00 sharp on July 22. Exhibitors hustled to uncrate woodworking machinery for sale, as forklifts sped through the halls. AWFS opens amid glowing Commerce Department reports of a housing starts surge in June.

STATESVILLE, NC - Kewaunee Scientific Corp. (NASDAQ: KEQU) says D. Michael Parker, its Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Secretary, has announced his plans to retire by the end of calendar year 2015, after a 25-year career with the architectural millwork and laboratory casegoods company.

While U.S. hardwood exports lagged in May and June 2015, domestic demand for hardwood lumber continued to improve. Home construction, which dipped in May, was set to move higher, as both permitting and builder confidence rose - which played out as expected when June figures surged. New and existing home sales also expanded, driving better demand for cabinets, moulding and millwork.

OSHA cites Shady Knob Pallet Co. for 17 serious safety violations as 14-year-old is allowed to operate planer illegally, resulting in loss of hand at Middlefield, Ohio, pallet manufacturer.

Wellborn Cabinet, Ashland, AL, launches You Draw It, a program for custom designs to personalize hardware on customized cabinetry projects. The consumer and designer work with Wellborn using the configurator for projects such as a custom baker's pantry, a bench seat, kitchen hoods, pantries, pet areas, and furniture hutches.

Following successful multi-unit cabinetry projects in Florida, cabinetry and architectural woodwork firm Italkraft Mid Altantic Llc is opening a Houston office to supply two projects under construction there. The operation is expected to open in the fall.

A Chinese couple have taken their furniture making business public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and in the process they've become billionaires. Entrepreneur Zhang Jiayong, chairman of Zhejiang UE Furniture, and his wife Shang Weiwei have become a billionaire couple this week through tremendous stock appreciation. They founded their office chair company in China in 2001.

What was once a popular program to invest in when constructing a building, has taken a back seat in recent years. More and more contractors are over looking LEED's significance and see it as an administrative burden instead of a valued resource.

As wood products buyers increasingly ask to know the sources of lumber and panel, seeking origins in well-managed forests, an ISO standard-in-development is gaining traction within the industry. For ISO/PC 287 - Chain of custody of wood and wood-based products - the secretariat is held by ABNT, ISO's member in Brazil, and co-led by DIN, ISO's member in Germany.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 25 repeat and 15 serious safety and health citations to Sterling Seating, a manufacturer of chairs and bar stools. Also cited was On Target Staffing, which provides workers to the wood products manufacturer.