Technology

Formica will be building a new laminates plant in Jiujiang, China, in the Jiangxi Province, to satisfy the demand for its products in Asia. The 500,000-sq.-ft. facility, Formica’s second laminates plant in China, will double the company's capacity in China and allow for additional market growth. Its completion is slated for 2013. 

An award honoring the ideals of PRO Hardware founder Paul L. Cosgrave goes to Warehouse...

Workers have been clearing land for what might be a large Ace Hardware distribution center in Suffolk, Va., according to an article in the Virginia Pilot.  

The Suffolk site is part of a planned 5.8 million-sq.-ft. complex under development on 900 acres by CenterPoint Properties Trust, which is based in Oak Brook, Ill., where Ace is also headquartered.

The recent Mattel toy recall dramatically exposes the high stakes of retail and poses questions...

Sales of new single-family houses in July 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is 0.7% below the revised June rate of 300,000, but is 6.8% above the July 2010 estimate of 279,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in July 2011 was $222,000, down from $236,800 in June. The average sales price increased slightly to $273,300.

Ken White arrived at Handy Hardware in May with a clear-cut mandate and straightforward goals. Specifically, get Handy’s information technology program back on track, and put the company on path for growth.

WOLF has launched a new line of cabinets, “WOLF Classic Cabinets,” available exclusively to independent dealers in 18 eastern states. With the new cabinet line, the largest U.S. supplier of kitchen cabinets hopes to compete with comparable products imported from overseas. 

Barry Graboski, WOLF’s senior VP product development for kitchen and bath, said that the new line was the result of collaboration with WOLF customers, who expressed a need for a product to compete with the foreign-made cabinets that dominate the category. 

The first-of-its-kind Home Channel News list of 50 hardware store all-stars appeared in the May issue of Home Channel News and recognized a diverse group of high-performance retailers -- large, small, urban and rural. Below, the state-by-state guide winds through Tennessee, Texas and Utah.