December 2006

Graybar, St. Louis, MO, distributor of electrical and communications products, reported $3.78 billion in sales through the first three quarters of 2006, an increase of 18.9% over the same period last year. Graybar’s net income of $46.7 million for the first three quarters is more than triple last year’s performance for the same period. This year, the […]

US Electrical Services, LLC, Exton, PA, has agreed to acquire Hampden/Zimmerman Electric Supply Co., with three locations in central and western Massachusetts. The company has 80 employees. US Electrical Services is a distributor of electrical products and related services. Related Links:US Electrical Services Expands Into Atlanta USESI Acquires Fox Electric Supply Company USESI Opens Two New LocationsUS

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation, Cleveland, OH, has agreed to buy AT Holdings Corporation, the parent of Argo-Tech Corporation, for $695 million.  Argo-Tech’s aerospace business, which had sales for the fiscal year ended Oct. 28, 2006, of $206 million and EBITDA of $63 million, is a producer of aerospace engine fuel pumps and systems, airframe

Philadelphia, PA-based Hajoca Corp. has agreed to buy Richards Plumbing, Heating & Industrial Supplies, Grand Rapids, MI. The purchase pushes Hajoca into Michigan. Hajoca operates in 32 other states.The 71-year-old CEO of Richards told the Grand Rapids Press that he and his sons sold to the national plumbing and heating wholesaler because of growing competition in

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has agreed to acquire the Encore Group of metals service center companies (Encore Metals, Encore Metals (USA), Inc., Encore Coils, and Team Tube) headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Encore was organized in 2004 in connection with the buyout by management and a private equity fund managed by HSBC Capital (Canada)

SalesOctober 2006 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, were $327.8 billion, down 0.5 percent from the revised September level, but were up 5.9 percent from the October 2005 level. The September preliminary estimate was revised downward $2.2 billion or 0.7 percent. October sales of durable goods decreased 0.4 percent from last

Manufacturing SummaryAbout 72 percent of survey respondents expect revenues to be greater in 2007 than in 2006. The panel of purchasing and supply executives expects a 6.4 percent net increase in overall revenues for 2007, compared to an increase of 6.2 percent reported for 2006. Manufacturing industries expecting the greatest improvement over 2006 ‘ listed

job openings, lower profit gains and fading inventory investment trimmed the National Federation of Independent Business Small-Business Optimism Index a point to 99.7 in November (1986=100). Although job openings declined five points to 22 percent, that component of the index remained at historically high levels, and job-creation plans climbed while inflationary pressures edged slightly upward.

liquidity for shareholders but maintaining majority ownership. Another distributor transitioned to 100% employee-owned.Fighting the ForcesMDM has presented several case studies over the past year on distributors who have implemented strategies to make themselves stand out and even grow market share, despite challenging market forces. Arguably, distributors are facing many issues outside of consolidation including price

answers, they can build best practices based on the successful behavior of top sales performers. Mystery solved: Analyze and improve performance to maximize ROI."You cannot improve what you do not measure." Business-to-business marketing professionals cite measuring and showing return-on-investment as their biggest challenge, according to a recent survey conducted by Penton Media. In fact, the

Privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,588,000. This is 6.7% above the revised October rate, but the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the margin of error (+-10.1%) shows that there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero.Housing starts were 25.5% below the November

Warren Buffett is making another foray into distribution. His firm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Omaha, NE, will buy electronic component distributor TTI, Inc., Fort Worth, TX, The acquisition will also include TTI’s subsidiary Mouser Electronics.   TTI, Inc. will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Operations will not be affected by the ownership

(+2.5%). The rebound in machinery and equipment sales follows a large 4.1% decline in September. While sales in this trade group have been somewhat sluggish over the past several months, this follows healthy gains made earlier in the year. Wholesalers of equipment destined for the mining and energy industries have done particular well so far this year

Stock Building Supply, Raleigh, NC, distributor of building materials and construction services, has acquired Tonto Verde Construction Inc. (framing services) and Precision Forest Products, LLC (lumberyard).  ‘Tonto represents an excellent seed acquisition to mark Stock’s entrance into the Phoenix market, which has been consistently one of the top five largest housing markets in the U.S

Barnes Distribution has expanded its AS Raymond operations in China with the opening of an office and distribution center in the Pudong New District of Shanghai, China. The new facility will serve the growing market for close tolerance components, such as industrial and mechanical springs within China. The new distribution center will open on Jan.

inedible fats and oils jumped 17.7 percent in November after declining 3.2 percent in the preceding month. Ethanol prices also turned up following decreases in the previous month, and the paper index moved up after no change in October. Prices for materials for durable manufacturing fell 0.5 percent in November after moving down 0.1 percent in

The Timken Company, Canton, OH, has sold its automotive steering business, which operates facilities in Watertown, CT, and Nova Friburgo, Brazil, to DriveSol Worldwide, Inc.The steering business had 2005 sales of $110 million.DriveSol, which is an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., will continue to manufacture steering tilt shafts, intermediate shafts and steering components at

The Home Depot has received notice from investment firm Relational Investors LLC that it plans to submit a proposal at the next annual meeting to encourage HD to evaluate the “strategic direction of the company, the performance of management, and strategic alternatives for the company.”Relational is run by investor Ralph Whitworth, who has pushed for