Window and door giant Jeld-Wen's new equity investor, a series of stories following LACEY raids at Gibson Guitar, table saw safety rules, a walnut lumber transport  ban, the return of wood manufacturing to the U.S., and a squirrel that burned down a custom woodwork shop  - stories like these demonstrate a range of interests in wood industry news.

Stories on cabinetry, furniture manufacture, custom woodworking, millwork and panel production diominated the news this year. Also among the most read stories were items about biofuels, including torrefied wood-coal and pine turned into gasoline and jet fuel, an area covered frequently at Woodworking Network in 2011.

CPSC Table saw safety

CPSC Votes to Develop Table Saw Safety Rule

By Rich Christianson | Updated: 10/18/2011 2:34:00 PM
WASHINGTON - Consumer Product Safety Commission table saw safety rules advanced, but Power Tool Institute asked woodworkers to block it, fearing costly mandates. Read more

FSC says Wood Seized at Gibson Guitar not Certified

By  Rich  Christianson  | Updated: 09/02/2011 11:24:00 AM
NASHVILLE  - The Forest Stewardship Council said wood the Justice Dept. seized in an August 24 raid of Gibson Guitar's factory was not FSC certified. Accusedof Lacey Act violations, Gibson tests torrefied maple.

Analyst: Jeld-Wen Could Face Bankruptcy

By Michaelle  Bradford  | Updated: 09/07/2011 10:15:00 AM
KLAMATH FALLS, OR -  Analysts speculated window and door maker Jeld-Wen's $575 million bond offer, funding an Onex investment, could fall victim to Europe's woes. The deal closed  and  Onex took control.

 

Squirrel Blamed for Fire at Custom Cabinet Shop

By Rich Christianson  | Updated: 10/23/2011 2:41:00 PM
STRATFORD, CT - Perhaps the wood industry wanted to know if they could help out with.  But we suspect curiousity about how a squirrel's role in an electrical fire that damaged a cabinetry shop drew so many. Read more

 

American Woodmark Closing Two Plants

By Bill Esler | Updated: 12/15/2011 6:00:00 AM
HARRISONBURG, WV - Kitchen and bath cabinetry maker American Woodmark Corp. (NASDAQ: AMWD) says it will close two manufacturing plants as a result of the ongoing housing slump. Read more

 

Walnut Lumber Shipping Ban Over 1000 Canker Disease

By  Bill  Esler |  Updated: 08/14/2011 12:00:00 AM
HARRISBURG, PA Pennsylvania quarantined the movement of walnut lumber into and within the state after detecting Thousand Cankers Disease for the first time, in a tree in Plumbstead Township, in Bucks County. Read more

 St. Martin Cabinetry

Chinese Cabinetry Firm Opens First U.S. Plant

By Rich Christianson | Updated: 10/01/2011 9:49:00 PM
CRESSONA, PA - St. Martin Cabinetry, a manufacturer of melamine plywood frameless cabinets with Chinese roots, held a grand opening last month. Read more

 

Wood Pellet Maker Says He Owns Facebook

By Bill Esler | Updated: 08/20/2011 12:00:00 AM
WELLSVILLE, NY - Paul Ceglia, CEO of wood fuel maker Allegany Pellets, continues a long-running battle for part ownership of Facebook, claiming he made a $1,000 investment in 2003. he didn't win. Read more

 

Lumber Scam Case Runs On for Cabinetry Maker

By Bill Esler | Updated: 12/01/2011 3:00:00 AM
HARRISONBURG, WV - An insurer for cabinet giant American Woodmark asked a judge to issue a summary judgment in a multi-million lumber buying fraud case, though the judge later challenged the insurer's claim. Read more

 Pine-Yeast-Biofuel

UGA Super Yeast Turns Pine to Car Fuel

By Bill Esler | Updated: 11/19/2011 10:07:00 AM
Pine wood pretreated with heat and chemicals can be converted to ethanol using a super yeast, says researchers at the University of Georgia. Read more

 

 

 

 

Fortune Brands Home & Security Business Begins Trading

By Bill Esler Updated: 10/04/2011 8:38:00 AM
DEERFIELD, IL - A $3.2 billion giant in cabinetry, door and window manufacturing launched today, as Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE: FBHS), Deerfield, IL began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Read more

 

 

 Here's a few more top wood news stories

MasterBrand To Lay Off 150 Employees

By Rich Christianson | Updated: 10/02/2011 8:10:00 PM
JASPER, IN -- MasterBrand Cabinets will lay off approximately 150 workers as it shifts the production of its Aristokraft cabinets from Kinston, NC, to   Ferdinand, IN.

Wood Manufacturing  to U.S.: Boston Consulting Group

By Bill Esler | Updated: 10/07/2011 8:39:00 AM
CHICAGO -Furniture is among sectors for which the U.S. will become increasingly attractive for production of goods sold to consumers in North America. Read more
 

IKEA's Swedwood Panel Supplier Opens First U.S. Plant

By Bill Esler | Updated: 10/12/2011 2:11:00 PM
IKEA's Swedwood wood furnishings manufacturing subsidiary will soon have a new local supplier in Danville, VA, as Axxor Group opens its first U.S. plant. A few weeks before, IKEA's  Swedwood plant in Ringgold, VA unionized. Read more

 

 

Masco Cabinetry Auctions Giant Utah Plant

By Bill Esler | Updated: 09/14/2011 5:50:00 PM
WEST JORDAN, UT - Equipment from a Masco Cabinetry plant in West Jordan, UT that has been silent since the end of 2008 is now up for auction. Read more
 

Home builders, subcontractors investigated
By Bill Esler | Updated: 09/19/2011 12:26:00 PM
Custom woodworkers and architectural woodworking firms could be caught up in a broadening labor practices investigation. The Labor Department and IRS say subcontractors' workers are misclassified as independent contractors. Read more
 

Furniture importers must pay $1.3M for copying casegoods
Updated: 10/05/2011 10:48:00 AM
TOCCOA, GA - A jury found Art & Frame Direct Inc. and World of Decor Inc. liable for $1.3 M for importing and distributing unauthorized copies of of Habersham's bed, bookcase, table and other furniture designs.
Read more

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