If you plan to be in the Charlotte, NC area over the weekend, please stop by and check out YouBuild Booth #300 at the 2012 Charlotte Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo. The expo will be at the Charlotte Convention center, and runs this Friday, January 6th through Sunday, January 8th.

There will be samples of the products available through the YouBuild program on display, as well as an interactive design and ordering kiosk.  There will be live demos all day.

Below are a couple of shots of the booth before the expo begins:

You can also stop by the Home Depot located at 1220 N Wendover Rd in Charlotte, NC anytime to see the full YouBuild endcap, or check the program out on the web at www.youbuild.com.  Below is a shot of the YouBuild endcap in operation at the Home Depot store in Charlotte:

And finally, here is an introductory video to the YouBuild program:

This past September at the WMS 2009 Show, CNC Automation in collaboration with our Suppliers and customers built kitchen cabinets, wardrobes and vanities that were then donated to the Habitat for Humanity Restore Program.

Many of the people who worked together during the show to not only illustrate what our products and machines could do in a real time production environment, were humbled by what was being created for the Habitat for Humanity program.  Too often during shows, raw material is wasted and finished products are destroyed once the show is completed.  This time CNC Automation and our partners wanted to make a difference.  We contacted Habitat for Humanity to see if there was a need.  This partnership proved to be rewarding to all concerned. 

I would like to share with you, a letter that was received from Stewart Hardacre, President and Chief Operating Officer for Habitat for Humanity Canada.

Habitat for Humanity Letter of Appreciation

Purdue University has two Thermwood routers, and recently had a student win first place in furniture design at AWFS: 

Leah Kenttamaa Squires, a student at Purdue University, West Lafayette, recently received a First Place Award for her entry SAKURA HANA in Fresh Wood, a national competition for woodworking projects sponsored by the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS). Judges Dan Hershberger, AWFS Board Member, left) and Randy Johnson, editor, American Woodworker (right) presented Kentamaa-Squires with her award at AWFS Fair 2009, in Las Vegas, NV.

Leah Kenttamaa-Squires created this award-winning piece in a class Furniture Design for CNC Manufacturing in Fall of 2008, under the leadership of professors R. Gazo, E. Haviarova, R. Paul and Wood Research Laboratory technician D. Warner. The course is a joint effort between the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and the School of Visual and Performing Arts.

The 50 finalists were chosen from 169 entries from 49 different schools in North America. Hongtao Zhou a former Purdue student who graduated in 2008 from the same program and now teaches design at University of Wisconsin in Madison received an Honorable Mention at the same competition.