After four Finalists competed before a panel of NKBA judges and KBIS attendees to share how NKBA University has contributed to their growth and success, Rhonda R. Knoche, CMKBD, of Rhonda Knoche Design in Portland, OR, has been named the first-ever NKBA U Professional of the Year! In the spirit of continuing education, the following prizes have been awarded:

1. The Grand Prize Winner, Rhonda R. Knoche, CMKBD, receives three all-expenses-paid trips for two from the contest’s sponsors: Platinum sponsor Cosentino will send Rhonda and a guest to Spain to tour its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Almeria; Gold sponsor Kohler Co. will provide a tour of its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Kohler, Wis., and Gold Sponsor GE will provide a tour of its Monogram Experience Center in Louisville, Ky
2. The First Runner-Up Sarah Robinson will receive all-expenses-paid trips for two from Gold sponsors Kohler and GE.
3. The Remaining Finalists Melissa Helvey, AKBD and Paula Kennedy, CMKBD will also receive all-expenses-paid trips for two from GE.

Surrey, BC- January 28, 2015 - Duradek, home of the original Walkable Roofing Membrane is proud to introduce the Park Rail Top Rail profile, a sophisticated top rail for plenty of support. The Park Rail Top Rail offers a look as strong as its performance. Now you can have a Continuous Top Rail look while using up to a 3 inch square post Park Rail Top Rail is suitable for both picket and glass systems allowing your project to combine the features and advantages of both systems, yet still providing a consistent look throughout.

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Human beings are not meant to sit all day. More and more people are realizing the health benefits of spending part of their workday standing, even if it means building their own standing desk out of copy paper and cardboard boxes. Standing inOvation is the easy and affordable alternative to the do-it-yourself standing desk and expensive sit-stand tables. This patented product lifts your entire work surface and everything on it: from your computer, to your phone, to the picture frames on your desk. Standing inOvation works with major commercial furniture manufacturers’ workstation systems, the one sit-stand solution that fits within an existing office footprint. Standing inOvation was also designed for easy installation. It simply hooks into the wall frame of the workstation and uses the existing work surface. A small control box will under mount on the work surface to raise and lower it with just a push of a button. Standing inOvation is a quality, American-made product: created in Columbus, Ohio and manufactured in Holland, Michigan. For more information on how to get your own Standing inOvation, please visit www.StandinginOvation.com.

Tile Redi was awarded the Best product of the 2015 International Surfaces Show last week in Las Vegas! For any additional information on our products please visit www.tileredi.com.

We always look forward to hearing from our customers so we can pass the observations along to you. We love sharing these stories with you not to flaunt our products, but to help our readers, customers, and potential customers learn new ways in which they might find our products advantageous in their own business and/or residential applications. Recently we received an email from a customer sharing his experience using a wide variety of our products. Andrew, from Union Eleven Photographers, had this to say: “We’ve used a variety of AS Hanging Systems to hang prints all over our studio, and to display prints in our front window. We’re a professional photography studio with a ground level retail space in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The biggest benefit of using your system has been how easily we can change prints, or remove them, when we want to use a wall as a backdrop for a shoot. We regularly switch up the images in our front window, so this saves us a lot of time. We also like how clean and modern the system looks, particularly the metal cable’s against our concrete wall.” Thanks, Andrew for your kind comments and, in that you are a photographer, for the photos you shared as well. The photos tell the story quite well, so not many words are needed.

We’re back with our second annual “Coolest Buildings of the Year” list. The criteria for making the list is simple, the building must have been topped out, completed or opened in 2014 and be cool. 2014 was a bit of a disappointment, not because there weren’t plenty of cool buildings to choose from but because of the buildings we were looking forward to seeing completed last year got derailed. It was supposed to be the year that we got the world’s tallest modular construction with the Atlantic Yards (now Pacific Park) B2 (now B2 BKLYN) project. It was the year that Sky City, another prefabricated project, was going to trump the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building and scheduled to be completed in a whopping 90 days, which was later changed to seven months. 2014 was also the year we were going to see the world’s first “invisible” skyscraper, Tower Infinity, which will be able to appear and disappear with the use of high definition cameras and LED screens on the building.

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Construction of Indonesia's tallest skyscraper, Thamrin Nine Tower 1, is well underway. Schindler, who was awarded the mobility contract for the project, is now in the process of installing the elevator and escalator systems.Developed by PT Putra Gaya Wahana, the Thamrin Nine project is the largest mixed use development in the Bundaran HI area comprising of four apartment buildings, two office towers, a lifestyle hub, a luxury hotel, a boutique hotel and a service apartment complex. Thamrin Nine Tower 1 is part of the first phase of the project's development. Upon completion in 2017, it will claim the title of the tallest building inIndonesia, soaring over Jakarta's skyline at 330 meters high with a total of 81 floors (6 basements with 75 floors above ground). The first 68 floors will be allocated to retail and office space while the upper floors will be taken up by a 180-room,Waldorf Astoria by Hilton Hotels and Resorts Group. Schindler will supply 32 high-rise elevators and 34 escalators to serve over 6,000 people transiting through the building daily. The mobility solution will feature several observatory elevators that will shuttle hotel guests at a speed of 8 meters per second, and a special 4.5 tons elevator that will be able to transport vehicles to a height of 280 meters within less than 2.5 minutes, the first vehicle elevator in the world to be able to transport a Mercedes S class vertically without tilting the vehicle. Schindler 7000 series high-rise elevators will use energy-efficient frequency controlled motors and Power Factor 1 drives, which can regenerate electricity back into the building's power grid. Schindler's PORT technology, the third and latest generation of the company's destination control systems, will equip all office elevators to provide tenants with a highly efficient, intuitive and personalized building transit experience. The system will assign an elevator car at the same time an occupant or visitor's credentials are verified. This will allow for a fully customized journey as well as enhanced security. All elevators and escalators will be monitored by Schindler's Lobby Vision, a building management tool that allows single-point supervision of multiple active systems.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of major home appliances, will demonstrate its commitment to the homebuilding industry at the International Builders' Show (IBS) Jan. 20-22 in Las Vegas. Attendees will experience the broad portfolio of brands featuring a wide array of appliances within the context of three distinct living spaces in Show Village, located outside the main entrance of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Whirlpool Corporation, the No. 1 selling major appliance manufacturer in the world, will have its portfolio of brands on display within Show Village as part of three living spaces – the traditional and modern homes as well as the Ultimate Kitchen. Maytag® brand kitchen and laundry appliances, each featuring a 10-year limited parts warranty1, will be featured in the two-story traditional home. The modern home, offering the latest in advanced building products and materials, will showcase Whirlpool® brand kitchen and laundry appliances, including the new ventless Whirlpool® 7.3 Cu. Ft. HybridCare™ Duet® Dryer with Heat Pump Technology (WED99HEDW) and the 5.8 Cu. Ft. Slide-In Gas Stove with TimeSavor™ Convection (WEG730H0DS) with the Flex Install (FIT) System. The Ultimate Kitchen will offer visitors a kitchen display emphasizing luxury with Jenn-Air® appliances at its core. In addition to the three living spaces, Whirlpool Corporation will showcase Gladiator® GarageWorks, a leader in garage organization products, within a standalone garage in Show Village.

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M has released in the United States its most advanced, versatile, powered air respiratory solution yet. The new 3M™ Versaflo™ Powered Air Purifying Respirator TR-600 represents an evolution of technology. Designed to endure heavy use and long wear, the respirator can help enhance comfort, endurance and ease of use. The lightweight respirator is engineered to increase comfort – even for long shifts. The ergonomic design fits close to the body, allowing for greater movement in tight work spaces. It offers multiple airflow rate options for user comfort, and belts designed to be wide and contoured with flexible air channels to minimize heat buildup. The TR-600 has two powerful lithium-ion battery options, reducing downtime by performing up to eight hours. Audible, visual and vibratory alarms reflect filter and battery status to keep workers informed and to help avoid low-airflow situations and automatic low-power shutdowns.

STODDARD, N.H., Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, the iconic wide plank floor company, is introducing Carlisle Collections, twelve new collections that represent the best of the brand's 48 years of innovation, tradition, and leadership in luxury flooring design. Offering an extensive array of design choices, Carlisle Collections give clients the ability to express their personal style in a wide variety of wood types, vibrant hues, and handcrafted textures, with each collection telling a unique story. The collections also offer a broad range of price points starting at $8.99 per square foot, plus a faster lead-time with just 2-4 weeks for delivery on most products. Carlisle Collections are now available to purchase directly online at http://redirect.aecdaily.com/s18122/www.wideplankflooring.com/collections, where clients will also find new tools to help in their wood flooring selection like a free design portfolio with 60+ pages of color choices. For clients looking for a one-of-a-kind floor to suit their design needs, Carlisle will continue to offer its custom wide plank flooring.

The Buncefield Incident (to the right). On December 11, 2005 a series of explosions rocked the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, located near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England. The plastic waterstops that were in the fuel terminal joints all failed due to the high heat of the fire. The Health Protection Agency and the Major Incident Investigation Board provided advice to prevent incidents such as these from happening again, including the utilization of stainless steel waterstop in place at all concrete joints to prevent fuel from escaping the bund walls. In July of 2014, JP Specialties, Inc. was contracted to provide our Earth Shield® Stainless Steel Waterstop (part nos. JP1122 and JP1122R) in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal. Earth Shield® Stainless Steel Waterstop is used as a fluid-tight diaphragm, embedded in concrete, across and along the joint, for primary and secondary containment structures. Earth Shield® Stainless Steel Waterstop can stop even the most corrosive fluids in their tracks, even at severely elevated temperatures. A variety of metals, grades, and gauges are available. Earth Shield® utilizes 20 gauge 316 low carbon as our standard alloy, which offers broad spectrum corrosion resistance to most aggressive media, and is virtually untouched by the deleterious effects of ozone, making it an ideal choice for ozone contactor structures used in modern water treatment plants. Earth Shield® Stainless Steel Waterstop is available in many standard shapes and sizes including profiles for new construction and retrofit. All change of direction fabrications (shop made fittings) can be premanufactured leaving only straight butt welding for the Contractor in the field.

The 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will be an opportunity for Legrand Group to show off its range of solutions for the connected Smart Home based on the Internet of Things (IoT). At the CES, Legrand, the global specialist in electrical and digital infrastructure for buildings and a world leader in the equipment sector for residential and home automation, will present new connected objects integrated with its own residential lines. Visitors to the CES will be able to see and try numerous smart commands in the aesthetics of Legrand's most widely distributed global lines. Smart devices are used to manage lighting, curtains and scenario automation, which can be activated via the traditional local mode, such as by pushing a button or turning a knob, or remotely via smartphones and tablets, using simple apps.The public will find Legrand smart objects at its stand in the "Smart Home" area dedicated to the ZigBee® Alliance, in the pavilion dedicated to IoT/Home Automation, the worldwide association of companies that develop and produce wireless solutions for the Smart Home. The CES is an international showcase where you can discover both Legrand's new connected solutions and Legrand's new smart devices, which, adopting the new ZigBee® 3.0 unified standards, can talk to similar objects in the home, such as lamps and appliances from other manufacturers, making full interoperability a reality.