November 27, 2007

The ERIKS group has agreed to buy Wielens Beheer B.V. in Groningen, the Netherlands.
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Wielens sells electromechanical power transmission equipment parts and services. Wielens serves mainly the industrial maintenance market (MRO) and has annual sales of & euro; 22 million.
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ERIKS says that the acquisition fits in its strategy of aiming at the top three” position in each core activity in all countries in which ERIKS is present to grow local presence.
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With the acquisition, ERIKS gains nine branches including a central warehouse.

U.S. distributors’sales of Power Transmission/Motion Control products continue to fluctuate, dropping 5.5 percent from August to September after a 9.9 percent increase in sales the prior month, according to the September 2007 month-end trend data from the Power Transmission Distributors Association. Year-to-year comparisons remain positive with sales in September 2007 coming in 1.8 percent higher than in September 2006. Accounts receivable collection days increased 9 percent over August 2007.&nbsp ; The September 2007 confidence index for U.S. distributors remained unchanged for the seventh month in a row at 6.6 (on a 10-point scale).
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Canadian distributors’sales in PT/MC products on a month-to-month comparison matched the performance of their U.S. counterparts. After last …