July 2008

WESCO Sales Grow 4.6% in 2Q

Electrical, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

WESCO International, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, provider of electrical MRO products, construction materials and advanced integrated supply services, reported sales of $1.59 billion for the second quarter 2008, an increase of 4.6% over second quarter 2007. Profit was $60.1 million, a slight increase over the same period a year ago.

Sales for the six months ended June 30, 2008 were $3.05 billion, a 2.8% increase over the first six months of 2007. Sales growth was 4.6% after adjusting for a previously announced divestiture. Profit for the 2008 year-to-date period was $105 million, a 2.6% decrease from same period last …

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Private Equity Firms Buy Milwaukee Gear & Treat All Metals

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

Milwaukee Gear Co., Glendale, WI, and Treat All Metals Inc., Milwaukee, WI, were acquired by two private equity firms. Terms of the sale to High Road Capital Partners, New York, NY, and Charter Oak Equity LP, Westport, CT, were not disclosed by management in a letter to customers and vendors.

Treat All Metals will continue to operate as a division of Milwaukee Gear instead of as a standalone company. Former CEO Harold Trusky will retire from operations but no other management team changes are expected.

Milwaukee Gear manufactures precision gears and drives for a variety of industries. Treat All Metals provides heat treatment and metal processing, from case hardening to …

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Ashland Inc. Sales Grow 11% in 3Q

Chemicals & Plastics Distribution, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Ashland Inc., Covington, KY, reported preliminary profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, of $72 million, a decrease of 28% from the prior year. Sales and operating revenues increased 11% over third quarter 2007 to $2.2 billion.

For the first nine months, Ashland reported profit of $177 million, down 10.6% from the same period 2007. Sales and operating revenue totaled $6.2 billion, an increase of 8.2% over the same period a year ago.

Segment results
Performance Materials’sales and operating revenues of $425 million increased 6%, but volume per day declined 4%, both as compared with the June 2007 quarter. The unit was impacted by increased raw material costs in all of Performance Materials’business units.

Distribution’s volume per day …

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Praxair Sales Grow 23% in 2Q

Companies, Free, Gases & Welding Equipment, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Praxair Inc., Danbury, CT, reported second quarter sales of $2.88 billion, up 23% from the second quarter of 2007. Profits were up 20% over the prior-year period to $349 million.

Sales for the first six months ended June 30, 2008, were $5.54 billion, an increase of 23% over the first six months of 2007. Profits were $665 million, up 18%.

The company saw strong sales growth in every geographic region, led by South America and Asia.

In North America, second-quarter sales reached $1.57 billion, 22% above the prior year. Excluding the effect of higher natural gas prices passed through to customers in hydrogen prices, sales growth was 18%, led by higher sales to energy and general manufacturing markets.

In Europe, sales in the second quarter …

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Lincoln Electric U.S. Export Sales Grow 28.6% in 2Q

Companies, Free, Gases & Welding Equipment, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Cleveland, OH-based Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., a welding products manufacturer, reported sales for the second quarter 2008 increased 19.3% to $699.8 million over the same period 2007. Profits were $70.1 million, an increase of 26.9%.

For the first six months ended June 30, 2008, sales improved 16.2% to $1.32 billion over the first six months of 2007. Lincoln reported profits for the period of $123.6 million, up 19.7%.

U.S. export sales in the quarter increased 28.6% to $64.5 million from $50.1 million in 2007.

Sales at Lincoln subsidiaries outside North America increased to $299.1 million in the second quarter, compared with $222.8 million in the year ago quarter, an increase of 34.2%. Excluding acquisitions and the effect of changes in foreign …

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Thomas & Betts Sales Benefit from Acquisitions, Price Increases

Electrical, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Thomas &Betts Corp., Memphis, TN, reported sales of $641.3 million for the second quarter of 2008, up 26.4% over second quarter 2007. Profit increased 68% to $147.8 million.

For the first six months ended June 30, 2008, sales increased 26% to $255 million over the first six months 2007. Profit totaled $186.1 million, an increase of 55%.

Acquisitions contributed $114.1 million to the quarterly sales increase while foreign currency benefited sales by approximately $18 million. Commodity- and energy-related price increases offset lower underlying sales volumes in markets affected by the slowdown in residential construction.

Thomas &Betts is a designer and manufacturer of electrical components used in industrial, commercial, communications and utility …

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3M Agrees to Buy Ligacon

Companies, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

3M, St. Paul, MN, has agreed to acquire Ligacon AG, a Switzerland-based manufacturer and supplier of filtration systems and filter elements for the pharmaceutical, biotech and general industrial markets.

The acquisition of Ligacon will support 3M CUNO Filtration’s core business and expansion into key markets such as the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

3M CUNO Filtration manufactures and markets filtration solutions for separating, clarifying and purifying fluids and gases. 3M CUNO products serve the food and beverage, residential, leisure, industrial, healthcare and food service markets.

Ligacon employs 20 people at its headquarters in Tagelswangen, Switzerland.

3M manufactures thousands of products for diverse markets …

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Airgas Same-Store Sales up 7% in 1Q

Companies, Free, Gases & Welding Equipment, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, reported sales of $1.1 billion for the first quarter ended June 30, 2008, an increase of 22% over the prior-year quarter. Profits grew 33% to $68.9 million.

Acquisitions contributed 15% to the increase, and total same-store sales grew 7% in the quarter, with hardgoods up 6% and gas and rent up 7%. Strategic product categories, focused on healthcare, life sciences, research, environmental, and food and beverage markets, posted 10% organic growth in the quarter.

Airgas, Inc. is a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies. …

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Survey: ‘Surprising Number’ of Companies Still Manually Processing Sales Data

Free, Subscriber Only, Technology / MDM Staff

A recent survey by Pembroke Consulting showed what it called a surprising number” of companies, many of which are technology providers, still using manual processes to collect, analyze and report on sales data.

The survey looked at the data management practices of more than 100 technology, manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies. Though these companies sell 80% of their products through indirect channels, more than half haven’t fully automated their channel data management capabilities.

The channel data automation study, commissioned by InfoNow, asked managers and executives about their most common data management problems. “Receiving incomplete data from (their) indirect channel”and “basing future sales plans on ‘best guess’estimates”were among the top …

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Private Equity Firm Buys Majority Interest in Bradco Supply

Fasteners, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Private equity firm Advent International has agreed to buy a majority interest in roofing and building materials distributor Bradco Supply, Avenel, NJ. The Segal family will continue to own a minority stake in the business.

The transaction is expected to finalized in mid to late August.

According to the Bradco Web site, Bradco has more than $1.7 billion in annual sales with more than 154 locations in 30 states.

The company has grown rapidly in the past 10 years, growing from 64 locations in 1998 to the current 154. Bradco acquired Admiral Building Products earlier this year.

Ted Boylan will continue as CEO.
…

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Precision Castparts Sales Grow 11.2% in 1Q

Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Portland, OR-based Precision Castparts Corp. announced sales in the first quarter ended June 29, 2008, were $1.83 billion, an increase of 11.2% over same period a year ago.

Profits improved 22.7% to $274.9 million, compared to $224.1 million a year ago.

Results by Segment
Total sales of Investment Cast Products were $597.7 million, a 17.3% increase over last year’s first quarter sales. Growth was propelled by solid aerospace OEM and aftermarket shipments and significant industrial gas turbine (IGT) sales growth.

Forged Products’sales improved 5.6% year over year, increasing to $816.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Lower selling prices of external alloy sales from the segment’s three primary mills, combined with increased …

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3M Agrees to Buy Adhesives/Sealants Suppliers

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

3M has agreed to acquire EMFI S.A. and SAPO S.A., manufacturers of polyurethane-based structural adhesives and sealants headquartered in Haguenau, France.

EMFI/SAPO’s adhesives and sealants complement 3M Industrial Adhesives and Tapes Division’s core industrial adhesives product line and provide access to the fast-growing polyurethane-based structural adhesives and sealants market segment. Polyurethane structural adhesives and sealants are used in building and infrastructure construction, wood floors, structural assembly, automotive aftermarket, truck, marine, specialty vehicle and rail assembly applications.

3M offers industrial tapes and adhesives for bonding, protecting, masking, enhancing, shielding, damping, splicing, reinforcing, color coding, case sealing …

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Anixter Sales Up 7% in 2Q

Companies, Electrical, Fasteners, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, a distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire &cable and a distributor of fasteners and other small parts to Original Equipment Manufacturers, reported sales for the second quarter ended June 27, 2008, increased 7% over the same quarter a year ago to $1.62 billion. Profit was $66.9 million, an increase of 4%.

Sales for the first six months were $3.09 billion, a 9% increase over 2007. Profits improved 5% to $124.6 million.

Through the next few quarters, we will remain focused on building on our strategic initiatives, which include growing our security and OEM Supply businesses, initiating a factory automation network sales effort, adding to our supply chain services offering, enlarging the …

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Danaher Organic Growth at 5.5% in 2Q

Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Danaher Corp., Washington, D.C., reported sales from continuing operations for the second quarter 2008 were $3.28 billion, an increase of 25% over the same period 2007. Profit increased 18% over second quarter 2007 to $363 million.

For the first six months ended June 27, 2008, sales increased to $6.31 billion, 22.5% more than the prior year period. Net earnings from continuing operations were $640 million, an increase of 14.5% over the first six months of 2007.

Revenue growth from existing businesses was 5.5% for the quarter.

Danaher is a manufacturer of professional instrumentation, medical technologies, industrial technologies, and tools and …

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Fuel Surcharges: Yes or No?

Free, Strategy, Subscriber Only / Lindsay Young

In a recent interview with MDM, Bill Snyder, vice president of channel development for Palatine, IL-based manufacturer Square D (Schneider Electric’s North American operating division), had some interesting points to make about passing on the cost of fuel in the channel.

He says that Square D learned a lesson when fuel costs rose in previous years. The company had tried a fuel surcharge, which seemed logical at the time. But the distributors came back to Square D and said: “Wait a minute, you don’t understand. You send me three pallet loads, you put a fuel surcharge on there. I break those pallets down and put it on the shelf, then I sell them to people. How do I transfer that?”

A good point. So …

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Gardner Denver Agrees to Buy CompAir

Finance, Free, Gases & Welding Equipment, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors / MDM Staff

Gardner Denver, Inc. , Quincy, IL, has agreed to buy CompAir Holdings Ltd., a global manufacturer of compressed air and gas solutions. The acquisition values the business at about US$395 million.

CompAir, Redditch, U.K., operates through three business divisions: Industrial, Hydrovane, and Reavell. The Industrial division manufactures oil-injected and oil-free rotary screw compressors, piston compressors, and portable rotary screw compressors. These products are used in oil and gas exploration, mining and construction, power plants, and general industrial applications.

The Hydrovane division is a manufacturer of rotary vane compressors used in OEM applications such as snow-making and mass transit, and general industrial applications. The third division, Reavell, …

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NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index: Builder Confidence Falls in July

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

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell for a third consecutive month in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI fell below its previous record low of 18 in June to a new record low of 16 in July, with each of its three component indexes also hitting record lows.

Builders are reporting that traffic of prospective buyers has fallen off substantially in recent months,”said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Given the systematic deterioration of job markets, rising energy costs and sinking home values aggravated by the rising tide of foreclosures, many prospective buyers have simply returned to the sidelines until conditions improve.”

Each of the HMI’s …

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Some Help Improving Fleet Efficiency

Free, Management, Strategy, Subscriber Only / Lindsay Young

The ideas in this article posted on Outsourced Logistics may help you improve the efficiency of your fleet. The article was provided by Ryder System Inc., so does include some advertising. Still, with rising fuel prices challenging bottom lines, all advice helps.

Some of the tips in the article:

Train drivers to watch their speed, one of the largest single factors affecting fuel economy. Reducing speed to 55 mph from 65 can improve mpg by as much as 22%.
Improve tire maintenance.
Improve your preventive maintenance program overall.
Leverage …

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Canada Wholesale Revenues Grow in May

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Source: Statistics Canada

The value and volume of wholesale trade in Canada rose in May, due in large part to higher global demand for agricultural chemical products.

Current dollar wholesale trade rose 1.6% to $44.2 billion in May, the fourth gain in the last five months. When removing the effect of price changes, sales in constant dollars increased by 0.7% in May.

Overall, six of seven wholesale sectors reported higher sales values, with the only decline coming from the automotive sector. Both motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and accessories fell.

Since February 2008, the trend in current dollar wholesale trade has been slightly upwards. This follows a period, from July 2007 to …

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Bosch Rexroth Agrees to Buy Hagglunds Drives

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

Bosch Rexroth has agreed to acquire Hägglunds Drives AB, Mellansel, Sweden.

In 2007, Hägglunds Drives employed around 900 people and had sales of €200 million. Hägglunds Drives is an international supplier of hydraulic drive systems, separate drive motors and services. The drive systems are used in a wide range of industries, such as mining and materials handling, marine and offshore, recycling, sugar, pulp and paper.

In the renewable energies sector, Hägglunds Drives products are used to drive machines for producing ethanol, and feature in the first prototypes for generating tidal energy.

The acquisition of Hägglunds Drives expands our industrial hydraulics portfolio and by this we gain potential in growing markets, such as …

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July 2008

WESCO Sales Grow 4.6% in 2Q

Private Equity Firms Buy Milwaukee Gear & Treat All Metals

Ashland Inc. Sales Grow 11% in 3Q

Praxair Sales Grow 23% in 2Q

Lincoln Electric U.S. Export Sales Grow 28.6% in 2Q

Thomas & Betts Sales Benefit from Acquisitions, Price Increases

3M Agrees to Buy Ligacon

Airgas Same-Store Sales up 7% in 1Q

Survey: ‘Surprising Number’ of Companies Still Manually Processing Sales Data

Private Equity Firm Buys Majority Interest in Bradco Supply

Precision Castparts Sales Grow 11.2% in 1Q

3M Agrees to Buy Adhesives/Sealants Suppliers

Anixter Sales Up 7% in 2Q

Danaher Organic Growth at 5.5% in 2Q

Fuel Surcharges: Yes or No?

Gardner Denver Agrees to Buy CompAir

NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index: Builder Confidence Falls in July

Some Help Improving Fleet Efficiency

Canada Wholesale Revenues Grow in May

Bosch Rexroth Agrees to Buy Hagglunds Drives

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