National Hardwood Magazine - Christmas Buyers Guide 2014

NEWS DEVELOPMENTS ASHLEY

NEWS DEVELOPMENTS ASHLEY FURNITURE EXPANDS INTO 1.1 MILLION SQUARE FEET Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., headquartered in Arcadia, WI, recently completed its 1.1 million square foot expansion in Davie County, NC. According to sources, the completion of Phase 2 of the project brings Ashley Furniture’s manufacturing and distribution complex to 2.8 million square feet. With the new facility Ashley Furniture will have created more than 657 new jobs in the county. The complex will employ approximately 800 people when it is fully operational. North Carolina Governor Pat McCroy, Senator Richard Burr and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx were among the dignitaries that attended the grand opening of the facility. Established in 1945, Ashley Furniture Industries has become one of the nation’s largest furniture manufacturers with more than 11 million square feet of domestic manufacturing. NEW ANSI STANDARD APPROVED BY WOOD MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA The Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America (WMMA), based in Bel Air, MD, recently announced its approval by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) of a new standard developed by the Accredited Standards Committee 01 (ASCO1). WMMA is the Secretariat for ASCO1 and also offers a volunteer Technical Standards Committee so that its membership can remain involved in issues surrounding standards. The ANS standard entitled Safety Requirements for CNC Machining Centers for the Woodworking Industry is expected to positively impact the woodworking machinery manufacturing industry, according to those within the association. “We are very pleased to see that ANSI has approved the new standard,” noted Jamie Scott, president of WMMA. “Having official safety requirements for CNC machining centers is a tremendous stride toward keeping our industry safe for everyone. We encourage everyone to procure a copy of the new standard to keep it in a prominent location, and to familiarize themselves and their staffs with it.” Copies of the new standard can be purchased through ANSI. WMMA members are eligible to receive one complimentary copy of the new standard; to procure a copy, members may contact Associate Director Jennifer Miller at Jennifer@wmma.org. ANSI is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary standards for products, services, 8 CHRISTMAS 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

NEWS ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL HARD WOOD CONSUMERS INCLUDING MERGERS, PLANT EXPANSIONS & ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES processes, systems and personnel in the United States. For more information visit www.wmma.org. EMERALD ASH BORER FOUND IN MORE TREE SPECIES Federal authorities recently confirmed that the Emerald Ash Borer has been found in another tree specie. The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a bulletin issued recently that adult and larval specimens of Emerald Ash Borers have been detected in four white fringetrees in the Dayton area. The discovery is raising concerns that the Emerald Ash Borer not only could infest Ash varieties, as it has done in Wisconsin since at least 2008, but it could prey on other tree species. “That’s the more disturbing part,” said Andrea Diss- Torrance, invasive forest insect coordinator at the state Department of Natural Resources. “This may be an indication of bad news to come.” U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL ANNOUNCES LEED EXTENSION The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced it would allow LEED users to register projects under the LEED 2009 rating system until Oct. 31, 2016. The original date for LEED 2009 registration to close was June 15, 2015. Extending to October 2016 gives LEED users and members of the green building industry additional time to prepare for LEED v4, the latest version of LEED, which features increased rigor and multiple updates. “When USGBC launched LEED v4 last year, we set out with one goal in mind—to raise the bar in a way that challenges the building industry to reach higher than ever before. This is our nature and USGBC and its members’ collective mission,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “However, the market has requested additional time to prepare for LEED v4 we are responding.” In a survey conducted at this year’s Greenbuild conference 61 percent of respondents said they are not ready or unsure if they are ready to pursue LEED v4 and require additional time to prepare. Extending LEED 2009’s availability enables USGBC to work with the broader industry within a longer time frame to drive meaningful and comprehensive change. “Our international LEED users, which account for some 50 percent of new LEED registrations, have also indicated they would like to have more time to move onto the new rating system,” Fedrizzi noted. “This extension will be especially helpful to them.” ■ For more than 20 years, Thompson Appalachian Hardwoods has manufactured and exported the highest-quality Appalachian hardwood lumber and logs. With control of raw material from the forest, Thompson Appalachian Hardwoods guarantees a consistent, high-quality product from start to finish. CHRISTMAS 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 9