Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co. has acquired Point Five Windows to expand its reach into the ultra-luxury market. Point Five Windows will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Kolbe.
The Concrete Industry Foundation awarded Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti the Humanitarian Fellow Award for their work in fostering educational programs in engineering and building sciences.
ASTM International has given Dr. Andreas Wolf a place in the ASTM International Sealants Hall of Fame. The award was given for his work on building seals and sealants and for his contributions to and encouragement of research projects in the field.
Bentley Systems has acquired Struct-Soft, a reseller and developer of 2-D and 3-D engineering, construction, and fabrication products for analysis, design, and drawing production. Bentley will integrate some of those products into its portfolio and will sell the others under a new Bentley brand. The Struct-Soft brand identity remains the property of its previous owners.
Cornell Ironworks acquired the Cookson Co. this summer. Cookson's products will continue to be marketed and sold under the Cookson brand.
Nystrom Building Products has acquired Arden Architectural Specialties. Arden and Nystrom serve similar markets, so Nystrom expects to grow its sales about 15–20 percent.
Oldcastle Glass has reached an agreement to sell its translucent wall and skylight business. Major Industries will purchase the divisions and will take over warranty coverage of Oldcastle Glass' previous installations.
Dryvit is rebranding its products under a new name: Outsulation. The company hopes the move will make it easier for architects and specifiers to understand the different products it offers.
The Green Building Alliance has announced $140,000 in Product Innovation Grants. Three grants were awarded from 14 proposals to help develop and produce green products for the built environment: $100,000 was given to Energy Wall and Pennsylvania State University for a ventilation-air energy-recovery unit; $20,000 was given to Drexel University for a residential floor and wall system; and $20,000 was awarded to Temple University for ReD, a responsive daylighting panel.
The USGBC has announced the list of certification bodies for the LEED rating system, which is getting a major update in January 2009: ABS Quality Evaluations Inc.; BSI Management Systems America Inc.; Bureau Veritas North America Inc.; DNV Certification; Intertek; KEMA-Registered Quality Inc.; Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Inc.; NSF-International Strategic Registrations; SRI Quality System Registrar Inc.; and Underwriters Laboratories-DQS Inc. An upgrade to LEED Online, aimed at improving the user experience and expanding portfolio-management capabilities, will also occur in January.
