Masonite Public? Furniture Dumping; Syrian Veneer Smuggler

By Bill Esler

March 8, 2012 | 1:08 pm CST

An inventive manufactured home business works with IKEA for interior appointments. An architectural woodworker turns his CNC on making modular bamboo wood components for modular furniture sold online. Wood industry litigation touches China import duty penalties, Syrian veneer smuggling, OSHA woodshop rulings, and posting union rights posters.

It was a week laced with international intrque, as a veneer firm in Virginia pled guilty to smuggling $2.6 million worth of veneer to Syrian - an export market that has been strictly verboten for years. This was not a story of misplaced paperwork. In a statement of fact submitted to the court, International Veneer management acknoweldged the scheme went on for years, and included shipping three forklifts to move the goods around. It also included an attempted shipment to Iran.

Here are the week's top stories:

Veneer Firm Pleads Guilty in Syrian Smuggling By Bill Esler \| Updated: 03/01/2012 10:16:00 PM International Veneer Company president H. Tyler Howerton admitted in court his company smuggled 700 pallets of wood veneer sheets and three forklifts to Syria, and attempt shipments to Iran. Read more
IKEA Interiors in Manufactured Home By Bill Esler \| Updated: 03/01/2012 3:08:00 PM A modular home builder announces a manufactured home appointed with IKEA cabinets, vanities, flooring, storage cabinetry and countertops. Read more
Door Manufacturer Masonite Makes Public Moves By Michaelle Bradford \| Updated: 03/05/2012 Shareholders of door manufacturer, Masonite, in a special March 1 meeting, voted to approve resolutions enhancing the company's ability to go public at a future date. Read more
• Architectural Millwork Shop Sells Modular Furniture Online
• Custom Woodworker Takes on OSHA and Wins
• CSB Chair 'Disappointed' with OSHA's Progress on ComDust Rule
Court Backs Union Posting Rule By Rich Christianson \| Updated: 03/05/2012 10:55:00 WASHINGTON - A federal court ruled last week that employers must post notices that inform workers of their right to join a union. Read more
Ashley Furniture Settles Brando License Suit for $356K By Rich Christianson \| Updated: 03/04/2012 10:34:00 AM LOS ANGELES, CA - Ashley Furniture Industries has agreed to pay $356,000 to the estate of Marlon Brando to settle a federal lawsuit in which Ashley was accused of infringing on the screen legend's name. Read more
• Wilt Chamberlain Hardwood Court: Fans Get a Block
• Fire Cripples Woody Biomass Power Plant, Europe's Largest
• Occupy USGBC? Maybe It's Time
Home Depot, USGBC Launch leedhomedepot.com By Bill Esler \| Updated: 03/07/2012 10:52:00 AM The Home Depot and U.S. Green Building Council launched leedhomedepot.com database of products with LEED for Homes program potential Read more
• Heartland Manufacturing Expands with New Biesse Equipment
• Storing Lumber: Tips on How to Do It
• Armstrong Earnings Soar, Wood Flooring Sales Rise