May 2006

SKF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire Austrian industrial seals company Economos Austria GmbH from Salzer Holding GmbH. Economos will be part of SKF Sealing Solutions, a unit within the Automotive Division.Economos Group sales for the year ending December 2005 were 77 million Euros (US$97.7 million) with 899 employees. Economos’s main market is […]

Steel giant Arcelor, of Luxembourg, and Severstal, the largest Russian steel company, announced they have agreed to merge, creating the world’s largest steel company in a US$16.6 billion deal.The combined company will rank among the world’s most competitive steelmaking and resource assets in both developed and emerging markets, and will be the only one with

…Strategic Distribution Inc., Bristol, PA, reported its revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2006, increased $7.7 million, or 26.5 percent, to $36.7 million from $29 million in the same period last year. The company recorded a net loss of $1.096 million, compared with a net loss of $1.601 million for the same period

Overall Construction SpendingDuring the first three months of this year, construction spending was $253.5 billion, 9.2 percent above the $232.1 billion for the same period in 2005. Construction spending during March 2006 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,199.1 billion, 0.9 percent above the revised February estimate of $1,188.7 billion. The March

Rexnord Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, a manufacturer of precision motion technology products, announced that an affiliate of the private equity firm, Apollo Management, agreed to buy RBS Global, Inc., the corporate parent of Rexnord, for $1.825 billion from private equity firm The Carlyle Group and management. The transaction is subject to government approvals and other customary

Direct orders to branches instead of a central facility to avoid compounding costs with internal transfers. A downside to this strategy is that it may challenge in the areas of inventory and staffing.Analyze Replenishment PracticesJust-in-time inventory replenishment requires more frequent and smaller deliveries. This usually requires the use of LTL, or Less Than Truckload, Miklovic

Square D distributor; authorized distributors inflate the price of Square D’s products; the authorized distributors do not maintain adequate stock; Square D coaches and trains its distributors to obfuscate and to be manipulative; Scott purchases Square D products by the “trailer load”; Scott uses its quality control department to test its Square D products; and

The metals industry continued to consolidate in 2005, as leading producers sought to control the rising cost of raw materials by purchasing suppliers outright, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report, “Forging Ahead: Mergers and Acquisitions Activity in the Global Metals Industry 2005.”Further mergers and acquisitions activity is likely, and China will be a significant source

markets:Alberta: $55 billion sold in 2005, up 15.5 percent. Sharp increases in oil prices accounted for much of the increase in sales by machinery wholesalers, as oil companies have accelerated their investments.Manitoba: Personal and household goods performed well as a result of positive economic conditions. The Agreement on Textile and Clothing, which imposed quotas on

Monomoy Capital Partners, L.P. announced that its portfolio company, Barjan LLC, distributor of consumer products to travel centers, truck stops, car washes and convenience stores, has acquired the Astatic Mobile Communications business from Omnitronics, LLC.Astatic has been the leading manufacturer of aftermarket CB microphones and other CB radio equipment for over 70 years. An innovator

U.S. Electrical Services, LLC (USESI), Chester Springs, PA, has added another electrical distributor to its growing portfolio. Former Sonepar CEO Richard Worthy’s new venture has signed an agreement to buy Monarch Electric Co., effective May 31, 2006. Tracing its history to the 1920s, Monarch Electric has two locations in New Jersey and employs more than 70 people. Monarch is

Global steel pipe and fittings distributor Edgen Corporation, Baton Rouge, LA, reported sales were $89.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006, compared with sales of $64.8 million for the same period in 2005.“During the first quarter 2006, we experienced record sales as a result of the acquisition of Murray International Metals, Inc.,

Graybar Electric, St. Louis, MO, recently reported sales of $1.12 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006. That’s an increase of 16% over the same period in 2005, when the distributor recorded $967 million in sales. The electrical distributor reported $10 million in profit for the first quarter 2006, compared with a net loss

The Home Depot Supply reported $2.1 billion in first quarter 2006 sales, compared with $657 million in the same period in 2005, thanks to a series of acquisitions. Home Depot, Atlanta, GA, reported overall first quarter revenues of $21.5 billion, a 13.1% increase from the first quarter 2005. Home Depot reported net income of $1.4 billion

Rexel Inc., Dallas, TX, has acquired Capitol Light and Supply Company, Hartford, CN, a distributor in the New England electrical distribution market and the national retail lighting market. The acquisition illustrates Rexel’s ongoing commitment to a dynamic growth strategy in the U.S. market and provides a significant footprint in the New England region.   Capitol

Communications Supply Corporation, Chicago, IL, has acquired Liberty Wire & Cable, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO. Liberty is a provider of connectivity and infrastructure products to both the residential and commercial professional audio video markets. The acquisition gives CSC a platform within the burgeoning residential and commercial audio, video and broadcast market segments ‘ rounding out