2006

Illinois Tool Works, Glenview, IL, has acquired two manufacturers: BagCo Inc., a provider of plastic recloseable packaging for the industrial, medical, and consumer markets, and Kester Inc., a supplier of solder and related materials for electronic and microelectronic assembly suppliers.Based in Kennesaw, GA, BagCo, Inc. has been a non-exclusive licensee of the “Color Line” trademark […]

month. By contrast, prices for plastic resins and materials advanced 1.3 percent following a 1.2% drop in the preceding month.  The index for intermediate basic organic chemicals also turned up in June.  Prices for primary basic organic chemicals and paper rose more in June than they had in May.  From December 2005 to June 2006, prices

WW Grainger, Chicago, IL, reported an 8% increase in sales for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006. Sales were $1.5 billion versus $1.4 billion in the 2005 second quarter. Profit was up 15% to $94 million.“Based on some softening in certain segments of the North American economies, we now expect this year’s sales to

Home Depot Supply will expand its presence in Florida with subsidiary Williams Bros. Lumber’s purchase of Forest Products Supply, Sarasota, FL.  The purchase is William Bros.’ second this year in Florida. Williams Bros. recently purchased Cox Lumber Co., which had $396 million in sales in 2005. That acquisition nearly doubled the size of Williams Bros.

The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN, reported sales increased 19.7% in the second quarter 2006 over the same period in 2005. Sales totaled $458.8 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2006. Profit increased 15.4%. Net sales for the six-month period ended June 30, 2006, totaled $890.5 million, an increase of 20.8% over sales in the

Motion Industries, Inc., Birmingham, AL, distributor of industrial maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) replacement parts, has acquired Lewis Supply Company, Memphis, TN. The acquisition is the company’s biggest foray yet into the industrial supply sector. Motion also purchased Wichita, KS-based general-line distributor Hub Supply Inc. in 1998.Lewis Supply’s general mill supply product offering includes casters,

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;

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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