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May 30, 2008

INDUSTRY ACCESS*

Cornell Iron Works, Inc. to Acquire The Cookson Company

Cornell Iron Works has reached an agreement to purchase The Cookson Company, in its entirety, effective May 28. The Cookson Company is a premier rolling door manufacturer with facilities in Phoenix, AZ and Gastonia, NC.

With the continued leadership of the Cookson brothers, Cornell plans to aggressively grow both the Cornell and Cookson brands independently, while leveraging the opportunities and efficiencies that being the largest U.S. rolling door manufacturer provides. While separate manufacturing, sales and distribution channels will be maintained, aligning the leadership of these two brands will create a driving force within the marketplace.

For more information about Cornell or their products, visit www.cornelliron.com, email cornell@cornelliron.com or call 800.233.8366.

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

After sinking to its lowest level ever in March, indicating a rapid slowdown in billings at U.S. architecture firms, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) rose slightly in April. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI shows an approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the April ABI rating was 45.5, up from the historic low mark of 39.7 in March (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The inquiries for new projects score was 53.9. Full Story

The April Producer Price Index for Wood Doors (flush & panel, interior & exterior) was down 2.0% from 2007 and the Other Wood Doors (Incl. garage, screen, storm, etc.) PPI was up 2.2% compared to a year earlier. Compared to March the unadjusted April PPI was up 0.6% for Wood Doors and the PPI for Other Wood Doors was down 0.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI for Metal Doors, Sash & Trim was down 0.7% from March and up 1.5% from 2007. Click here to view the full April Producer Price Index report. (PDF file - Wood Door information is on page 12 and Metal Door data is on page 17)

The housing slump is downsizing San Diego County's home-building industry, as many of the large firms that helped create suburban communities scale back or close local operations, reported the SanDiego Union-Tribune. Companies that sold tens of thousands of homes during the recent housing boom are struggling to stay afloat until the downturn ends. Some of those that leave probably won't return. "Centex, KB Home, K. Hovnanian, William Lyon, Richmond American, Pulte – all have closed local offices, and pretty much every other builder has reduced staff," said real estate analyst Peter Dennehy. Full Story

San Francisco has drawn national attention for proposing tough, environmentally friendly building codes, but those standards could decrease the city's economic output by as much as $700 million a year, a city report shows. The city's Office of Economic Analysis has issued a report concluding that the city guidelines would significantly reduce greenhouse gases over time. But it also found that the higher costs of constructing environmentally sustainable buildings would translate to higher housing prices and commercial rents, slow construction rates and possibly discourage businesses from locating and expanding in the city. The codes' estimated negative economic impact could range from $30 million to $700 million a year through 2027, according to the study. The reason for the big cost range is that green building costs are new, uncertain and could significantly change over time, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Full Story

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

The value of new construction starts in April climbed 9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $553.5 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. Much of the increase came as the result of a strong performance by nonbuilding construction, which is comprised of public works and electric utilities. Nonresidential building showed moderate improvement in April, while residential building stayed unchanged from its March pace. Full Story

In five years, the residential green building market is expected to double to 12% to 20% market share or $40 billion to $70 billion, according to a survey by McGraw-Hill Construction. Full Story

SECURITY & SAFETY

The 2008 School Safety Index finds that districts improved their physical safety score by 39% over 2007, while their cyber safety score declined by 25% in the same time period, according to CDW Government Inc.'s 2008 School Safety Index. Full Story

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

The Alliance to Save Energy applauded the House of Representatives for passing, on a bipartisan basis, long-stalled extensions for energy-efficiency and renewable tax incentives. The House passed H.R. 6049, the Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008, by a 263-160 vote. It includes a one year extension of the consumer tax credits for energy-efficient existing homes through December 31, 2008, a five-year extension for the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction, and a three year extension of existing tax credits for manufacturers of energy-efficient appliances. Full Story

New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine and state lawmakers began pushing for an additional $2.5 billion to replenish the state's school construction program, enough to pay for about 47 new schools, according to the program's top official. Scott Weiner, chief executive officer of the Schools Development Authority, said the new money is sorely needed but will barely put a dent in the roster of 398 schools awaiting construction in Newark and other communities, where the state is under court order to repair or replace decrepit public schools, reported The Star-Ledger. Full Story

More than eight in 10 building plans vetted by architects and engineers, instead of city inspectors, violate zoning rules, New York City reviews of the plans found. The Buildings Department recently checked 869 of the "self-certified" plans and issued objections against 727 of them, reported Insurance Journal. Full Story

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Office of Advocacy

We do not talk a lot about the Office of Advocacy. Created in the late 1970s, the idea was to create a government-sponsored voice for small business. The head of the office, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy for Small Business, is a presidential appointment.

The Office of Advocacy’s role in administering the Regulatory Flexibility Act is its best-known role but it also conducts research, is active in promoting states to adopt small business favorable legislation, and a host of other activities. The current Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Tom Sullivan, has been a great friend of small business.

As one might imagine, balancing the administrative-dependent attributes and the policy-independent attributes have been a challenge. The latest effort to enhance the Office of Advocacy’s independence is being led by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) who, with Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) has introduced, S. 2902, the Independent Office of Advocacy and Small Business Regulatory Reform Act of 2008. It would:

Require the Federal budget to include a separate account for the Office of Advocacy drawn from the General Fund of the Treasury. Designed to preserve the Office of Advocacy’s independence, this provision would free the Chief Counsel for Advocacy from having to seek the SBA Administrator’s approval to hire staff for the Office of Advocacy.
Improve the Regulatory Flexibility Act by requiring Federal agencies to consider and specifically respond to comments provided by the Office of Advocacy. Enacted in 1980, the Regulatory Flexibility Act mandates that Federal agencies analyze the impact of proposed regulations when there is likely to be a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. This critical change would ensure that agencies give the proper deference.

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.

This material is protected under copyright law and contains confidential information. It is for the sole personal, informational use of DHI members. It cannot be distributed, reprinted, referenced as a source for attribution, or otherwise made public.

FOUNDATION NEWS

Foundation’s Accomplishments Highlighted;
Looks for Continued Financial Support

Members of the door and hardware industry have been faithfully supporting the Foundation for over the past ten years. This support has allowed us to create and grow the programs that benefit our core purpose: Creating awareness for life safety and security in the built environment.

Here are a few of the major highlights for the current programs your dollars are supporting.

Over 1,000 AHJs have attended the Foundation sponsored fire door inspection program. Most recently, training in Virginia Beach trained over 150 AHJ’s (including the Virginia State Fire Marshal in attendance) and in the state of New Jersey, in partnership with Kean University, we have created awareness with over 300 AHJ’s. This training has lead to greater awareness within the AHJ community for the enforcement of this new requirement as well as the leading role the door and hardware industry is playing in providing the much needed support to implement these requirements. Along with the NFPA 80 requirements, the updated version of NFPA 101 will now require inspections for all doors that swing in the path of egress (schools, day care and assembly). This will only increase the need for this type of awareness program.
Coordinating efforts with former White House and government officials to provide education for minimizing the impact of security breaches on college campuses. These efforts will target high ranking officials on college campuses, along with local elected officials by providing training sessions that help them to understand the associated risk, solutions and implementation steps available to minimize the impact of an unwanted event.
Creation and distribution of security guidelines for the K-12 community, an area where we are playing an important role in the security issues that have become increasing visible over these past few years.
Presenting the keynote address at the National Association of State Fire Marshal conference in July.
Educating the building management community and insurance industry on the new inspection requirement and the avenues available to conduct inspections.
Hiring of a former state fire marshal to help with education and relationship development within the fire service. Bert Polk, retired state fire marshal from South Carolina is supporting the Foundation in a greater capacity to assist in the multiple efforts that are underway.

In light of these accomplishments, please consider continuing/renewing your support of the Foundation. These programs have established this industry as a leader in life safety and security and your financial support will allow these programs to continue, programs that directly impact the success of this industry.

Your name will appear on numerous occasions at this year’s DHI Conference and Exposition in Boston, on the Foundation’s website, and within numerous editions of the DHI Doors and Hardware magazine.

Most importantly, you have invested into the future of our industry and helped in establishing a dominant role in the inspection and secured environment process.

If you want to join us in this worthy cause, you can make a pledge by visiting www.lifesafetysecurity.org/FoundContribute.htm and clicking on 'Make a Donation' OR sending in your Foundation pledge to: 14150 Newbrook Drive Suite 200, Chantilly, VA 20151.

As always, thank you for your support.

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

DHI NEWS

Make Your Plans To Attend DHI’s 33rd Annual Conference and Exposition!
November 7 -15, 2008 in Boston, MA

CONFERENCE UPDATE: Housing Registration Is Now Open! Make your reservations today!

Hotels include: Westin Boston Waterfront, Doubletree Hotel Boston-Downtown, Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, Seaport Hotel.

For more information about the hotels and rates, please visit the DHI conference website at www.dhi.org/annual or call the DHI Housing Bureau at 866-578-8809. To take advantage of DHI’s conference rates, be sure to book your reservation by Friday, October 10, 2008.

DHI Sponsored Insurance Program
Protects, Educates and Saves You Time & Money!

The new DHI-Sponsored Insurance Program provides ways to lower your risk through customized insurance policies and risk education. A full range of programs are available: Property and Casualty, Directors and Officers, Employment Practices Liability and Professional Liability. This comprehensive business insurance program was approved by the DHI Board of Governors and formed in conjunction with our strategic partner, TISC (Telcom Insurance Services Corporation). For information, contact Peter J. Elliot, TISC President and CEO, or Bonnie Gauerke, Program Manager at 800-222-4664.