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.

SawStop says it filed complaints at the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court in Oregon against Robert Bosch GmbH of Germany and its U.S. subsidiary Robert Bosch Tool Corporation to stop what it sees as infringement of SawStop’s patented inventions.

Children's furniture and toy provider KidKraft Inc. has been acquired by MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm. Terms of the deal, announced July 15, were not released.

AWFS Fair has announced the 2015 Visionary Awards finalists: 25 products from 23 companies will judged in seven categories: Environmental, Ergonomics, Safety, Plastics Supply and Technology, Innovative Technology and Productivity. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony Friday, July 25, at 9:15 a.m. on the AWFS Fair Stage.

MasterBrand Cabinets parent Fortune Brands priced a $900 million registered public offering of senior unsecured notes that it will use to fund its recent acquisition of Norcraft Cabinets.

Deltic Timber Corporation (NYSE:DEL), a manufacturer of MDF and luber, expanded its board last month, naming as directors Bert H. Jones, owner and president of Mid-States Wood Preservers, LLC of Simsboro, Louisiana; and Lenore M. Sullivan, managing director of Texas Women Ventures Capital Management.

Ashley Furniture, which said Monday it is ending exploration of a sale of its business, continues with its expansion into e-commerce. A new Tampa, FL campus for its Ashcomm LLC online subsidiary is expected to house more than 100 employees by the end of the year. Closely-held and controlled by the Wanek family, Ashley Furniture, Arcadia, WI, did an estimated $4 billion in revenue in 2014, and manufactures in the U.S., Viet Nam, and China.