Lifetime Brands reported fourth-quarter net income was $5.4 million, compared with $13.9 million in the prior-year period. Consolidated net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, totaled $137.6 million, down 3.5% from consolidated net sales of $142.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2011, net income was $14.1 million, compared with $20.3 million in 2010. Consolidated net sales were $444.4 million, up 0.3% from consolidated net sales of $443.2 million for 2010.

International Paper (IP) has announced the completed acquisition of Temple-Inland, which will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of IP. Under the terms of the transaction, each issued and outstanding share of Temple-Inland common stock will fetch $32.00 in cash, including the assumption of approximately $700 million in Temple-Inland net debt. The total transaction value is approximately $4.5 billion.

Abbeville, Ala.-based Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, the nation’s leading producer of pressure treated pine lumber, acquired the assets of the Rocky Top Building Products companies. 

With the asset acquisition of Rocky Top and other wholly owned subsidiaries of Rocky Mount, Va.-based The Franklin Group, Inc., Great Southern Wood Preserving’s distribution coverage now stretches from the Florida Keys to Texas to Canada including all or parts of 27 states and the District of Columbia.

A long vacant home-improvement store in Petaluma, Calif., will soon erect a Tractor Supply sign, according to an article in The Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 

Bill Bollin, chairman and CEO of The Bostwick-Braun Co., was honored with a Lifetime of Achievement award on Nov. 3 by the PRO Group at its annual Executive Planning Conference in Naples, Fla.

Bollin joined the Toledo, Ohio-based Bostwick-Braun Co. in 1970, working in the warehouse and later moving on to shipping, office support, data processing, purchasing, management and all the way to his current position as chairman.

Lancaster, Pa.-based Armstrong World Industries has acquired Intalite Inc., operating under the name Simplex. The acquisition will strengthen Armstrong's capabilities in the North American specialty ceiling market and supports the company's growth strategy, including the expansion of its global leadership and manufacturing presence in targeted markets.

Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Simplex will become part of the Armstrong Building Products division.

Peabody, Mass.-based Beacon Roofing Supply has acquired The Roofing Connection, a distributor of residential roofing products and related accessories with one location in the Halifax suburb of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The Roofing Connection will be operated as part of Beacon Roofing Supply Canada Co.

Melville, N.Y.-based Leviton Manufacturing has acquired Obvius, a provider of solutions to collect energy information.

According to Leviton, the Obvius acquisition allows the company to offer the most complete line of lighting and energy management solutions. A complementary strategic addition to Leviton’s current line, Leviton now offers solutions to meet all measurement and verification-based opportunities, such as smart metering, energy data information, load management and LEED rating achievement.

With locations in Baton Rouge and Denham Springs, La., Do it Best Corp. member Holmes Building Materials operates two home centers, both with about 10,000 sq. ft. of retail space, supplemented by full lumberyards out back and powered by a 22-truck fleet. One location is heavily commercial, the other is heavily retail-oriented, and both operate a store-within-a-store Holmes Windows Doors & More.


Postings and photographs on garagejournal.com have reported seeing Craftsman tool sets on sale at their local Menards stores. Sightings of a 104-piece Mechanics tool set selling for $99.95 in a Menards in Schererville, Ind., launched a discussion among tool aficionados about the price -- considered on the high side -- and how the tools ended up there in the first place.

It’s been a tumultuous summer so far for ProBuild, the nation’s largest pro dealer, as it tries to keep its head above a churning housing market that has already pulled apart or capsized many of its competitors. Being a privately held company, ProBuild has done its best to quietly close or sell off yards, downsize staff and add — or subtract — staffing under the radar.

DuPont acquired Innovalight, Inc., a company specializing in advanced silicon inks and process technologies that increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells. 

The acquisition strengthens DuPont's position as a leader in materials for the solar energy market, according to the company. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.