Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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Industry Update { Noteworthy developments impacting the kitchen and bath market } KBDN 2013 Seminar Series Gears Up for Fall Season Melville, NY — The series of all-day seminars being sponsored by Kitchen & Bath Design News throughout 2013 is heading into its next phase, following stops in Orlando, San Jose, Pittsburgh, Mahwah, NJ and Minneapolis. Programs scheduled for the fall include Boston (Sept. 26), Chicago (Oct. 17) and Atlanta (Nov. 14). A total of 12 sponsors have committed their support to the 2013 program, including BEST, Delta Faucet Co., Elkay Mfg., Geberit, Hafele America, Jenn-Air, Longleaf, Plain & Fancy Custom Cabinetry, Rev-A-Shelf, Samsung Staron/ Radianz, Showplace Wood Products and Twin Star International. KBDN's 2013 seminar series – entitled "Art + Science: How Contemporary Design & CuttingEdge Technology Can Increase Profts & Resonate With Today's New Clients" – has been enthusiastically received by attendees. Designed for kitchen and bath designers LIXIL to Acquire American Standard looking to refresh their creative talents and expand their technological skills, Art + Science is aimed at identifying "what's next" in design and technology so that design professionals can better address the needs of a younger, less-traditional client while increasing company profts in the New Digital Age. August 2013 Information about attending any of the 2013 programs can be obtained by visiting the KBDN Web site, www.ForResidentialPros.com. Art + Science will spotlight the growing trend toward contemporary kitchens and baths that require an entirely new way of managing the space and connecting the elements of the room. Also featured will be a multi-media program that presents a vision of the industry's digital present and future, including ways design professionals can leverage cutting-edge technological tools from initial client contact through fnal contract. Leading the programs is a pair of KBDN contributors: Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, CAPS, widely considered to be the nation's premier kitchen and bath design authority, and Eric Schimelpfenig, AKBD, a leading authority on Tokyo, Japan — LIXIL Corp. has announced that it has reached a defnitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of ASD Americas Holding Corp., the parent company of Piscataway, NJ-based American Standard Brands at an enterprise value of $542 million from an afliate of Sun Capital Partners. Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, the company will remain headquartered in the U.S., and continue operating all existing facilities. LIXIL Group, a $15.3 billion building products company, has been actively expanding its global business, and is currently present in more than 30 countries. The addition of American Standard will provide LIXIL with greater scale and additional opportunities in North America, and will continue the growth of the international business. Yoshiaki Fujimori, president of the Tokyo, Japanbased LIXIL Corp., said, "American Standard is the leader in the kitchen and bath products market with a deep history of more than 130 years. American Standard will serve as a key platform for LIXIL as we continue to fulfll our ambitions to become a worldwide leader in the building materials and housing equipment market. LIXIL already owns the American Standard Brand in the Asia Pacifc market, and this transaction will strengthen the brand and the company's considerable manufacturing capabilities and technological best practices." "This transaction marks an exciting chapter in our 137-year history," said Jay Gould, American Standard Brands president and CEO. "We and our customers will surely beneft by combining LIXIL's quality control, manufacturing technology and product development with American Standard's sales networks, and I believe these will help the company maintain our position as a market leader." 10 | Kitchen & Bath Design News cutting-edge technology impacting the kitchen and bath industry. Masco to Close Manufacturing Plants, Consolidate Bath Operations Taylor, MI — Masco Corp., based in Taylor, MI, has announced plans to close its Masco Bath manufacturing facilities in Adamsville, TN and Moorestown, NJ. It will consolidate remaining Masco Bath operations into the company's Delta Faucet Co. In Moorestown, NJ, about 70 hourly and salaried employees will be laid of, while the Tennessee facility will lose about 200 hourly and salaried employees. Both facilities, which manufacture acrylic bathtubs and showers, are expected to close by the end of 2013. Production from these facilities will be absorbed by Delta manufacturing facilities. "This decision comes after careful analysis and review of our plumbing segment," said Keith Allman, group president of Masco. "It supports our initiative to reduce our cost structure, balance capacity and demand, and improve operating efciencies as we continue our focus on delivering products that ofer quality, reliability and innovation." ABW Celebrates Grand Opening Silver Spring, MD — Appliance Builders Wholesale recently celebrated the relocation of one of its three Washington DC-area showrooms with a grand opening event. The new facility is a 14,000-sq.-ft. space located in Silver Spring, MD. Attending the private party were 400 interior designers, architects, builders, factory distributors and manufacturers. Representatives from all of the leading luxury appliance brands that are carried in the showroom joined in the event's festivities, with chefs cooking at the manufacturer's displays. There were cooking demonstrations by Viking, Wolf, Bertazzoni, AGA, Dacor, KitchenAid, Miele and General Electric. ⇧ Distributor Suppliers attending the ABW Grand Opening were (l. to r.): Larry Feldman, v.p. sales, Almo Distributors; Steve Terry, v.p. sales, Hadco Distributors; Juan Cariba, president, ABW, and Marty Friedman, president, Eastern Marketing Corp.