Technology

 

It’s official. The Lumber Association of California and Nevada is now the West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association (WCLBMA).

In an announcement letter, the association’s Executive Director Ken Dunham explained the motive for the name change:

With a little help from Nascar champ Jimmie Johnson's team of mechanics, Kobalt is launching what it calls a "new and improved" Kobalt Mechanics Tools line in June at all Lowe's stores nationwide.

There’s nothing like “free paint” to catch consumers’ attention, as Valspar learned during its recent “Power in Color” campaign. According to an article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, the manufacturer handed out 100,000 free paint-sample kits during the first 100 days of 2011, or 1,000 kits per day.

Gas prices decline to a national average of $3.55 for a gallon of regular. Elsewhere on the Dashboard, Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams show strength on the Home Channel Stock Roundup.

Despite winter storms that slammed Texas transportation, Handy Hardware Wholesale hosted more than 725 dealers at its Houston market last week. That's a new record for the Houston-based hardware co-op. 

During the event's Feb. 5 breakfast meeting, Handy president Tina Kirbie updated members on what she called Handy's "two bold 2010 initiatives" -- a computer system conversion and the company's new Meridian, Miss., distribution center.

Perspectives on promotion and pricing of U.S.-made building products

Fortune Brands, whose products include Master Lock and Moen, has announced its intention to separate its three consumer businesses --home and security, golf products and distilled spirits -- so it can focus solely on its liquor business as an independently publicly traded company.

When it comes to designing and communicating employee benefit programs, employee input and involvement can be a boon. After all, one of the best ways to gain buy-in for and to communicate employee benefit programs is to use peer-to-peer interaction. If a group of employees supports these programs and makes it a point to tell other employees, organizations can build buy-in for programs and changes more readily.