January 2008 - Page 2 of 5 - Modern Distribution Management

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January 2008

Columbus-McKinnon Sales Up 9.3% in 3Q

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Material handling equipment manufacturer Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst, NY, reported sales for its fiscal 2008 third quarter were $155.2 million, up 9.3%. International sales were $55.8 million, or 36% of total sales, up 13% from the prior-year period.
 
Product segment sales, representing 90.5% of total sales, increased to $140.5 million, or 10.7%, on strong sales reported by CMCO Europe’s operations, as well as domestic hoists, cranes and rigging products.
 
The company’s Solutions segment reported a revenue decline to $14.7 million, due to planned revenue reduction in the company’s Univeyor business. The company is considering selling that unit.
 
Profit was $10 million for the third quarter, up 9.5%.
 
Sales for the first nine months were …

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Danaher 4Q Organic Growth at 4.5%

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Danaher Corp., Washington DC, reported sales from continuing operations in 2007 were $11 billion, up 16.5% from the prior year. Profit was $1.2 billion.
 
Sales for the fourth quarter were $3.1 billion, 19.5% higher than the same period last year. Organic growth was 4.5%. Profit was $320 million.
 
Danaher Corporation is a manufacturer of Professional Instrumentation, Medical Technologies, Industrial Technologies, and Tools and Components. …

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Kennametal North American Sales Fall

Free, Metals Service Centers, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, reported that sales in the first half of 2008 were $1.3 billion, up 14% from the same period a year ago. Organic growth was 3%. Income from continuing operations was up 35% to $85 million.
 
Sales for the second quarter were $647 million, up 14% from the prior year. Organic growth was 2%. Income from continuing operations was $50 million, up 49%.
 
Metalworking Solutions and Services Group sales were up 16%, 4% of which was organic growth. India and Asia-Pacific organic growth was 15% and 11% respectively. Latin America organic sales were up 9% and Europe organic growth was 6%.
 
North America sales fell 2%.
 
Advanced Materials Solutions Group sales increased during the latest quarter, driven by the effects of …

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Canadian Economy Grows, But Shows Signs of Slowing

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Wholesale trade in Canada was the fastest growing industry for the country in the fourth quarter 2007, according to a recent report from Statistics Canada. The sector saw 9% growth, reflecting an 11% gain in the volume of imports. Manufacturing grew 1.2%.
 
Overall, the Canadian economy performed well in the fourth quarter 2007, thanks in part to an exchange rate above parity with the U.S. dollar. Output growth was steady in October, while employment rose 0.8% despite a softening in December.

Still, according to the report, there are signs that the economy could slow at the beginning of 2008. The composite leading index decelerated in the last three months of 2007, mostly due to weak U.S. demand …

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Applied Industrial Sales Up 6.7% in First Half

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Industrial distributor Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, reported sales increased 8.2% to $511 million in the 2008 second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007. Profit was up 23.7%.
 
Year-to-date, sales were up 6.7% to $1.02 billion, and profit was up 19.5% to $47.4 million.
 
During the quarter, we saw business conditions that were mixed,” said Applied CEO David L. Pugh. “Our sales to customers in housing-related industries continued to be impacted by the housing downturn. Sales to other industries such as metal mining and food production were very strong. Several economic indices we follow point to a slowing economy, and as a result, we expect the second half to be more challenging with regard to sales growth.”
 
For its fiscal year ended June …

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Schneider Electric 2007 Organic Growth at 13.9%

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French-based Schneider Electric saw sales rise 26.1% in 2007 to €17,309 million (US$25,298 million), double the Group’s sales in 2003. Organic growth was 13.9%.
 
In the fourth quarter 2007, sales were up 25.2%.
 
In Europe, sales were up 12% for the year, in North America sales were up 13.1%, Asia-Pacific up 16% and the Rest of the World up 23.3%.
 
Operations in North America had sales growth of 14.3% in the fourth quarter. According to Schneider, this reflects the Group’s repositioning in certain market segments including data centers, water treatment, hospitals and power supply, the high demand for energy efficiency solutions and the significant volume of project orders in previous quarters.
 
In Europe sales in the fourth quarter were …

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Timken Expands Reach in Energy Market

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

The Timken Company, Canton, OH, has agreed to acquire Boring Specialties Inc., a provider of precision deep-hole oil and gas drilling and extraction products and services. Based in Houston, TX, BSI had 2006 sales of $48 million.
 
The acquisition will extend Timken’s presence in the growing energy market by adding BSI’s products to its range of alloy steel products for oil and gas customers.
 
BSI primarily serves the oil and gas industry, with products used in the manufacture of down-hole drilling and completion components. Timken steel is used in a number of BSI’s products.
 
Timken supplies friction management and power transmission products and services. Timken had sales of $5 billion in 2006, operations in 26 countries and 25,000 …

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Sandvik to Acquire S. African Supplier

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Sandvik, Stockholm, Sweden, has agreed to acquire South African company Corstor International Ltd.
 
Corstor is a manufacturer of borehole core storage and handling systems for the mining and exploration industries. Corstor also distributes analysis and survey equipment as well as accessories to the mining and exploration industries in Africa.
 
Sales amount to SEK 70 million per year and the company has 100 employees. The head office and the largest production plant is located outside Johannesburg, South Africa. The company also has sales and service offices in Ghana and Tanzania.
 
Sandvik is a global industrial group with advanced products and positions in selected areas -tools for metal cutting, machinery and tools for rock excavation, stainless …

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Private Equity Firm Invests in Avtron Manufacturing

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Morgenthaler Partners announced the recapitalization of Avtron Manufacturing, Inc., Independence, OH, a multi-business company that designs and manufactures technical products via three operating divisions: Aerospace, Load Banks, and Industrial Automation.
 
As part of the transaction, senior members of the management team, led by CEO Bob Fritz, will be significant equity holders in the company.
 
Avtron’s Aerospace Division provides test equipment for electrical, electronic, hydraulic and fuel systems to commercial airlines, maintenance shops, component manufacturers, and military forces on a global basis. The Load Bank Division offers test equipment and complementary products for diesel generator sets in North America and increasingly in Asia. Industrial Automation …

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Indutrade to Buy Precision Products

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Swedish manufacturer Indutrade has agreed to buy UK company Precision Products Ltd, with annual sales of SEK 70 million (US$10.7 million).
 
Precision Products, with a customer base in 48 countries, is a supplier of piston rings to the international marine engine industry as well as products for other industrial applications.
 
Precision Products fits well in to our strategy of acquiring niche companies with a high level of technical expertise and building clusters,”says Johnny Alvarsson, president and CEO of Indutrade. “The company will be included in a cluster together with the spring manufacturers Spinova and Carrab Industri.”
 
Precision Products will be part of the Special Products unit, which had net sales of SEK 1,094 million (US$168.4 million). …

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Fastenal Sales Grow 14% in 2007

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

The Fastenal Company, Winona, MN, reported sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, were up 14% to $2.06 billion. Profit increased from $199 million to $232 million in 2007, up 16.9%.
 
Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $519.2 million, an increase of 15.7% over the same period last year. Profit was up 23.3%.
 
In 2007, Fastenal opened 161 new sites, compared with 245 new sites in 2006.

More details

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Eaton Sales Up 7% to $13B in 2007

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Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp., Cleveland, OH, reported sales for 2007 were up 7% to $13 billion. Profit was $994 million, an increase of 5%.
 
In the fourth quarter, sales were $3.4 billion, 10% above the same period in 2006, and profit was $256 million, an increase of 6%.
 
Sales growth in the fourth quarter included 4% from acquisitions, 4% from higher exchange rates and 2% from organic growth.
 
Looking at 2007 as a whole, we had a very strong year,”said Alexander M. Cutler, Eaton CEO. “Our sales in 2007 grew 7 percent despite the downturn in the NAFTA class 8 truck market, and our operating earnings per share grew 8 percent. … And we concluded the year by announcing two significant acquisitions — Moeller and Phoenixtec …

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Commerce Dept: Duties on Nails for Chinese, UAE Producers

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The U.S. Department of Commerce announced its preliminary findings in the antidumping duty investigations on imports of steel nails from China and the United Arab Emirates. Commerce determined that Chinese and UAE producers/exporters will pay from 20.77% to 118.04% and 4.47 percent in duties.
 
Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the U.S. at less than fair value. Final approval of duties should occur by mid-summer.
 
The merchandise covered by these investigations is steel nails of up to 12 inches. Nails that are subject to these investigations have a variety of finishes, heads, shanks, points, and sizes.
 
Mid Continent Nail Corporation (MO); Davis Wire Corporation (CA); Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation (Atlas Steel &Wire Division) (FL); …

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Wolseley Profit Drops 25% in First 5 Months

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

Global building products and plumbing/HVAC distributor Wolseley plc reported a 25% drop in profit for the five months ended Dec. 31, 2007. Full half-year results will be announced in March. Revenue was up 2%.
 
The UK-based company was hit hardest in North America, where profit was down 40% and revenue down 10% (5% in constant currency). Year-to-date, 3,000 people have been laid off at Stock Building Supply and Ferguson in the U.S. due to tough conditions in the U.S. Wolseley has implemented a general headcount freeze” for both continents on which it operates.
 
The company blamed the “worsening U.S. housing market, low consumer confidence arising from global credit restrictions and the weakness of the U.S. dollar.”
 
The distributor says “market …

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Wolseley Profit Drops 25% in First 5 Months Read More »

Great Northern Lumber Buys Service Lumber

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Great Northern Lumber, Inc., Chicago, IL-based lumber products wholesaler and manufacturer, has acquired Service Lumber Company, which operates in Northwest Indiana as an industrial hardwood lumber distributor.
 
Great Northern Lumber, Inc. will continue to distribute SLC’s previous growing lineup of hardwood products throughout the Upper Midwest market.
 
We are looking forward to new opportunities to grow in the industrial hardwood market from SLC’s previous successes,” said Jeff Currier, president of Great Northern …

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Home Depot Hangover: An Update on Distribution M&A Activity

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Distribution M&A markets have changed significantly in the past six months. Deals, especially in the last quarter, have started to dry up and valuations are dropping fast. Yet there is still a lot of private equity money looking for a place to land. Yesterday I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion with Brent Grover of Evergreen Consulting and Jim Miller of Supply Chain Equity Partners. These two gentlemen have complementary perspectives with strong distribution expertise, but they did not bear much good news.  
 
We clearly are on the back side of the peak of valuations. With tighter debt markets, financial buyers won’t be driving the market the way they have the past few years, but they will be a factor, Miller noted. His take is that there will still be add-on …

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Canadian Manufacturing: Slight Uptick in November

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Source: Statistics Canada

After holding steady in October, manufacturing sales increased by 1.1% in November. Sales improved by $573 million to $50.6 billion. Almost all of the increase in manufacturing was the result of a surge in petroleum and coal product sales during the month, which benefited from sharply rising prices.

Using constant dollars, the volume of manufacturing sales remained largely unchanged in November, edging down 0.1% compared with October. Rising prices played a significant role in increasing the total value of sales, as the Industrial Product Price Index rose for the first time in seven months (+0.6%). Constant dollar measurements take price fluctuations into account, providing an indicator of the volume …

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2007 Housing Starts Down Nearly 25%

Building Materials/Construction, Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Building Permits
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,068,000. This is 8.1 percent below the revised November rate of 1,162,000 and is 34.4 percent below the revised December 2006 estimate.
 
Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 692,000; this is 10.1 percent below the November figure of 770,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 322,000 in December.
 
An estimated 1,376,100 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2007. This is 25.3 percent below the 2006 figure.
 
Housing Starts
Privately-owned housing starts in December …

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Windsor Factory Supply to Buy Keep Industrial Supply

Facilities Maintenance (MRO), Finance, Free, HVACR, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Plumbing Products & PVF Distribution, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Employee-owned Windsor Factory Supply Ltd., Windsor, ON, Canada, have agreed to acquire Keep Industrial Supply Ltd., also based in Ontario.
 
Keep has locations in Woodstock, Brantford and Stratford, ON. The business will continue to operate as Keep Industrial Supply Ltd.
 
Windsor Factory Supply is a provider of industrial, construction, plumbing, safety and MRO products in markets throughout Ontario.
 
Windsor Factory Supply is a logical fit to enhance our reputation of community involvement, quality customer service and excellent product mix”, says Sam Keeping, president of Keep Industrial …

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Salem Tools, Now ST Solutions, to Acquire Regal Industries

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ST Solutions’s Regal Industries, LLC has agreed to buy Regal Industries, Louisville, KY.
 
Regal Industries supplies cutting tools, as well as bonded, coated and superabrasive products to industries in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. Regal also offers inventory management solutions to manufacturing facilities. 
 
Key benefits of the acquisition include broadening the service footprint, combining purchases to strengthen buying power, reducing backroom costs and freeing up Regal management to pursue sales growth.
 
We are excited about combining our experienced, valued workforce and services and expanding our geographic footprint,”explained William N. Powell, president and CEO of ST Solutions.

Salem Tools, Salem, VA, is now operating …

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