Technology

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, former Home Depot executive Matthew Pitts has joined SMS Assist as chief operating officer. 

At Atlanta-based Home Depot, Pitts was VP building services and had worked at the retailer for about 20 years. SMS is a facilities maintenance company based in Chicago. It serves about 24,000 locations.

The company terminated Phil Schneider, formerly executive vp-marketing, earlier this month, according to a filing....

Parallam parallel strand lumber (PSL) came on the scene at the Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and quickly left a mark on the building industry, according to Carlos Guilherme, VP engineered lumber products for Weyerhaeuser.

"The invention of Parallam was one of those building material breakthroughs that happen maybe once or twice in a generation," Guilherme said. "Engineers and scientists invented a new product that took a great building material -- wood -- and made it even better."

Las Vegas -- Industry experts speaking at the International Builders' Show (IBS) here predicted...

Across the country, and across a broad spectrum of industries, advertisements sporting mobile bar codes are becoming an increasingly familiar sight. QR codes — quick response codes — are the most common of a few types of bar codes that consumers can scan using a pre-downloaded smartphone app. The bar codes may appear on anything from posters to packaging to catalogs and, when scanned, lead consumers to a specific set of information, often through a mobile website.

The New American Home 2010 was scheduled to be unveiled during the International Builders' Show...

An article in yesterday's Home Channel News Monday described an idea from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to turn government-owned foreclosures into rentals. The idea received a chilly reception from readers.

“In a word, Geithner’s idea is ‘stupid’.

Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool has announced a second-quarter net loss of $161 million, compared with net earnings of $205 million in the same period last year. 

Second-quarter results include the settlement of a Brazilian collection dispute for about $3.78 per share and increased accruals related to developments in the Embraco antitrust matters of $1.08 per share.