Just when we thought the wood products business was getting better, Cardell Cabinetry closed its doors for good putting more than 900 people out of work. Within three months, the company’s machinery and inventory was auctioned off to help pay off a reported $45 million in debts.
Equally unsettling was the surprise closing of Lincolnton Furniture at the start of the New Year, a year after a year after being lauded by President Obama as an example of America's manufacturing resurgence.
No doubt a raid by federal agents of Lumber Liquidators’ headquarters in Toano, VA, was unsettling to employees. It certainly was to investors of the flooring retailer who participated in class-action lawsuits filed against Lumber Liquidators alleging the company improved its profits by importing hardwood flooring products from China made with hardwood illegally harvest from Siberian forests.
Chinese hardwood plywood was the center of a contentious antidumping battle pitting domestic hardwood plywood manufacturers and hardwood plywood importers, including members of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA). The six U.S. plywood makers who filed the petition lost in a ruling handed down by the U.S. International Trade Administration.
On a decidedly lighter note, visitors to Woodworking Network proved very curious to learn what Neil Kelly Cabinets dubbed at the “Top 10 Interior Design & Remodeling Trends for 2014.”
Which of these news top five news reports posted on WoodworkingNetwork.com during 2013 piqued your attention most? Please take a minute to cast your vote and feel free to provide a comment to support your choice. After voting, be sure to check out the current results of this poll.
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.