April 2006

Oldcastle Building Products Inc., the North American operation of building products producer and distributor CRH plc, has agreed to acquire Houston-based MMI Products Inc., Houston TX. MMI’s parent company is Merchants Metals Holding Company.CRH is a worldwide producer and distributor of building products and construction materials, with 2005 sales of over $17 billion. MMI will […]

DXP Enterprises, Inc., Houston, TX, reported sales were up 49.6% to $62.5 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2006, compared with $41.8 million in the first quarter last year. Sales by the two businesses acquired in 2005 accounted for $8.7 million of the sales increase. Excluding sales by those businesses, sales for the

Huttig Building Products Inc., a distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products, reported first quarter 2006 sales of $281.1 million, a 13 percent increase over the year-ago period.The company attributed sales growth to aggressive market and product expansion strategies, as well as to favorable weather. Millwork and building product sales increased 17 percent and

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, reported its third quarter 2006 sales were up 6% to $631 million versus the same period last year. Organic growth was 12%. Net income was $33 million compared with $31 million in the same period last year, up 7%. Third-quarter performance reflects the impact of previously announced divestitures. Kennametal sold its UK-based

DGI Supply, Des Plaines, IL, a DoALL Company, has acquired Groves Industrial Supply Corp. of Houston, TX. Groves is a $35 million, full-line industrial distribution company which focuses on providing MRO products to the Houston market. “We hope to use this acquisition to expand our reach in the Houston market and strengthen our MRO supply capabilities

of the inventor, but should be determined based exclusively on official patent documents references such as treaties and dictionaries. By separating claim interpretation from factual determinations, the Federal Circuit turned over to district court judges – as opposed to juries – the task of interpreting claim language. Construction of patent claims is often a pivotal

Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, reported sales increased 22%  to $1.07 billion in first quarter 2006, compared to sales of $876 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income rose 53% to $31.3 million, from $20.4 million in last year’s first quarter. Sales included $70.1 million from the July 8, 2005 acquisition of Infast Group plc. ‘Sales

Stock Building Supply ($4.1 billion in sales), Raleigh, N.C., building materials distributor, has acquired the Wholesale Division of Davis Homes, in Indianapolis, IN. Davis Homes Wholesale ($19.4 million in sales) is the sole supplier of roof trusses, wall panels, door assemblies, framing lumber, windows, sub-flooring, interior and exterior trim, roofing, and sheathing for Davis Homes,

Minor, Cardinal Health and McKesson Medical-Surgical Solutions.Owens & Minor has implemented margin initiatives to counter ongoing competitive pricing pressures, which management expects will not let up in the near future. Also, as suppliers continue to seek more restrictive agreements with distributors, Owens and Minor has been pursuing fewer alternate sourcing opportunities than in the past,

into the supplier’s inventory and information with one click.TipsCommunication is key, he says. Employees who were responsible for the manual side of business operations knew from the start they may not have a job at the end of automation, for example.DeMao recommends distributors looking at automating processes carefully analyze and choose a software provider.“After you

an incremental $7.5 billion of inventory to their balance sheets. Naturally, this lean supply chain behavior is being enabled by new technology linkages between trading partners. Wholesalers continuously share order, inventory-to-sales, and shipment data with manufacturers. Manufacturers use real-time analyses of these data to evaluate wholesaler orders, balance inventory-to-sales levels in the channel, prevent leakages

Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, reported sales for the third quarter 2006 increased 11.4% to $497.2 million from $446.5 million in the same period a year ago. Profit jumped to $19.9 million from $16.3 million in the same period a year ago.  For the nine months ended March 31, 2006, sales increased 10.5% to $1.397

SKF, G’teborg, Sweden, has acquired for $21 million 51% of the shares of the North American seals company Macrotech Polyseal Inc. As part of the agreement SKF will acquire the remaining 49% within three years. Macrotech is a leader in fluid power seals based on polyurethane (PU) technologies and engineered plastics (mainly PTFE – PolyTetraFluoroEthylene)

WESCO International, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, a provider of electrical MRO products, construction materials, and advanced integrated supply procurement outsourcing services, reported sales for the first quarter 2006 of $1,265.5 million compared with $990.9 million in 2005, an increase of 27.7%. Sales from the two acquisitions completed in the third quarter of 2005 were approximately $107

Watsco, Inc., distributor of air conditioning and heating products, reported its revenues grew 14% to $394 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2006. Net income rose to $13 million compared with $9.1 million in the same period last year.Same-store growth rates for revenue and gross profit were also 14% for the quarter.“Watsco is