In Brief

June 1, 2006
Members of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association now have access to professional Web site design and hosting services through a partnership with Market Hardware. Members can now receive a complete Web site design and writing package that includes submission to Google, Yahoo!, other popular search engines and online yellow pages. Go to www.phccweb.org or call 800/533-7694 for more information.

• Members of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association now have access to professional Web site design and hosting services through a partnership with Market Hardware. Members can now receive a complete Web site design and writing package that includes submission to Google, Yahoo!, other popular search engines and online yellow pages. Go to www.phccweb.org or call 800/533-7694 for more information.

• In fall 2006, Columbia University's School of Continuing Education will launch a Master of Science in Construction. The applied master's program will train students in the practical demands of solving business challenges. The part-time program is designed to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. This will be the first graduate-level program in construction administration at an Ivy League university.

Viega North America, which has called Bedford, Mass., home since founder and former CONTRACTOR columnist Joe Fiedrich started it as Stadler Corp., has moved to Wichita, Kan. Viega plans to build a 450,000-sq.ft. manufacturing facility, warehouse and office complex in McPherson, Kan. More details next month.

• Daikin Industries Ltd. announced that it would buy OYL Industries Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for about $2.1 billion. Daikin, which has established operations in the U.S., would gain a bigger foothold in the North American market because OYL owns McQuay and the former American Air Filter. The purchase would also make Daikin the second largest air conditioning manufacturer in the world, ahead of American Standard's Trane unit.

• Construction employment set a record for the 15th straight month in April, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist of The Associated General Contractors of America. The monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed seasonally adjusted payroll employment in construction reached 7.51 million in April, a gain of 267,000, or 3.7%, from a year ago.

American Standard hosted the PHCC Educational Foundation's Board of Governors during its May mid-year meeting in Princeton, N.J. American Standard's Joe Maiale, vice president Wholesale Sales Americas Bath and Kitchen, treated meeting attendees to a tour of the company's Research & Design Center in Piscataway, N.J. The Board of Governors met on May 4th for an update on Foundation projects and educational efforts.

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