Home Depot will open two new stores later this month designed with women shoppers in mind. Full story >>

Plumbing Distributors Inc. (PDI) has acquired Dickerson Supply Co., a family-owned plumbing supply house in Georgia with locations at 1121 Huff Road in Atlanta and 4700 Atlanta Highway in Alpharetta. The acquisition gives PDI a solid presence in downtown Atlanta, providing a branch location as well as a Premier Kohler Showroom.

Dana Finch

North Carolina-based Murray Supply Co. hired Dana Finch to serve as the showroom manager for The Fuller House showroom in Winston-Salem and Apex, NC. Formerly, Finch worked in the kitchen and bath industry and she also owned her own landscaping business for a number of years.

Basco Shower Enclosures announced that Jim DeBruer will be resuming his position as training specialist at Basco University, the company’s training program on the proper techniques and methods for best installing and selling glass shower doors and enclosures. In 2005, DeBruer had officially ‘retired’ from Basco University and utilized his training expertise in Basco’s Engineering & Tech group. At that time, his son, Jason, became the training specialist at Basco University, but Jason has recently been named Eastern regional sales manager, prompting Jim’s return to the post.

John Lang

The SEN Design Group has announced its latest membership service, Business Coaching, led by John Lang , a 20-year kitchen and bath veteran. Available to SEN affiliates effective January 2008, the coaching service will serve as a catalyst to both facilitate positive changes in a member’s operation and strategically increase favorable relationships with preferred kitchen and bath manufacturers.

Stephen Anderson

Swanstone, a manufacturer of solid surface and granite products for the kitchen and bath, announced the hiring of Stephen P. Anderson as its new president. Anderson takes the place of Peter Warren , who will remain on the Swanstone board of directors. Anderson brings to Swanstone a 20-year career in the building materials business. Most recently, Anderson served as CEO and president of Enkeboll Designs in Carson, CA.

RangeCraft Manufacturing, Inc., a manufacturer of custom and made-to-order range hoods (pictured), has expanded its manufacturing facility and added a new showroom to showcase its line of range hoods.

Crawford Supply Group, Morton Grove, IL, has announced two new showroom open house events Nov. 13, 2007, at Plumbers Equipment Co. in Pittsburgh, PA (contact Cheryl Sych, 412-821-7311), and Crawford Supply in Kankakee, IL (contact Erin Milone, 815-933-7724).

Kohler Co. announced plans to open its third retail location in the Chicago market, located in Burr Ridge, IL, inside the Burr Ridge Village Center. The store is slated to open in November. It will have an adjoining Kohler Waters Spa, set to open in early 2008.

Vendor News

The Grundfos TPE circulator pump (pictured) has been chosen as a “Winning Technology” by Flow Control Magazine. TPE pumps have an integrated variable frequency drive (VFD) motor that adjusts the pump’s speed to meet changing demands and offers differential pressure control, temperature control, and control via building automated systems.

GROHE has launched a consumer sweepstakes promotion featuring a 30-day satisfaction guarantee on all its Rainshower mounted and hand-held showerheads. Full story >>

Jensen Industries, Inc., a division of Broan-NuTone LLC, has announced the recent acquisition of key assets of the Triangle Bath Cabinet and Accessories Division from the Solar Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Gibraltar Industries. With the acquisition, the plant operations of Jensen and Triangle will be consolidated into the Broan-NuTone facility in Cleburne, TX.

In addition, Broan-NuTone announced it has become a manufacturer member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

One college and three U.S. and Canadian companies that recently won awards for their innovative building designs and projects specifically cited their use of Sloan Valve Co.'s plumbing products as being part of their respective success stories. Full story >>

The EPA’s WaterSense Label has been awarded to 29 Caroma toilets, the company announced. All of the toilets are dual flush, with two buttons on the top of the tank that offer different flush volumes, a .8 small flush and 1.6 big flush. The average volume on every Caroma is .95 gpf.

Jaclo was named the Best Forte Supporter of the Year Award at the recent Forte 2007 Annual Conference. Jaclo has been a member of Forte since its inception over four years ago. Forte Buying Group, a member-owned group of over 170 high-end decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms, chose Jaclo based on its quality product lines and outstanding customer service.

Swanstone now offers its advertising co-op dealers a marketing CD containing materials they can use to promote the full line of Swanstone products.

Green Street

The Energy Efficiency Global Forum & Exposition (EE Global), hosted by the Alliance to Save Energy, will take place Nov. 11-14, 2007, at the Washington, DC, Convention Center. It’s an international energy-efficiency forum that hopes to attract an estimated 1,000 industry professionals to develop “best practices,” policies and strategies to respond to the climate, national security and economic implications of the increasing global demand for energy.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) is expanding its Directory of Certified Room Air Cleaners to include information on ozone emissions. AHAM’s certification program directory will provide participants the ability to indicate whether products comply with the American National Standard (ANSI) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety standard 867 for ozone emissions. 

Johnson County’s Sunset Drive office building in Olathe, KS, was designed to have the smallest possible negative impact on the environment. In 2006, the building received Gold certification using the LEED-New Construction (NC) Version 2.1 program from the U.S. Green Building Council. Two McQuay frictionless centrifugal compressor chillers (pictured) helped to save energy and the environment and earn significant LEED points for the project.

IAPMO Research and Testing and NSF have announced that they will provide product certification services for high-efficiency lavatory faucets under the WaterSense program. Full story >>

Office Depot , a provider of office products and services, announced that it will build and open its first LEED-certified retail store in Austin, TX, in mid-2008.

Whirlpool Corp. recently contributed its KitchenAid, Maytag and Whirlpool brand appliances to five university teams competing in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, a competition where student teams compete to design highly energy-efficient solar-powered houses. The competition will take place Oct. 12-20, 2007, at the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Companies that want to sell themselves as “green” and environmentally friendly must address product cost concerns as well as put their own money where their mouth is, according to the third annual Shelton Group Energy Pulse study documenting the purchase intention for energy-efficient home products. Full story >>

In the latest issue of Environmental Design & Construction magazine, Atlanta’s Spelman College, founded in 1881, is taking a bold step toward environmental responsibility — and making history at the same time — with its new green residential facility, now under construction in the Atlanta University Center (AUC) community. Full story >>

According to Price Pfister , here are several faucet trends that have recently taken hold:
  • Pullout faucets featuring high-arc spouts (pictured).
  • Homeowners are tired of chrome finishes and are looking for unique finishes like dark bronze.
  • A majority of Canadians are preferring the warm, softer look and feel of rustic finishes and earth tones.
  • Minimalism is in, as single-handle, side-mount faucets with sleek, simple designs are in high demand.
  • Manufacturers are seeing a growing demand for ecologically sound products from consumers. That, combined with restrictions on water usage, should result in more water-saving faucets becoming available.

Better, not bigger, is the new mantra of contemporary homes, according to Kleber & Associates Marketing and Communications, which refers to itself as “an independent agency dedicated to the American home.” Full story >>

Troy Adams Design has expanded its FusionDesign collection with a Linear Fireplace for a great room, kitchen and outdoor redesign recently completed for a client on HGTV’s “Designer’s Challenge.” Adams used an absolute black granite box to encase a gas pipe and pebble filling to create a modern fireplace within the great room. Many items can be used to cover the gas pipe, including ground glass, marbles and other fireproof materials. The Linear Fireplace produces flames similar to firewood, yet creates no ash to clean, is better for the environment by not releasing pollution into the air and has lower running costs than wood-burning fireplace.

House & Garden has released the results of its Designers’ Best 07 survey. The resulting resource directory of up-market home products features the best goods, people, and places, as chosen by 20,000 of America’s leading designers.