FDM - August 2009

NOTEBOOK
FDM

fdmonline.com

BIFMA: Office furniture still in slump

The Business and Institutional Furniture

Manufacturer’s Association is forecasting a continued slowdown for the office furniture industry.

Orders and shipments of office furniture for the first quarter of 2009 came in below expectations, according to the association, which recently refined its forecast model to better reflect the image of some of the model’s drivers and improve accuracy.

The domestic market should improve as 2009 progresses, but recovery for the rest of the world will be slower.

After falling sharply in 2009, BIFMA expects U.S. office furniture demand to increase in 2010.

BIFMA projections as of late May:

2009

U.S. Production:

U.S. Consumption:

Warm Springs Composite Products recently contracted with Jim Snodgrass to serve as marketing and sales consultant.

PEOPLE PEOPLE

$8.0 billion, a decrease of 28. 6 percent $9.4 billion, a decrease of 27. 4 percent

2010

U.S. Production:

U.S. Consumption:

$8.2 billion, an increase of 2. 8 percent $9.8 billion, an increase of 3. 9 percent

Masco Corporation of Taylor, Mich., named Gary DuBoff president of Arrow Fastener Company in Saddle Brook, N.J.

U.S. demand for
wood protection
coatings to rise
OFS Brands develops
new finishing system

The Wood Protection Coatings and Preservatives study has forecast that a housing sector recovery in the U.S. will raise the demand for wood protection coatings and preservatives by 2. 2 percent every year until 2013, touching the $3 billion mark, a press release stated.

The study, conducted by Freedonia Group Inc., predicts increased demand for higher value items, pressure-treated lumber production and residential repair. However, the key wood siding market will continue to stay weak, it said.

The best gains will be seen in interior wood applications, such as flooring and cabinets. Suppliers are expected to develop more environmentally friendly product lines that feature more colors, improved efficiency and enhanced durability. In exterior applications, wood will continue to suffer losses to competitive materials, especially in siding. However, the demand for maintenance coatings will persist.

OFS Brands is launching a new finishing system called Euroluxe, a chemically re-engineered urethane clear coat, designed to preserve depth and clarity of finishes and allow for better performance with chemical, heat and scratch resistance.

LEED indoor air quality and BIFMA furniture emission standards also have been met, enabling the company to Greenguard certify all products.

For more information, contact Chris Rogers at 800.521.5381 ext. 7213.

Rev-A-Shelf hired Kurt A. Johnson as its OEM sales manager for the U.S. and Canada.

Bob Ward
joined Osborne
Wood
Products as
its lean
management
coordinator.

Biesse launches
Diamut America,
Canada
Ameriwood plant
may be fined by
OSHA

Biesse recently launched its North America operations of Diamut in the U.S. and Canada. Diamut produces high-tech diamond tooling used in the working of stone and glass and in the construction trades, and it was acquired by Biesse in 2002.

For more information, call 877.934.2688 or e-mail sales@ diamutamerica.com.

Diamut tools are available from the company’s distributors and from its base in Charlotte, N.C.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently cited Ameriwood Industries Inc. for allegedly not meeting federal workplace safety standards, according to the Toledo Blade.

OSHA is proposing the ready-to-assemble furniture maker be fined $108,700. The citation focuses on the lack of protection for workers from wood dust explosions. The factory’s duct work does not provide spark detention/spark suppression systems.

Ian Strouse has assumed an outside sales position for Hermance Machine Company, covering western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, West Virginia and western Maryland.