A. O. Smith Corp. has posted first-quarter net earnings of $47.5 million, compared with $24.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Net earnings included an after-tax gain of $16.7 million, related to the sale of shares of Regal Beloit Corporation, which were received from the 2011 divestiture of the electric motor business.

GE Appliances has opened its GeoSpring Hybrid Water Heater manufacturing facility at Appliance Park in Louisville, Ky. -- the first to open there since 1957. The new product and a revitalized facility, a $38 million investment, is the first of GE’s commitments to invest a total of $1 billion ($800 million in Louisville) and create more than 1,300 new jobs in the United States by 2014.

Is that a small village near the banks of the Provo River? Actually, it's the HGTV Dream Home 2012.

The latest in the series of HGTV Dream Homes is in Park City, Utah, near the Provo River.

Lumber Liquidators and Sherwin-Williams are among the sponsors of the HGTV Dream Home 2012. Bissell vacuums and Delta Faucet Co. are also co-sponsors of the Dream Home, which serves as the grand prize in an HGTV promotional sweepstakes.

Tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements like insulation, replacement windows, and upgraded HVAC systems will end on Dec. 31, and Congress has not yet renewed them for 2012.

This warning from the Alliance to Save Energy gives homeowners less than a month to take advantage of as much as $500 in tax credits on their 2011 federal tax returns.

Novi, Mich.-based BrassCraft Manufacturing Co. is celebrating its 65th anniversary while promoting its commitment to "Made in the USA."

Since its founding in 1946, the company has led the industry in a number of innovations. It points to the invention of the modern-day flexible riser to the development of the one-piece water stop. Recent BrassCraft products include PushConnect water stops for quick, secure connections, and new solutions for tankless water heater installations.

Ashland City, Tenn.-based A. O. Smith has entered into a contract with the U. S. General Services Administration (GSA). The new contract will allow the water heater manufacturer to easily interact with federal, state and local government agencies in need of commercial water heaters and boilers.

The NPD Group, a market research firm, has announced that it launched enhanced services related to its consumer research of the appliance business. Both small and major appliances will be included in the Port Washington, N.Y., company’s tracking studies, which look at transaction counts and provide market size estimates based on NPD’s point-of-sales data.  

A. O. Smith is promoting its water heater plant in Johnson City, Tenn., as the first company facility -- and one of the few facilities in Tennessee -- to earn Energy Star certification.

The 470,000-sq.-ft. Johnson City facility did not set out originally to obtain the Energy Star certification, according to Andy Demski, director of operations. Instead, it was looking at long-term initiatives to reduce the building’s energy and water consumption.