NEWS DEVELOPMENTS
NEWS DEVELOPMENTS PURCHASE OF MAPLE CITY WOODWORKING COMPLETED Patrick Industries Inc., based in Elkhart, IN, has announced completion of its acquisition of Maple City Woodworking Corp., a Goshen-based manufacturer of Hardwood cabinet doors and fascia for the RV market. Maple City Woodworking uses mainly white and brown Hard Maple, a spokesman said. Maple City’s fiscal 2019 revenue was approximately million. Patrick Industries will continue to operate the company on a stand-alone basis under its brand name in existing facilities. Patrick Industries Inc. is a major manufacturer and distributor of component products and building products serving the recreational vehicle, marine, manufactured housing, residential housing, high-rise, hospitality, kitchen cabinet, office and household furniture, fixtures and commercial furnishings, and other industrial markets. Learn more at www.patrick ind.com. SOFA MAKER ADDS CASE GOODS TO PRODUCT LINE The sofa manufacturer Interior Define has expanded into the case goods business, adding coffee, accent and side tables to its line. The Chicago-based company uses Walnut and White Washed Oak in the collection. Coffee tables include the Bevel table, which features solid wood legs and a tabletop with bevel-profile details that channel throughout the leg; the Splay table, which has solid wood turned legs mixed with a veneer tabletop; and the Disc table, which also has solid wood legs that support a veneered pattern wood top. Details are available at www.inter iordefine.com. OAK, CHERRY, ASH EXCLUDED FROM CHINESE TARIFFS China’s State Council Customs Tariff Commission has issued two tariff exclusion lists for certain U.S. products subject to Section 301 retaliatory duties. List I includes seven Hardwood products under six tariff lines, including Oak logs and lumber, Cherry lum- 12 JUNE 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
NEWS ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL HARDWOOD CONSUMERS INCLUDING MERGERS, PLANT EXPANSIONS & ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES ber, and Ash lumber, while List II does not include any food, agricultural, or agricultural-related products. The products are eligible for refund of tariffs already collected. Refund applications must be submitted within six months after publication of the exclusions, which are effective through February 27, 2021. This is the second batch of tariff exclusions published because of applications submitted during two application periods last year. The full report is available on the USDA website at https://bit. ly/34mviI5. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DECLARES WOOD PRODUCTS ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor have identified the wood products industry as an “essential critical infrastructure workforce” in the nation’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The guidance lists “workers who support the manufacture and distribution of forest products, including, but not limited to timber, paper and other wood products,” along with health care providers, law enforcement and public safety, and utility and transportation workers. These workers are part of the “overall federal effort to ensure the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure” during the pandemic response. The department later added these categories to the federal guidance: • Workers performing housing construction-related activities to ensure additional units can be made available to combat the nation’s existing housing supply shortage. • Workers who support the supply chain of building materials from production through application/installation, including cabinetry, fixtures, doors, cement, hardware, plumbing, electrical, heating/cooling, refrigera- tion, appliances, paint/coatings, and employees who provide services that enable repair materials and equipment for essential functions. Although the federal guidance is only advisory, the state Please turn to page 42 JUNE 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 13
