September 25, 2007 - Modern Distribution Management

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September 25, 2007

Acme United Expands Knife, Cutting Business

Building Materials/Construction, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Acme United Corporation, Fairfield, CT, has acquired the knife and cutting business of Tiger Sharp Technologies, Inc. The purchase price was $350,000. Revenues were approximately $400,000 in 2006.
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Tiger Sharp manufacture extremely sharp replaceable blade pocket knives, and distributes them to independent knife dealers, industrial wholesalers, and companies such as John Deere and Browning.
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The recent acquisition of Camillus Cutlery provides Tiger Sharp with a well known brand of knives to incorporate its technology. It acquired Camillus for $200,000 earlier this month; the assets were acquired after Camillus filed for bankruptcy. Revenues were $18 million in its final year.
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Acme United is a supplier of cutting devices, measuring instruments, …

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MDM Inflation Index: August 2007

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Modern Distribution Management’s August Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.35% from the previous month, and up 3.04% from August 2006.

Summary of&nbsp ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:

August 2007 Index 273.3
July 2007 Index 272.4
June 2007 Index 271.7
May 2007 Index 271.2
April 2007 Index 270.8
March 2007 Index 269.6
February 2007 Index 269.4
January 2007 Index 268.7
December 2006 Index&nbsp ; 267.1
November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2

Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the&nbsp ; MDM Inflation Index for August 2007, listing the ten individual product …

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Canadian Market Analysis: MRO Products

Market Analysis, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

The industrial product group listed here – MRO Products – represented a market in 2006 of $34.8 billion, according to estimates by Industrial Market Information, Minneapolis.

These charts show the top ten industries, by SIC code, consuming these products; and the 2006 end-user consumption of these groups sorted by the 12 Canadian government market regions. …

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News Digest 3718

Free, Subscriber Only /

Wolseley plc, a global distributor of plumbing and heating products as well as building materials, announced five bolt-on acquisitions this month, including two by Ferguson and two in Europe. These acquisitions are expected to add 110 million pounds to total revenue.

Wolseley subsidiary Stock Building Supply has acquired ProSource Building Supply Ltd, Houston, TX, a construction services business supplying commercial doors, trim, hardwood, related specialty products and installation services. In the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, ProSource had revenue of $17.2 million. The acquisition is in line with Stock’s goal of expanding in the commercial and industrial markets. More&nbsp ;

Another Wolseley …

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Commentary: Engage Entire Company in Customer, Vendor Accounts

Management, Perspective, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

As our lead article outlines, many distributors are trying to evolve a traditional sales model -where the outside salesperson owns the customer relationship -into a more flexible one. It’s a tough transition that engages the entire company, not just the sales rep.

The payoff goes far beyond particular customers. It really shifts the way in which distributors position themselves with customers and suppliers.

Not only do these customer relationships become much more productive and cost-efficient, it is much easier for distributors to tailor services to specific customer needs across the organization. That in turn defines for the customer the real difference in the value your company offers versus alternatives.

Distribution management gains much better …

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Act Protects Returning Veterans’ Rights

Legal Issues in Wholesale Distribution, Operations, Subscriber Only /

USERRA, a federal law that protects the jobs of members of the uniformed services, has long been considered a dangerous trap for the unwary employer.
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A jury recently awarded nearly $1 million in damages to an Oregon National Guardsman discharged after seeking outside assistance to get his job back, based largely upon the timing of the employer’s discharge decision.
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USERRA Protection
The action was brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which was enacted to protect the jobs of reservists, National Guard members and other members of the uniformed services.

The law codifies a series of statutes dating back to WWII, all of which were underpinned by the notion that our returning …

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Survey: Premiums Up 6.1% in 2007

Free, Subscriber Only /

Annual premiums for family coverage now average $12,106, according to one annual survey, with workers paying $3,281.

Health insurance premium growth was the slowest since 1999 when premiums rose 5.3 percent.

Premiums saw a 6.1 percent increase in 2007, according to the 2007 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.

The average health benefit cost per employee is expected to rise 6.7 percent in 2008, the Mercer Health Benefits survey of employers found. In 2006, employers saw a 6.1 percent increase in costs. The percentage of the workforce (60 percent) obtaining coverage from employer-sponsored plans remained unchanged since 2006. (See graphic on page 7.)
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DXP and Precision Merger Complete

Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Subscriber Only /

Power transmission and bearing distributor DXP Enterprises, Inc., Houston, TX, has finished its acquisition of Precision Industries for $106 million. The acquisition is DXP’s largest and nearly doubles the distributor’s size. Precision has a run rate of $250 million in sales in 2007. In the Aug. 25, 2007, issue of MDM, we presented Precision’s reason for selling the company. Recently, DXP held a conference call on the purchase and shared its reasons for making the acquisition. The following is an excerpt from comments made by DXP CEO David Little during that call:
Precision Industries fits within our primary acquisition criteria of acquiring companies that allow us to gain access to new geography, strengthen our product and service offering and have established and accomplished …

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Strategic Sales Management

Management, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

It’s no longer enough to leave relationships solely in the hands of individual sales reps, no matter how capable they are. Becoming a strategic partner in the supply chain means evolving to a new model of sales management, according to this excerpt of a new book from the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence.
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The 1990s saw the emergence of a new concept. Instead of just being a middleman between manufacturers and customers, wholesaler-distributors started to become marketing channels.

On the upstream side, sophisticated manufacturers began to look at distributors as partners in the ultimate job of reaching and satisfying end consumers.

Instead of just talking about what the distributors’bought, they started discussing what the distributors …

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U.S. Residential Market Slows Wolseley Annual Sales

Building Materials/Construction, Companies, Free, HVACR, News, Plumbing Products & PVF Distribution, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Global HVAC, plumbing and building materials distributor Wolseley plc reports there are no signs yet of any upturn in the U.S. housing market; it is also seeing the repairs, maintenance and improvement market starting to soften. A weaker dollar and price deflation in lumber and panels has also hurt its North American building materials business.
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In its preliminary results report for the year ended July 31, 2007, Wolseley had sales of 16.2 billion pounds (US$32.7 billion), up 14.6% from the previous year. Operating profit fell slightly.
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North American revenues declined slightly overall, reflecting slow sales by Stock Building Supply hit by the weak U.S. residential market. Ferguson, the plumbing/HVAC business, had 5.5% organic growth. Operating profit in …

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Dana Corp. Completes Sale of Fluid Products Businesses

Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Dana Corporation, Toledo, OH, has completed the sale of its North American coupled products business to Coupled Products LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wanxiang (USA) Holdings Corporation.
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The sale concludes the divestiture of Dana’s fluid products business. Last month, the company closed the sale of its North American fluid products hose and tubing operations to Orhan Holding, A.S. Dana previously sold its European fluid products hose and tubing operations to Orhan in July 2007.
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The completion of this divestiture marks another important step in Dana’s efforts to concentrate our resources on the core products and competencies that are the foundation for our future growth,” said Dana Chairman and CEO Mike Burns.
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The coupled products plants …

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MDM September 25, 2007

Subscriber Only /

This is the pdf of this issue of Modern Distribution Management. Apply the full $24.95 pay-per-view cost toward an annual subscription (within 30 days of purchase), which includes two issues a month plus access to more than six years of online archives and market data. Call 1-888-742-5060 or email info@mdm.com to …

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