Klaussner Home Furnishings's management buyout and Bush Furniture's quick-to-assemble casegoods technology, announced during the NC residential furniture show at the High Point Market, lead the news.

Auctions were announced of big wood door plants (Lifetime Doors' Easton, PA plant and a Mexican maquiladora door factory) , plus two D.C.-area shutdowns: Harney Woodworking and the Federal Government; expansion of a wood panel plant (G-P completes a plant), and a furniture plant reopening (Circle K's American Furniture Industries), plus a fire and explosions . . .and Audi launches a wood bicycle line.

After years of fine hardwood and exotic species wood trim in its luxury four wheel drive Quattro automobiles, Audi of America has begun peddling a wood-based two-wheel ride, launching the duo line of luxury wood bicycles.

Audi duo bikes are hand-built by Renovo Studio, in Portland, OR, the same firm that built a wood bike for lumber supplier Collins Companies. Collins commissioned a bicycle of FSC certified wood, placing it on display at the Green Build Conference last fall in Chicago.

Klaussner Home Furnishings CEO Bill Wittenberg and the senior management team announced they have acquired the company from former owner Hans Klaussner, in a deal funded by Wells Fargo Capital Finance.

Baltimore-based Harney Woodworking has closed. Harney operated  a 45,000 square foot manufacturing center, producing high-end architectural millwork for a wide range of commercial and institutional clients.

Woodworkers and others whose jobs expose them to dust and respiratory hazards, are being urged by federal safety agencies to regularly undergo spirometry testing. Control of sawdust and other respiratory hazards is coming under increasing scrutiny in many industries, with enforcement increasing in wood manufacturing. >>

Hartselle Plywood and Lumber Co. was sentenced to 63 months for starting a fire at this cabinetry firm to cover his theft. An unrelated fire struck a sawmill last week in Hillman, MI,  destroying the sawmill of Rust Wood Products, a manufacturer of wood pallets.

Residential, hospitality and contract furnishings manufacturer Flexsteel Industries Inc., the nation’s eighth largest furniture maker, has announced plans to construct a $12 million, four-story, 40,000-square-foot global corporate building in Port of Dubuque, IA. Flexsteel also makes interior seating for boats and recreational vehicles.

 G-P's new board mill to hire 150
Georgia-Pacific says it will begin taking applications next week for 150 employees for its oriented strand board mill in Clarendon, SC, now entering the final construction phase and expected to open later this year.