Industry News & Announcements

Source: madeinalabama.com
At a ceremony Jan. 24 to mark the re-opening of Knauf Insulation’s mothballed Chambers County plant, CEO Mark Andrews said relationships played a major role in the company’s decision to restart operations in Alabama rather than seek a new location.
"At every single stage of this, we really felt we were wanted in Alabama," Andrews said. "We felt we were welcome, which was very important to our decision-making process."
Andrews joined Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield and Chambers County leaders in Lanett at an event today to mark the re-opening of the 800,000-square-foot plant, which employs 120 people.

Source: RoofingCenter.org
The Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing (Center) introduced the RoofPoint Registered Professional (RRP) program and the first class of RRPs at the 2014 International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The RRP program is the first major initiative launched under RoofPoint since the program was publicly unveiled in October 2012.
The mission of the RRP program is to develop a group of experienced professionals representing all key roofing stakeholders who have demonstrated competency in the application of the RoofPointCM Guideline for Innovative Nonresidential Roofing to evaluate individual roofing projects.
 
BPI now accepting applications to become a BPI Rater
Source: bpi.org
Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) announced the launch of a national rating program to provide customers with an affordable, easy to understand rating of their home that can be combined with a comprehensive home energy audit. The BPI Rating Program is now available in Florida, which last July recognized BPI as one of a select group of organizations authorized to provide a Building Energy-Efficiency Rating System (BERS) in the state. BPI's program begins in Florida and is expected to be fully operational nationwide by mid-2014.
BPI is pleased to announce that it has been accepted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a Home Energy Score Partner, and will use the Home Energy Score as BPI's rating tool. DOE developed the Home Energy Score to help improve the assessment of existing homes. 
 
>>Job Task Analysis (JTA) Workshop
Source: nibs.org 
Building operations professionals convened for a Job Task Analysis (JTA) Workshop in Orlando, Florida, to discuss what should be the tasks for their job category. These will eventually become voluntary national guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of Building Sciences are working with industry stakeholders and providers to develop the guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials for five key energy-related jobs: Energy Manager, Building Energy Auditor, Building Operations Professional, Building Commissioning Professional, and government certificate program for Energy Performance and Sustainability in Government Facilities. This, the Building Operations Professionals Workshop, is the third of five JTA workshops underway. Learn more about the program.

Source: nrca.ne
McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York, has reported construction starts decreased 13 percent in January. Total construction starts in January were down 5 percent compared with January 2013.
"The year 2014 began slowly due to behavior specific to each of the three main construction sectors," says Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "Nonresidential building in 2013 advanced 7 percent, but the progress was occasionally hesitant, including sluggish activity at the end of last year that carried over into January. At the same time, the prospects for continued growth for nonresidential building during 2014 are generally positive, helped by receding vacancies for commercial properties and some improvement in the fiscal health of state governments. Residential building in 2013 climbed 24 percent, but toward the end of last year, growth began to decelerate as mortgage lending to first-time home buyers remained stringent.

Source: americanchemistry.com
The Spray Foam Coalition (SFC) of the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) recently adopted a new SFC Code of Conduct to further demonstrate the member companies’ commitment to the continuous improvement in health, safety and product stewardship of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) products. This is the first commitment of its kind in the SPF industry. The SFC Code of Conduct includes commitments to leadership, communication, applicator training, education and research. The Code can be viewed here.