Salem, OR-based Ultratape Industries Inc., a manufacturer of adhesive tapes used in cleanroom environments, has been sold to Hayward, CA-based Delphon Industries LLC.
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Ultratape produces pressure sensitive adhesive tapes for use in semiconductor cleanrooms, labs, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other particle-free and static-free environments. ...
Ultratape Industries Sold to Delphon Read More »
Carrier Corp. has agreed to buy E.B. Ward & Company/Valair, a Carrier distributor of residential, light commercial and commercial products. Carrier, a unit of United Technologies Corp., is a supplier with 200 locations in more than 20 U.S. states and Canada.
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The acquisition of E.B. Ward and Valair will strengthen our rapidly expanding sales and distribution network in California," said Geraud Darnis, president of Carrier Corp. "This will enable Carrier to serve our customers directly in this large and strategically important market."
E.B. Ward and Valair, with 140 employees and combined sales of $150 million, serve Carrier customers in Northern California and parts of Nevada.
Carrier Corp., headquartered in Farmington, CT, is a provider of ...
Carrier Corp., Supplier of HVAC Products, to Buy Distributor Read More »
The U.S. Supreme Court has made it easier for manufacturers to set minimum resale prices by overturning the per se" illegality of minimum resale price agreements.
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Instead, the Supreme Court ruled that challenges to minimum resale prices will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the "rule of reason," a more flexible legal doctrine that requires the challenger to prove price-setting was anticompetitive and did economic harm.
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"Per se" was a much stricter enforcement that assumed that minimum price setting agreements were on their face illegal, regardless of circumstances. By changing the judgment from "per se" to "rule of reason," the Supreme Court has made it more difficult for challengers of the law to win and less risky for manufacturers to set ...
Supreme Court: Minimum Price Resale Agreements Allowed (updated) Read More »
Real gross domestic product -the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. -increased at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2007, according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  ; In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.5%.
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The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the preliminary estimates issued last month.  ; In the preliminary estimates, the increase in real GDP was 0.6%.
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The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures and state and local government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, ...
Real GDP Increases at Rate of 0.7% in 1Q Read More »
MSC Industrial Direct Inc., Melville, NY, distributor of MRO supplies to industrial customers throughout the U.S., reported sales of $431 million in third quarter 2007, an increase of 30.7% from the same period a year ago. Sales from the J & L Industrial Supply acquisition accounted for about 74% of the growth.
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Profit in the third quarter 2007 increased 23.6% to $45.8 million, compared with $37 million in the prior-year period.
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For the first nine months of fiscal 2007, sales rose 32.8% to $1.24 billion; J & L represented 72% of this growth. Profit for the first nine months was $126.6 million, an increase of 23.7%.
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MSC reported that the J & L integration was on track. MSC has completed the migration of the distributor to the MSC computer ...
MSC Industrial Sales Rise 30.7% in 3Q Read More »
Influenced by the strength of the Canadian dollar, prices in Canada for manufactured products declined in May after six consecutive monthly increases. Crude oil pushed down prices for raw materials.
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From April to May, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), registered a  ; 0.5% decline after six consecutive monthly increases. The decrease in prices basically reflects a drop in the prices for motor vehicles and other transportation equipment as well as primary metal products and pulp and paper products.
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However, higher prices for petroleum and coal products tempered the decline in the Industrial Product Price Index.
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On a 12-month basis, the IPPI advanced  ; 3%, a slowdown from the  ...
Canadian Industrial Prices Fall in May Read More »
Five U.S. producers of steel nails have filed antidumping duty petitions alleging that dumped imports of nails from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are causing material injury to the domestic industry. The petitioners allege antidumping margins of 59 percent to 136 percent for China and 98 percent to 114 percent for the UAE.
The petitioners are Mid Continent Nail Corporation, Poplar Bluff, MO; Davis Wire Corporation, Irwindale, CA; Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation (Atlas Steel & Wire Division), Tampa, FL; Maze Nales (Division of W.H. Maze Company), Peru, IL; and Treasure Coast Fasteners, Inc., Fort Pierce, FL.
Domestic nail producers contend that unfairly priced imports of steel nails have injured the U.S. industry by undercutting their prices and taking sales based ...
U.S. Nail Producers File Anti-Dumping Suit Against China, UAE Read More »
ABC Supply Co. Inc., Beloit, WI, has purchased Ashley Aluminum LLC.  ; Ashley Aluminum's 48 branches in Florida, Texas, Alabama and Georgia are now part of ABC Supply's Town & Country Industries division.
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ABC Supply is a $3 billion distributor of roofing, siding, windows and other select exterior building products.  ; ABC Supply's Town & Country division is a wholesale distributor of aluminum and building products.  ; These include awnings, pool enclosures, screen doors and other patio products; shutters and Eyewall Armor hurricane protection products; extrusions, custom shapes and aluminum products for the industrial market; and such exterior building products as decking, railing and vinyl siding.
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ABC Supply operates more than 350 branches ...
ABC Supply Co. Inc. Buys Ashley Aluminum Read More »
ITT Corporation, White Plains, NY, has agreed to acquire International Motion Control, Buffalo, NY, for $395 million. IMC is a supplier of motion control products with 2006 revenues of $200 million.
The IMC acquisition aligns exceedingly well with our strategy to grow the ITT Motion and Flow Control business globally. IMC adds a complementary mix of highly engineered, mission-critical products to expand our core capabilities in specialty energy absorption and motion control applications," said Steve Loranger, president and CEO of ITT.
IMC is a manufacturer of specialty energy absorption, industrial and aviation control and automation technology under the brand names of Burny, Enidine, Compact Automation, CMC, and Midland-ACS and others. Under brand names including ...
ITT Corp. to Buy International Motion Control for $395M Read More »
Wholesalers posted sharply lower sales in April, as declines in a number of major sectors erased all of the strong gains made over the previous two months.
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Overall sales fell by 3.1% in April to an estimated $42.8  ; billion. April's drop was the largest since August  ; 2003  ; and followed increases of 2.3% and 0.9% in March and February respectively.
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Five of the seven wholesale sectors registered declines in April. Leading the way was the automotive products sector (-8.3%), followed by other products" (-5.9%) and machinery and electronic equipment (-2.3%). Sales of building materials and farm products also posted decreases in April.
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The only positive note came in the food, beverage and tobacco products sector (+0.8%), while sales ...
Canadian Wholesale Revenues Fall 3.1% in April Read More »
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, NC, has agreed to buy Magnatrax Corporation, a provider of metal building systems in the North American non-residential market, for $280 million.
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Magnatrax has seven fabricating plants, as well as service centers and transport facilities, throughout the U.S. It operates through its American Buildings Company, Kirby Building Systems, Gulf States Manufacturers and CBC Steel Buildings subsidiaries and divisions.
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The supplier sells, engineers and fabricates custom metal roofing systems for new and retrofit construction and sells third-party metal building components.
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The acquisition of Magnatrax is an important growth opportunity for one of our core downstream businesses," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's president and CEO. ...
Nucor to Buy Magnatrax for $280M Read More »
After months of speculation, The Home Depot has agreed to sell its wholesale division, HD Supply, and bring its focus back to the performance of its retail core. Three private equity firms will buy the $12 billion unit.
The Home Depot, Atlanta, GA, has agreed to sell HD Supply to a team of private equity firms – Bain Capital LLC, Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc. – for $10.3 billion, or roughly 10X-12X EBITDA. The firms are splitting the investment equally.
The sale has been expected for weeks now, with a number of private equity firms rumored to have bid for the unit and several to have bowed out due to the down housing market – one of HD Supply's core customer bases. HD Supply reported a decrease in organic sales in the recent ...
Home Depot Sells Off Supply Unit Read More »
To successfully integrate its company and grab market share, Interline Brands has had to pay close attention to and respond to the needs of acquired and current customers, Interline Brands President William Sanford said recently at the JPMorgan Basics & Industrials Conference.
In fact, learning about customers starts before an acquisition is even made, he said. The relationships we acquire are important. We have to understand how strong those relationships are before we make an investment," Sanford said.
The $1 billion distributor of facilities maintenance products was formed through a series of mergers of more than 20 companies in the plumbing supply and facilities maintenance industries.
Last year it bought American Sanitary Inc., a rollup and national ...
Know Your Customers Read More »
The gray market is ill-defined and can range from legitimate goods intended for sale elsewhere sold in an unauthorized area, to outsourced manufacturers who generate more product than that ordered by an OEM, to goods that are remanufactured after use, to pure piracy. Here's a look at a recent case between a manufacturer and distributor.
Recently, Hewlett-Packard resolved a gray market" lawsuit that it filed in a federal district court in Tennessee against one of its by-then terminated distributors and one of the distributor's customers.
In essence, HP claimed that its distributor violated the terms of its authorized reseller agreement by purchasing products at deep discounts and then selling the products to a customer not authorized by HP.
The ...
The Gray Market and Distribution Read More »
Be careful not to get a sugar high from the HD Supply spin-off announced this past week. After a deal of this magnitude, it's easy to get excited about what it means once the dust settles. But the dust won't settle on HD Supply. If anything, the non-contributing or distracting units will be shed and a leaner, more focused business will emerge. It was not purchased to be gutted or dismantled. The remaining entity, while smaller in size, will likely continue as the lead consolidator in a narrower band of distribution verticals.
The deal will have a large impact in a few sectors, and virtually no impact in others beyond the perceived valuation halo effect. Some had anticipated the price for HD Supply might cool slightly due to the weakness of residential markets in North America. ...
Commentary: Dust Won’t Settle on HD Supply Read More »
Five U.S.  ; producers of steel nails have filed antidumping duty petitions alleging that dumped imports of nails from and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are causing material injury to the domestic industry. The petitioners allege antidumping margins of 59 percent to 136 percent for and 98 percent to 114 percent for the UAE. The petitioners are Mid Continent Nail Corporation,
MDM News Digest 3712 Read More »
W.W. Grainger, Chicago, IL, $5.9 billion broad-line distributor of facilities maintenance products, sells primarily to industrial and commercial maintenance departments, contractors and government customers. The company has been driving two initiatives: market expansion, which is nearly finished in the U.S., and product expansion. Grainger recently released its 2007 Factbook, which is full of statistics on its operations in the U.S., Mexico, China and Canada. The following graphics, presented in the document below, were pulled from that Factbook, which is available on Grainger's Web site,
Grainger by the Numbers: 2007 Factbook Read More »
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North American Breaker Co. (NABCO) has been enjoined in federal court from buying or selling virtually all Square D QO circuit breakers, and two other companies -CES Liquidating Inc. and TES Liquidating LLC -have been enjoined from selling any of Schneider Electric's Square D products.
Square D filed suit against NABCO on July 26, 2006, contending that the company placed 50,594 counterfeit Square D circuit breakers into the field. In the suit, Square D alleged that NABCO was guilty of trademark infringement.
Counterfeit Square D products pose serious health and safety hazards to innocent customers," said Bill Snyder, vice president-channel distribution for the Schneider Electric North American Operation Division. "Through this lawsuit and others like it, Square D has ...
Schneider Electric Continues Campaign Against Counterfeiting Read More »
SKF has acquired Baker Instruments Company, Fort Collins, CO, a manufacturer of test and diagnostic instruments for electric motor assessment. Baker has sales of $11 million.
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This move into electric motor diagnostics is important to our new Energy Efficiency solutions business, and is in line with the SKF Group's move towards supporting our customers in their Sustainability efforts," said Phil Knights, president, SKF Service Division.
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Baker's sales are mainly focused on the industrial motor users in the U.S.
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SKF paid $14 million for the company. Baker will be part of SKF Reliability Systems within the Service ...
SKF Acquires Baker Instruments Co. Read More »
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