February 2006

SCP Pool Corporation, Covington, LA, reported an 18% sales increase  to $241.8 million for fiscal year 2005. The wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and related accessories reported record net sales and net income for 2005. Profit was up to $83.6 million, compared with $66.9 million last year.Base business sales growth of 14% contributed $180.4 […]

Platinum Equity, Los Angeles, CA, has agreed to acquire PNA Group Inc., a processor and distributor of steel products with annual revenue of $1.2 billion. The seller is TUI AG, the largest travel and tourism company in Europe, which has been divesting non-core industrial holdings in order to focus on its core tourism and shipping

2004, but has dropped by 10% since then. Despite the recent decline, plywood prices are still 20% higher than two years ago. In contrast, cement prices remain high as demand continues to exceed supply. Industrial DistributorsRevenues for industrial distributors rebounded in 2004 and 2005 along with the U.S. manufacturing industry. Total revenues for the more

executing the part we're making money on it.' … Not all innovations are the same. Innovation can happen at an individual's level, going across the top from left to right, at a departmental level. It could be a company-wide thing, it could be intra-company, between big factory and big distributor, or big distributor, big customer.

determine by any statistical analysis whether Reeder was disfavored on average as compared to another dealer or set of dealers.”The Supreme Court granted review on the case to resolve whether a manufacturer offering its dealers different wholesale prices may be held liable for price discrimination under RPA absent a showing that the manufacturer discriminated between

again increased its offer three days later on Jan. 9 to $46.50 share, a premium of 22 percent over the closing price on Jan. 6. On Jan. 9, the company’s board of directors approved the sale to Home Depot the following morning, Hughes and Home Depot announced the deal.Hughes Supply will become part of Home

same period in 2004. Profit grew 19 percent to $345 million from the fourth quarter 2004. For 2005, Praxair reported a 16 percent gain in sales to $7.7 billion. Profit was $726 million. More …Steel service center Earle M. Jorgensen Company had a 6.8 percent increase in revenues to $428.8 million in the third quarter

The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) reported recently that U.S. home improvement product sales are expected to stay strong in 2006 and beyond. In addition, Global Insight recently boosted its fourth quarter 2005 estimates to a level $4.8 billion higher than the firm forecast back in June 2005. The revised estimate for total 2005 sales

U.S. sales of power transmission/motion control products rose 10.7% from 2004 to 2005, the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) reported. Sales decreased 2.2% from November 2005 to December 2005, but were up 9.3% as compared with December 2004.Days sales in accounts receivables increased 3.9% as compared over November 2005 and were flat as compared to

Anixter International Inc. reported sales of $3.85 billion for the year ended Dec. 30, 2005, an increase of 17%. The electrical distributor had a profit jump of 20% to $90 million from the year before. Sales for 2005 include $126.4 million from Infast, which was acquired on July 8, 2005, and incremental revenues of $36.7 million

Steel service center Earle M. Jorgensen Company had a 6.8% increase in revenues to $428.8 million in the third quarter ended Dec. 30, 2005. Profit for the third quarter was $18.2 million, compared with profit of $4.5 million for the same period in 2004.For the nine months ended Dec. 30, 2005, revenues increased 11.5% to

Wurth Service Supply, Indianapolis, IN, announced sales of more than $138 million for 2005, an increase of 28.5% over 2004. Wurth Service Supply also expanded further in North America by opening branch locations in Tustin, CA; Brantford Ontario and Red Bay, AL.  Wurth Service Supply is a part of the fastener distribution market and is a

reserves. In the third quarter, the company announced a restructuring plan as part of its effort to improve Automotive Group performance and address challenges in the automotive markets. In the fourth quarter, the Automotive Group had sales of $406.9 million, a 4% increase from a year ago. The Automotive Group had a loss of $7.5 million

St. Louis-based $17.3 billion Emerson will buy Florida-based Artesyn Technologies for about $500 million in cash. Artesyn will become part of Emerson Network Power, pending customary regulatory approvals and approval by Artesyn shareholders.Artesyn provides original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with advanced power conversion equipment as well as hardware and software subsystems for a range of communication

Airgas Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired West Point Supply Co. Inc. and its related companies, Polar Ice Co., West Point Ice Company Inc., and West Point Cryogenics Inc. The companies share a common location in Souderton, PA, near Philadelphia.Effective Feb. 1, 2006, the operations of West Point Supply and West Point Cryogenics, which accounted for

WESCO International Inc., distributor of electrical MRO products, construction materials, and advanced integrated supply procurement outsourcing services, saw sales jump 18.2% to $4,421 million in 2005, compared with 2004. The company’s organic growth was 15.4%. Profit was $103.5 million, compared with $64.9 million last year.Sales in the fourth quarter 2005 were $1,236.7 million compared with

Medical distributor Owens & Minor reported revenue of $4.82 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, up 6.6% compared to revenue of $4.53 billion in 2004. Net income for 2005 was $64.4 million, improved 6.5% from net income of $60.5 million last year.Revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005, was $1.22 billion,