Domestic lumber consumption continues to increase, with strong demand from flooring plants and rising demand from the kitchen cabinet sector.

Express Kitchens acquired New Valley Sales, adding a West Springfield, MA show room and bringin the sale of high end appliances into its established kitchen cabinetry business.

Composite panel shipments continue to improve over last year, with the latest year-to-date figures through November showing a 5.1% increase over the 2011 time period.

C.H. Briggs has donated $100,000 of kitchen cabinetry hardware and sinks to the Habitat ReStores in Reading, PA, and Baltimore, MD.

Contemporary cabinets, quartz countertops, and pre-finished and engineered wood flooring are among the top trends for home interiors Neil Kelly Co. sees for 2013.

Smart Cabinetry has announced plans to expand its cabinet manufacturing operations, creating up to 75 more jobs in the New Paris, IN, area by 2016. The company currently has more than 100 employees.

ACProducts Inc., parent company of Armstrong Cabinet Products, has appointed Nick Billig as company CEO effective immediately.

Masco will close its two Atkins, VA-based Merillat cabinetry plants in January. Approximately 300 people will be affected by the closures, according to SWVAToday.com, which reported the news.

Masco cabinetry sales fell 5%, hurt by Europe's woes and big box store sales. Overall Masco sales were flat at $2 billion for the third quarter. North American sales rose 4%; international sales fell 12%.

The Home Depot announced Oct. 29 it had finalized the $924.9 million acquisition of U.S. Home Systems Inc. (USHS), a provider of kitchen and bath cabinet refacing products as well as closet and garage organizational systems