June 28, 2007

INDUSTRY ACCESS*

Home Depot Sells HD Supply Unit

The Home Depot Inc. will sell its wholesale distribution business to a group of private equity firms for $10.3 billion. The board of the world's largest home improvement store chain approved the sale of Home Depot Supply to Bain Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, reported Businessweek. Full Story

New HD Supply Owners Will Maintain Acquisitive Strategy

HD Supply's new owners said that it is premature to say whether they will divest any of the $12 billion distributor's assets after taking full ownership, said David Novak, a partner at Clayton Dubilier & Rice. Though there are no immediate plans for HD Supply's current assets, the new owners do plan to continue building the company through acquisitions. "That we will certainly do," Novak told Modern Distribution Management. "Local scale is very important for productivity and service levels." 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

After three consecutive months of modest growth, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) revealed a spike in design activity. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the May ABI was 55.0 (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings), up from the 52.6 mark in April. Full Story

Nonresidential building, at $198.0 billion (annual rate), grew 4% in May. Office construction advanced 35%, regaining an upward trend after a sluggish performance in March and April, reported Construction.com. Full Story

The Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA) has released a new standard for residential garage door systems. ANSI/DASMA 116-2007, Section Interfaces on Residential Garage Door Systems, known as the "pinch standard," defines performance- and prescriptive-based methods of evaluating section interfaces on residential garage doors in an effort to protect fingers and hands. Full Story View Standard

The May Producer Price Index for Wood Doors (flush & panel, interior & exterior) was up 2.8% from 2006 and the Other Wood Doors (Incl. garage, screen, storm, etc.) PPI was up 2.2% compared to a year earlier. Compared to April, the unadjusted May PPI was down 0.1% for Wood Doors while the PPI for Other Wood Doors was down 0.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI for Metal Doors, Sash & Trim was unchanged from April and up 2.1% from a year ago. The May PPI for Door locks, locksets & locktrim was up 0.4% from April, and was up 7.8% from 2006. Click here to view the full May Producer Price Index report. (PDF file - Wood Door information is on page 12, Lock data and Metal Door data is on page 17)

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

Approximately 136,500 hotel rooms began construction in 2006, a year-over-year increase of 64.2%, making the 2006 room starts increase the highest since 1994, reported Building Design & Construction. Full Story

McGraw-Hill Construction released the Health Care Green Building SmartMarket Report detailing the healthcare industry's incorporation of sustainability and green building into their construction projects. The study confirms the increasing trend in green building in the $23.7 billion healthcare market. Full Story

Sutter Health, which faces huge seism ic replacement or retrofit projects at many of its Northern California hospitals, has selected an architecture and engineering firm to help it create a "hospital of the future" prototype, reported MSN Money. The slimmed-down design is intended to make acute-care facilities more efficient to run and less costly and time-consuming to build, and could slash the $2.5 million-per-bed cost by as much as 40%, according to Sutter. Full Story

SECURITY & SAFETY

Safer buildings, especially tall structures, that are more resistant to fire and more easily evacuated in emergencies are the goal of the first comprehensive set of building code changes recently approved by the International Code Council (ICC) based on recommendations from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), reported Facilitiesnet. Full Story

Virginia Tech's sweeping review of campus safety, including an examination of door locks, will change how and when people can gain entrance to the school's classrooms and buildings. Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho chained shut entrances to Norris Hall in order to hamper police rushing to the rescue. Tech is changing the door hardware from the so-called "crash bars" to "push panel bars" so that doors can't be rigged shut, reported WSLS.com. Full Story

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

The Senate approved a bipartisan, energy-efficiency-focused energy bill, minus tax incentives for consumers and commercial energy efficiency that had been approved by the Senate's Finance Committee, reported Facilitiesnet. Full Story

Six out of 10 hospitals slated for reconstruction or closing by 2013 under California's seismic safety law could get a reprieve until 2030, reported the Sacramento Business Journal. Full Story

Howard County (MD) Executive Ken Ulman is proposing a legislative package designed to move the county to the forefront of the environmental movement's push for "green" buildings. Ulman announced that he will introduce a combination of property tax breaks, governmental reforms and incentives for private home builders designed to speed the county onto an environmentally friendly track, reported The Baltimore Sun. Full Story

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Taxes

For decades, the States have sought to increase the amount of use taxes collected and remitted by out of state retailers for the sale of goods. The Supreme Court has ruled that, unless Congress acts otherwise, the States could not impose a requirement on out of state sellers to collect and remit the use taxes unless the seller had a physical presence in the state. A connection referred to as the "nexus."

As a result, many States have turned to income or franchise (in this context, franchise means "right to do business") taxes. For such taxes, States have attempted to use a broader definition of "nexus" that involves a "significant economic presence" rather than a physical presence; in another words, a tax on "doing business" in the state.

In the two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the business taxpayers were challenging the definitions of nexus used by West Virginia and New Jersey. Among the arguments used by the business taxpayers were that the earlier sales and use tax nexus decisions should apply to the income and franchise taxes as well, and that there should be one consistent standard.

By declining to hear the cases, the U.S. Supreme Court is saying the narrower definition of nexus does not necessarily apply to these other taxes, and that the States can use different standards. The decision by the Supreme Court not to hear the cases will send a signal to the States to be even more aggressive. Also, it does mean that for businesses "doing business" in multiple states, there is no easy answer to the question what constitutes "doing business" for taxation purposes.

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

Foundation’s Presence at Hearing Leads to School District’s Increased Funding

The Foundation attended a public hearing late last year, on the heels of the White House School Summit, to listen and discuss the important aspects of increased security for a school district in the Washington DC area.

An elected member of the school district’s board attributed the recent approval of a budget line item of $500,000 for school security upgrades to, quite considerably, the fact that the Foundation was present, and was able to articulate the important role life safety and security plays in our nation’s schools.

The monies will be use to upgrade security features throughout the school district.

2007 Forum for the Future

The 2007 Forum for the Future, sponsored through the generous support of Foundation contributors and held in conjunction with the DHI Conference and Exhibition will be addressing the business issues that will speak to the insurance, staffing, marketing and financial ramifications of becoming engaged in the fire door inspection initiative. At this year’s forum event, you will hear:

An overview of the inspection guidelines, checklists, reports, and model contractual agreements that will be used to support anyone performing these inspections.
The risk management and insurance aspects of this program.
Long-term maintenance agreements.
Classes and Certifications through DHI and Intertek Warnock Hersey.
Important perspective from Bert Polk, a retired state fire marshal, who works in consultation with the Foundation.

We hope you will plan on attending this year’s event on October 18th from 12:30 – 4:15. The cost is $100 per person.

Companies and Chapters Committed to Making a Difference

Thank you to the following companies and DHI chapters for their increased and continued financial support of the Foundation’s activities this year: D.H. Pace Company, Inc., Boyle and Chase, Stock Building Supply, New England Chapter, Rocky Mountain Chapter, Connecticut Chapter, DHI Canada, DHI Ontario, St. Louis Chapter, Steward Steel, Inc., Windsor Republic, Seeley Brothers, Akron Hardware, Long Island Fireproof Door, Inc., RDL Supply, Trebor USA, Corp., and Steel Door Institute.

It is with this type of commitment that the foundation is able to continue to advance our important message of life safety and security.

Your support continues to make a difference. Thank you.

For a listing of organizations that have been mentioned in past editions of IW, click here.

Donate Online at Foundation’s Website

To make an online donation, please visit www.lifesafetyandsecurity.org, click on 'Support Us'. You will see a button for 'Make a Donation'. You can use your credit card or your PayPal account.

Thank you for your consideration of support.

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

DHI NEWS

Registration is Now Available for DHI’s 32nd Annual Conference and Exposition!
October 13 – 20, 2007 in Nashville, TN!

Don’t miss this annual industry event with extensive opportunities to network with your fellow industry leaders, continue your education and develop your career. Be sure to take advantage of the largest DHI course offerings available in one location! PLUS! When you buy one day of education, you get access to the Conference and Exposition FREE! Registration is available online at www.dhi.org/annual or contact DHI directly at 702-222-2010 and we can get you registered over the phone! This is YOUR industry and YOUR event—stay connected and be empowered!

Are YOU Registered for the Fire Door Assembly Inspection Class?

Don’t miss the launch of the Fire Door Assembly Inspection Class (FDAIC), offered for the first time at DHI’s 32nd Annual Conference and Exposition! Interested in becoming a Certified Fire Door Assembly Inspector (FDAI)? This class can put you on track! Make sure you have completed the mandatory pre-requisites prior to the class:

Self-Study Course: Fundamentals of Architectural Doors and Hardware
COR110 Basic Hardware
COR115 Hardware Applications
COR140 Using Codes and Standards

Individuals certified as Architectural Hardware Consultants (AHCs), Certified Door Consultants (CDCs), Electrified Hardware Consultants (EHCs) and/or Architectural Openings Consultants (AOCs) are already eligible to enroll in the FDAIC.