Ashley Furniture has been cited by OSHA for two wilful violations after a 56-year-old employee had his right ring finger amputated following a March 11 incident. This is the second incident of its kind since January, making it a willful violation. The residential furniture maker faces fines of $83,200 in the July 21 citations.

Two are confirmed dead and another two are still missing following a suspected comdust explosion in a wood flour mill in Bosley, Cheshire. News reports say the four were working on an upper floor of Wood Treatment Ltd. the morning of July 17 when the explosion occurred and a 1,000-degree fire destroyed the four-story building. More than 30 others were injured in the incident.

Bassett Furniture Industries has appointed Ann Zaccaria as vice president for Real Estate and New Store Development. She will report to Rob Spilman, Bassett's president and CEO.

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.