April 5, 2007

INDUSTRY ACCESS*

Grainger Announces Expansion Plans in the Tri-State Area

Grainger plans to expand and enhance its operations throughout the Tri-State area to better serve customers. As part of this multi-year expansion, the company will revamp its distribution network by opening new facilities, relocating others and expanding some of its existing facilities in the Tri-State area.

Grainger currently operates out of 23 locations throughout the Tri-State area. The company plans to increase its number of locations by about 25% once the expansion is complete. Grainger also plans to increase its local workforce by approximately 10-20% and will increase the size of its distribution network in the Tri-State area by about 40% to meet the needs of local customers.

Ankmar Door Opens Facility In Texas

Ankmar Door has opened a dedicated facility for the production of its CladPanel garage doors in Lockhart, TX, south of Austin. CladPanel doors are a cost-conscious "Certified Green" alternative to traditional wooden doors. The doors are made of unused Douglas fir recovered from mills and fused with exterior grade resins and waxes to create a homogeneous composite wood panel, finished by a front and back surface comprised of recycled newsprint, reported Professional Door Dealer. Full Story

Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products.

* DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org.

BUSINESS UPDATE

At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $609.6 billion, new construction starts in February advanced 7% from the previous month, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. Nonresidential building regained the elevated pace that had been present for much of 2006, following its weak performance in January, reported Construction.com. Full Story

A new breed of wholesaler-distributors is emerging, building deep relationships with customers based on an understanding of the true value created by their services and activities. They are charging customers for new services rather than giving away their value-added for free and hoping to recoup the costs with product margins. These wholesaler-distributors build clout with suppliers through superior performance rather than just through sheer size or volume, according to a new report Facing the Forces of Change: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain by the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence. Full Story (PDF file)

Construction equipment orders plunged 40% and shipments from U.S. factories fell 30% in January 2007 (versus December 2006). Both figures are considerable exaggerations of the not-unexpected softening of the equipment market, following seven months of marginal decline in overall construction activity. These surprisingly huge month-to-month changes were not matched by changes in equipment prices, inventory, factory employment or the share prices of the major equipment manufacturers, reported Building Team Forecast. Full Story

More than two-thirds of the top 30 fastest-growing hotel destinations this year are outside the country's biggest cities. The boom, more than 800 new hotels are opening this year, reflects the completion of projects that were greenlighted when the post-9/11 travel slump started to improve, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ subscription required)

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

Significant gains can be made in efforts to combat global warming by reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency in buildings. The right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy saving technologies and behavioral change can substantially reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the building sector which accounts for 30-40% of global energy use, says a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Construction and Building Initiative (SBCI). The new report, Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities, says many opportunities exist for governments, industry and consumers to take appropriate actions during the life span of buildings that will help mitigate the impacts of global warming. Full Story Download Report

Despite the downturn early in this decade, U.S. investment in education construction continues at an impressive level. From 2001-2006, 73,443 education projects broke ground with an associated construction cost of $264.8 billion. Of these projects, 58,550 were new construction or additions to existing structures costing $213 billion, while an additional 14,893 projects were alterations to existing structures (no additional square footage added) with a construction cost of $52.0 billion, reported Engineering News-Record. Full Story

SECURITY & SAFETY

A new Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities was developed and issued by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The document provides general information to assist in identifying the needs of people with disabilities related to emergency evacuation planning. Full Story Download Guide (PDF file)

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Committee E54 on Homeland Security Applications invites interested parties to participate in the development of a proposed new standard, WK8908, Guide for School Preparedness and All-Hazard Response. The proposed guide will cover concepts, principles and best practices for integrated emergency management programs concerning preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery for schools and school districts. Full Story

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

A three-year effort to revise New York City's building code could end up increasing New York's already soaring construction costs, an expert on city real estate says. The new code, drafted with the help of more than 400 industry figures — including architects, real estate developers, engineers, government officials, and union representatives — will be presented to the City Council later this month. It is modeled on the International Building Code in use in cities across America, but it will contain provisions specific to New York City, reported The New York Sun. Full Story

Austin Mayor Will Wynn announced his new "Climate Protection Plan" for the city. The concept is to implement cost-effective, common-sense measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, curb air pollution and keep energy bills low. With Austin Energy expected to achieve 700 megawatts of new conservation, the city aims to increase the energy efficiency of all new commercial buildings by 75% by 2015, reported Austin Business Journal. Full Story

Legislation to repeal a tax withholding requirement for all government contracts and payments was introduced in the House by Congressmen Kendrick Meek (D-FL) and Wally Herger (RCA). The Meek/Herger bill (H.R. 1023) would repeal Section 511 of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, which is a sweeping new requirement mandating that federal, state and local governments that spend $100 million or more annually withhold 3% from payments for goods and services, reported Consulting-Specifying Engineer. Full Story

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Minimum Wage

The House has passed their version of a supplemental spending bill. It does include their version of a minimum wage increase/small business tax relief/pay-go offsets. The Senate now takes up their version of the supplemental bill and it will most likely include at least the Senate-passed version of the minimum wage increase/small business tax relief/pay-go offsets, and possibly some new tax relief add-ons. Hence, we are no closer to resolving the minimum wage impasse; it has just morphed into a different forum.

Genetic Testing

At first blush, preventing the use of genetic testing for insurance and employment purposes does not sound like a small business issue, but it could have some ramifications. The House will consider a bill, H.R. 493, as early as this week, but more likely after the spring break. There is a Senate companion bill and considerable support for the initiative in both chambers.

For now, it is not believed that genetic testing is in widespread use. There are a few anecdotal stories about the use of testing that are cited repeatedly. Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), sponsor of the bill, offers these examples: "Throughout the 1970s, many African Americans were denied jobs, educational opportunities, and insurance based on their carrier status for sickle cell anemia, despite the fact that a carrier lacked the two copies of a mutation necessary to get sick. In 1998, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories in Berkeley was found to have been performing tests on employees for years for syphilis, pregnancy, and sickle cell without their knowledge or consent. In 2000, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad performed genetic tests on employees without their knowledge or consent."

The sections applicable specifically to employers amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Thus the coverage thresholds and other rules applicable to other equal employment opportunity discrimination would apply here as well. There are exceptions for using genetic testing results, for example an employer requests or requires family medical history from the employee to comply with the certification provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org.

FOUNDATION NEWS

President Tartre meets with Senator Collins (R-ME) and Maine Fire Chiefs.

Foundation President James Tartre, CDC was on Capitol Hill March 28th to meet with Senator Susan Collins and a group of fire chiefs from the state of Maine. President Tartre talked with Senator Collins and the fire chiefs about the expertise that members of the door and hardware industry have in writing the specifications for nearly every commercial door opening in the country and how that expertise translates into saving lives. Later that day, President Tartre, Richard Barnhard, DAHC/CDC, FDHI and Foundation staff attended a dinner hosted by the Congressional Fire Services Institute. This dinner has been held for the last nineteen years in coordination with the largest caucus on Capitol Hill, The Congressional Fire Services Caucus which has over 340 congressional members. The caucus works on promoting and funding issues that are important to our nation's firefighters and to those that support their work.

Keep up-to-date with the latest Foundation news and programs, please visit www.lifesafetysecurity.org

DHI NEWS

DHI Education in Scottsdale, AZ!

Registration is now available for DHI's upcoming education in Scottsdale, AZ, June 3 - 8, 2007! Go online to www.dhi.org/education or call the registrar, Linda Saylor, directly at 703-766-7021. DHI Education is for EVERYONE! Start making your plans to attend this upcoming education opportunity! With a wide variety of classes, you can build a schedule that meets YOUR education needs! Not sure which class to take? Contact us at 703-222-2010 and we can help you select the right one!

Save the Date!

Make sure you mark your calendar for DHI's 32nd Annual Conference and Exposition, October 13 - 20, 2007 in Nashville, TN!

Don't miss the release of the Fire Door Annual Inspection Program at this annual event! The inaugural presentation of this program will include education sessions on the new inspection process guidelines as well as the certification process for companies and individuals. PLUS! This year's Forum for the Future, sponsored by the Foundation for the Advancement of Life Safety and Security, will address business issues that will speak to the insurance, staffing, marketing and financial ramifications of this initiative. Watch www.dhi.org for further details!