2006

Motion Industries, Inc., Birmingham, AL, has completed the acquisition of Don Hills Company, a single facility located in Union, ME.In operation since January 1976, Don Hills Company sells, services, and repairs hydraulic, fluid power and hose products/components. “This strategic move is a continuation of our growth in Maine, and we are pleased to have Don

Stock Building Supply, Raleigh, N.C., a supplier of building materials to professionals in the U.S., has acquired the Wholesale Division of Davis Homes, in Indianapolis, IN.   Davis Homes Wholesale 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,

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

Genuine Parts Company reported record sales and earnings for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006. Sales totaled $2.6 billion, up 9% compared with the first quarter of 2005. Net income for the quarter was $113.9 million, an increase of 7% over $106.6 million recorded in the same period of the previous year.Each of the

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, CA, reported its profit for the first quarter 2006 was up 55% to $71.9 million. This compares with net income of $46.4 million for the 2005 first quarter. 2006 first quarter sales were a record $988 million, an increase of 22% compared with 2005 first quarter sales of

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

Ferguson Enterprises Inc., Newport News, VA, has acquired Pipe Products Inc. Pipe Products, a $60.5 million pipe distributor, operates six facilities across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. It conducts business in three principal market segments: mechanical/industrial, fire fabrication and process chemical/petroleum. Wolseley, Ferguson’s UK-based parent company, also acquired K& R Building Supplies Limited, a builders’ merchant, in

>The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN reported net sales for the three-month period ended March 31, 2006 totaled $431.7 million, an increase of 22.0% over net sales of $353.8 million in the first quarter of 2005. First quarter operating income increased from $59.4 million in 2005 to $76.9 million in 2006, an increase of 29.5%. Net

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, has signed a definitive agreement with KPAC LLC to divest Kennametal’s Kemmer Praezision Electronics business. Kemmer Praezision manufactures and markets tungsten carbide consumable tools for the printed circuit board market. The disposition of this business is in line with Kennametal’s recently announced intention to accelerate its manufacturing rationalization opportunities and its

Parker Hannifin Corporation, Cleveland, OH, has acquired 70 percent of the shares of Japan-based Kuroda Pneumatics Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuroda Precision Industries Ltd. Kuroda Pneumatics employs 150 people and had 2005 sales of approximately $50 million.“This transaction strengthens Parker’s automation business capabilities to better serve the Japanese marketplace,” said Roger Sherrard, president

the costs associated with the SAP implementation.Acklands-Grainger Branch-based segmentBeginning with the first quarter 2006, Grainger is reporting its Canadian branch-based business as a separate segment. Acklands-Grainger is Canada’s leading broad-line distributor of industrial, automotive fleet and safety supplies, serving customers through 164 branches and five distribution centers across the country.Sales for the quarter of $139

million tons a year more than three times the next largest producer. Mittal has promised to sell Dofasco to Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG if it acquires Arcelor, though Arcelor is trying to prevent that from happening by moving Dofasco shares into a separate trust. (ThyssenKrupp was the losing bidder for Dofasco last year.) Mittal’s girth is

an item.“The system applies a level of discipline that’s critical to see the kind of success The Reynolds Company has seen,” he says.ChallengesThe system requires a meticulous implementation. For example, at The Reynolds Company, employees had to label 30,000 bin locations by hand. Also, before the system could even be implemented, the company had to

nearly focused enough on either of these activities. In fact, our research shows that average salespeople spend only six percent of their time prospecting and qualifying potential new customers. And they spend just 19 percent of their time working to understand the needs of customers and prospects, developing solutions and presenting to decision makers. To

More …Parker Hannifin Corporation has acquired a 70 percent stake in Japan-based Kuroda Pneumatics Ltd., a subsidiary of Kuroda Precision Industries Ltd. Kuroda had 2005 sales of about $50 million. Roger Sherrand, president of Parker’s Automation Group, says the transaction strengthens Parker’s automation business capabilities so it can better serve the Japanese marketplace. Parker plans

Modern Distribution Management’s February Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, is up 0.78% over the previous month, and up 5.32% from February 2005. Summary of MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months: Febuary 2006 Index 261.2January 2006 Index 260.2December 2005 Index 258.1November 2005 Index 256.1October 2005 Index 255.4September 2005 Index 254.3August 2005 Index 253.9July