July 2006

US Electrical Services, LLC, Chester Springs, PA, has agreed to purchase Wiedenbach-Brown Co., Inc., Westchester County, NY. WB’s current-year sales are forecast to reach $90 million.Founded in 1913, WB brings expertise in national account lighting and electrical supply. WB has offices in Hicksville, New Rochelle and Hawthorne, New York; Boston; Columbus; Kansas City; Los Angeles; […]

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, CA, has agreed to acquire Yarde Metals Inc., a metals service center based in Southington, CT. Yarde had sales of $385 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006. Yarde was founded in 1976 and specializes in the processing and distribution of stainless steel and aluminum plate,

Owens & Minor, Richmond, VA, has agreed to acquire certain assets of the acute-care medical and surgical supply distribution business of McKesson Medical-Surgical, a business unit of McKesson Corporation, for approximately $170 million. After an estimated six-month transition plan is completed, the acquisition is expected to generate at least $800 million in incremental annual revenue for

SalesMay 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $325.5 billion, up 1.6 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised April level and were up 12.1 percent (+/-1.0%) from the May 2005 level. The April preliminary estimate was revised upward

Parker Hannifin Corporation, Cleveland, OH, announced the acquisition of the air conditioning and refrigeration business (AC & R) of Acal plc. Acal’s AC & R revenues totaled approximately $31.5 million (18.4 million pounds Sterling) for the year ended March 2006.  Earnings are expected to be accretive to Parker in the first full year.The majority of

How Plans SucceedA set of best practices for strategic planning has emerged from the experiences of many distributors. These guidelines have proven their effectiveness in a wide variety of situations: Keep the strategic planning team as small as practical, and choose carefully! The group has to be small enough to have productive discussions actively involving

Smith says.This enhances the customer’s relationship with the distributor. “In today’s global economy, this is a key ingredient for survival.”Other distribution-specific case studies can be found at www.mdm.com/stories/distcasestudies.html.Technology Case Studies:Automating Processes C.C. DicksonWireless Warehousing The Reynolds CompanyMerging Sales Teams Neff Group DistributorsThis tooling distributor implemented fee-based safety audits after a request five years ago from

remodel markets. They are all about convenience. They are located in many cases very close to or in the middle of heavy remodeling areas within a city. The idea is to look at where the population is, to look where the competition is and the companies that service that business, and to locate accordingly.It’s been

Praxair Distribution Inc. and Airgas Inc. have announced price increases recently in response to the rising cost of fuel and energy as well as basic materials such as steel, aluminum and brass.“The cost of fuel and energy has escalated beyond what we can absorb,” said Praxair Distribution President Wayne Yakich. “This, along with the increasing

Heating Supply Co., and D& C Plumbing & Heating Supply Co., in a stock transaction completed May 22, 2006. SNCG has annual sales about $46 million. Ferguson has also acquired three other smaller distributors: Central Lighting Inc., Jackson, MI; Davidson Electric Wholesale Supply Inc., Lexington, NC; and Montgomery, AL-based Central Supply Inc. More …Praxair Distribution

Parker Hannifin Corporation, Cleveland, OH, has acquired Acofab SAS and its common majority shareholder Adecem SARL, a European supplier of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and thermal management products. Revenues of the acquired business totaled $12.9 million (Euro 10.2 million) for the year ended December 2005. Located in the Vert-Galant industrial area of Saint-Ouen l’Aumone (Val

Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc., Parsippany, NJ, has agreed to purchase Linweld, Inc. of Lincoln, NE. The transaction involves all of Linweld’s assets and employees. The acquisition is consistent with Matheson parent company Taiyo Nippo Sanso’s strategy to expand in the U.S. The purchase enhances the company’s presence in the Midwest, furthering the goal of becoming a

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, has signed a definitive agreement to sell its consumer products business, South Deerfield Industrial, Inc., to Cal SDI. The disposition of this business is in line with the continued execution of Kennametal’s strategy to concentrate on its core business. The sale, which is expected to close by August 31, 2006, remains

May 2006 construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,206.2 billion, 0.4% below the revised April estimate of $1,210.5 billion. The May figure is 6% above the May 2005 estimate of $1,137.5 billion. During the first five months of the year, construction spending was $457.4 billion, 8.6% above the $421.1 billion for