Quest Solutions has been awarded the second place ribbon in the Temple W. Harris Innovative Product & Technology Award, which is given annually to select Construct Canada exhibitors that have demonstrated the development and/or use of innovative construction technologies.

In November, BASF Corp. was awarded the New Jersey 2006 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award. The award is in recognition of the company’s demonstration home located in Paterson, N.J., and its subsequent educational program promoting affordable, energy-efficient homes and environmentally sensitive homebuilding for the average homeowner.

The Insulating Concrete Form Association recently wrapped up its final twice-a-year meeting in Milwaukee. With more than 300 individuals attending the show, it was one of the association’s largest meetings.

Remodeling activity picked up in the third quarter of 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index. The current market conditions index increased from 45.6 to 47.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis and future expectations moved up by nearly two points to 45.4. The RMI measures remodeler perceptions of market demand for current and future residential remodeling projects.

Worthington Industries Inc. has consolidated a part of its metal framing business that serves the military and single-family residential construction markets under the newly created Worthington Integrated Building Systems.

Dryvit Systems Inc. has announced that its Sand Springs, Okla., manufacturing plant has received ISO14001:2004 certification. This is the first step in the company’s plan to achieve ISO certification for each of its five North American manufacturing facilities by the end of 2007.

Michael Gardner, executive director of the Gypsum Association and contributing editor for Walls & Ceilings, announced that Federal Gypsum Co. of Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, has joined the association as an associate member.

Action was taken on the application of Federal Gypsum by the Board of Directors of the association during its October meeting.

ParexLahabra Inc announced the acquisition of the assets of Texas EIFS LC. Teifs will benefit from being part of a larger corporation by sharing product expertise and technical support, utilizing the multiple manufacturing locations available to all of the ParexLahabra brands, and developing new opportunities and growth prospects for its employees.

ASTM International announces the new, digital version of its entire library of technical information in digitized format. This new information repository enables users to access nearly all of the ASTM literature spanning more than 140 technical committees and more than 100 years.

According to statistics compiled by the Gypsum Association, the United States gypsum board industry shipped a total of 8.362 billion square feet of material during the third calendar quarter (July through September) of 2006. During the same period, Canadian manufacturers shipped 802 million square feet of material.