2008 - Page 29 of 59 - Modern Distribution Management

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2008

Survey: Respondents Outside of Bldg Materials/Transportation Optimistic

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

Companies reporting their business conditions as thriving and growing”declined by nearly 10% in the past year, according to the third annual RSM McGladrey Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution National Survey. However, business remains good for more than a third of survey participants within the following industry segments: food and allied products, medical devices, industrial equipment, metal fabrication and electronics.

More than 960 industry executives -representing 911 companies -responded to questions on current business conditions, growth strategies, innovation, cost management, technology initiatives, operations and …

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Textron’s Greenlee Unit Acquires Utilux

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

Textron Inc.’s Greenlee business unit, Rockford, IL, has acquired UK-based Utilux, a manufacturer of electrical connectors and cable assemblies for electrical distributors and other European industrial segments. With this acquisition, Greenlee improves product offerings and capacity at its Klauke division, based in Remscheid, Germany.
 
With revenues of about $28 million in fiscal year 2007, Utilux has about 220 employees and will continue to operate out of its Slovakian and UK locations.
 
Greenlee provides professional tools for use in the electrical, plumbing, communications, and construction and maintenance markets worldwide. Textron Inc. is a $13.2 billion diversified manufacturing company operating in 34 countries with 44,000 employees. …

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PT/MC Sales by Distributors Fall 7.2% in May

Free, News, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

U.S. distributors’overall sales of Power Transmission/Motion Control products declined 7.2% in May 2008 compared to April 2008, according to the latest month-end trend data from the Power Transmission Distributors Association. When matched up against sales in the same month last year, sales in May 2008 were up 1%.
 
Accounts receivable collection days rose 7.8% since April 2008. The confidence index of U.S. distributors dropped to 5.6 in May 2008 from 5.8 in April 2008 (on a 10-point scale) the first decline since February 2007.
 
Canadian distributors also reported a decrease in PT/MC sales, dropping 5.4% in May 2008. Sales over the same period last year were down 6.8%. Accounts receivable collection days rose 2.5% compared to April 2008. In May 2008, the …

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PT/MC Sales by Distributors Fall 7.2% in May Read More »

Georges Enterprises Buys Food Distributor Harrison Co.

Finance, Free, Grocery & Foodservice Distribution, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Georges Enterprises, Elmwood, LA, has purchased Bossier City, LA-based food distributor Harrison Company. Harrison will continue to operate as a separate entity under the name Harrison SR.
 
As part of Georges Enterprises, Harrison will join New Orleans-based Imperial Trading Company to expand the company’s food distribution reach to nine states from its current five. The acquisition will also provide an inland site to alleviate disruptions like those that occurred after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.
 
Harrison president Hal Martin will continue in that role.
 
Georges CEO John Georges says they will add 50 to100 new jobs in Bossier City where Harrison currently employs 150.
 
Georges expects the partnership to earn $1 billion by 2010. …

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Clean Air for Olympics: Production Shutdowns Near Beijing

Free, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

The Chinese government is taking some drastic measures to clean up its polluted air before the Olympic Games in August. Those measures include ordering industrial plants, like steelmaker Shougang and automaker Hyundai, to curtail their production or shut down for two months beginning on July 20, according to BusinessWeek.
 
Bryan Larkin, marketing director at consulting firm GXS in Gaithersburg, MD, told Businessweek that a fair number of companies worldwide were caught off guard by the new restrictions, and it’s too late to do anything to head off supply shortages that could result. We will see a different mix of goods or even empty shelves”as far away from China as the U.S. and Europe because of this, he said.
 
Companies that did have advance warning have been …

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Zep Reports 3Q Sales Down Slightly

Chemicals & Plastics Distribution, Facilities Maintenance (MRO), Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Atlanta-based Zep Inc., a producer of cleaning and maintenance products, reported sales of $145.2 million for the third quarter ended May 31, 2008, down slightly from $145.4 million in the previous year. Profit was $0.2 million, down 94% from third quarter 2007.
 
Excluding charges for restructuring and special items, Zep had an adjusted profit of $6 million, down 4.8% from the adjusted profit the previous year.
 
The decline was attributed to higher raw material costs, increased stand-alone public company expenses and investments related to ongoing strategic initiatives.
 
For the nine months ended May 31, 2008, profit was $8.4 million, up 21.2% over the prior year. Zep reported sales of $421.9 million in the first nine months of fiscal year 2008, an …

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Forecast: Existing Home Sales May Recover in Second Half

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

The National Association of Realtors is forecasting a recovery in existing-home sales in the second half of the year, with modest near-term movement.”
 
The group’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in May, fell 4.7% to 84.7 from 88.9 in April. It remains 14% below May 2007.
 
“The overall decline in contract signings suggests we are not out of the woods by any means,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
 
The PHSI in the West slipped 1.3% to 97.5 in May but is 2% higher than May 2007. In the Northeast, the index declined 2.9% to 77.0 in May and is 16.4% below a year ago. The index in the Midwest fell 6% to 78.6 and is 13.8% below May 2007. In the South, the index dropped 7.1% in May to 84.5 and is 22.1% …

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May Wholesale Revenues Grow 1.6%

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

May 2008 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’sales branches and offices, were $397.4 billion, up 1.6% from April and up 13.7% from May 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The April preliminary estimate was revised upward 0.2%. May sales of durable goods were down 0.2% from last month, but were up 7.6% from a year ago.
 
Compared to last month, furniture and home furnishings were down 4.0%, while sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum were up 2.9%. Sales of nondurable goods were up 3.2% (+/-0.8%) from last month and were up 19.2% from last year. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 7.5% from last month and sales of apparel, piece goods, and notions were up 5.2%.
 
Inventories
Total inventories of merchant …

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Valley National Gases Acquires Beaver Valley Welding Supply

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

Valley National Gases, LLC, Independence, OH, has acquired Beaver Valley Welding Supply, Inc., Aliquippa, PA. The acquired business sells industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and welding equipment and supplies. Jeff Lyden, former owner, will remain with the business.
 
The acquisition will enhance Valley National Gases’ reach in the Western Pennsylvania Region.
 
The purchase is Valley National’s sixth acquisition since being acquired by CI Capital Partners in February 2007. The acquisitions have expanded the distributor’s territory to include Indiana, Maine and New Hampshire, and have strengthened existing operations in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
 
Valley National Gases packages and distributes industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding equipment …

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Drug Distributor Cardinal Health Restructures

Economic Trends, Free, News, Pharmaceutical & Health Care, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Medical product and drug distributor Cardinal Health, Dublin, OH, is restructuring to cut costs and realign resources.
 
With the changes the company reduces its workforce by 600 positions. Of those positions, 160 are open and will not be filled.
 
Cardinal’s network of pharmaceutical and medical product distribution centers and nuclear pharmacies will form the Healthcare Supply Chain Services segment, which will have revenues of more than $80 billion.
 
Products for infusion, medication dispensing, respiratory care and infection prevention will be grouped in the Clinical and Medical Products segment with annual revenue of $5 billion.
 
Through this restructuring, we sharpen our focus on two distinct, large and growing segments of the health …

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Drug Distributor Cardinal Health Restructures Read More »

Two Forest Products Companies Merge

Building Materials/Construction, Finance, Free, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Building trends have led two forest products companies in Idaho to merge. Bennett Forest Products and Riley Creek Lumber, as outlined in this Associated Press piece, say they are doing so to strengthen ties to larger customers, including Home Depot and Lowe’s, to offset a recent fall in business from small contractors.
 
The strategy is designed to meet demands from the retailers that “suppliers be large enough to guarantee delivery of lumber products.” Riley Creek supplied the retailers previously; Bennett did not.
 
According to the AP article, the merger may help the one-time competitors dig in for a continued drop in demand for lumber due to the …

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Riverside Co. Acquires SPX Air Filtration

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

The Riverside Company has acquired SPX Air Filtration Ltd., a subsidiary of diversified industrial manufacturer SPX Corp., Charlotte, NC.
 
SPX Air Filtration manufactures and distributes air filtration products worldwide. The transaction will create a standalone company.
 
SPX reported the air filtration unit as a discontinued operation as of the third quarter 2007. SPX employs 17,000 people in more than 35 …

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Survey: Decline of U.S. Dollar Benefiting Some U.S. Manufacturers

Economic Trends, Free, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

There may be some benefits to the weak U.S. dollar for U.S. manufacturers.
 
A Buyer MFGWatch survey conducted by MFG.com in May surveyed buyers to find out the impact of the dollar’s weakness in the global market on their decisions of where to source manufacturing. Of the more than 500 respondents, 47% said they were sourcing more business in the U.S. as a direct result of the decline in the greenback’s value.
 
That’s good news for U.S. manufacturers who have seen a modest rise in business from these decisions, according to the survey.
 
The impact may be best seen in the responses from international companies. Requests for quotes from international buyers for the five-month period of January through May nearly doubled compared to the same period in …

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Industrial Controls Merges with Climactic Control Co.

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

Industrial Controls Distributors LLC, Wanamassa, NJ, distributor of HVAC controls, process instrumentation and industrial automated valves in the Eastern U.S., has merged with Climactic Control Company, Milwaukee, WI. Climactic has four branches -three in Wisconsin and one in Illinois.
 
Ron Mackiewicz of Climatic has been appointed the Regional Sales Vice President for Industrial Controls Northern Region.
 
Industrial Controls has 19 offices covering 22 states throughout the Northeast and Midwest U.S., along with a new online store …

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3M Acquires K&H Surface Technologies

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

3M, St. Paul, MN, has acquired K&H Surface Technologies Pty. Ltd., an Australia-based manufacturing company specializing in repair products for the professional and do-it-yourself automotive refinish markets.

K&H brings its surface preparation and auto retail products, body fillers and mold release agents to 3M’s full-line of auto body repair products for the automotive aftermarket, which includes products and brands from the 2007 acquisition of Bondo Corp.

3M’s Automotive Aftermarket Division products include abrasives and accessories, masking tapes, panel bonding adhesives, general adhesives coatings and sealers, paint finishing polishes and compounds, and paint application systems.

K&H Surface Technologies employs about 60 people at its …

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Border States Says ESOP Has Helped in Tough Economic Climate

Economic Trends, Electrical, Free, Management, Research & Analytics, Strategy, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

If you read our recent article about Employee Stock Ownership Programs, you know that there are a number of benefits that come from the difference in working culture. Border States Electric Supply, Fargo, ND, an ESOP, has seen that culture work in its favor in the recent economic turmoil many sectors are facing.
 
Our employees see the media reports, talk with our vendors and customers, watch the stock market and are tuned into the housing market/mortgage meltdown and volatile commodity markets,”CEO Tammy J. Miller told MDM recently. “As owners, they take action to minimize the impact of an economic downturn on Border States.”
 
With more than 1,000 employees, Border States has a lot of people working to make sure their company succeeds. Border States introduced its …

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Lewis-Goetz Acquires G&H Pumps

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

Lewis-Goetz and Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, has acquired G&H Pumps and Compressors, Inc., a provider of pump repair and hydraulic services for trucks servicing the land-based oil and gas drilling market of the Shreveport, LA, and larger Texarkana region.
 
The acquisition will allow Lewis-Goetz to expand its presence in the Gulf Coast region while also expanding its product offerings, says Jeff Crane, president and CEO of Lewis-Goetz.
 
Darrell Gilbert, president of G&H, will remain with the company.
 
Lewis-Goetz manufactures and distributes belting, hose and specialty rubber and rubber-related products through 67 locations in the U.S. and …

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WinWholesale Opens Location in Oklahoma

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

WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened Stillwater Winlectric in Stillwater, OK, to provide residential and commercial contractors in the Payne County region of north central Oklahoma with electrical equipment, parts and accessories.
 
Stillwater Winlectric is the second Winlectric company to open in 2008 and the tenth Win company this year.
 
WinWholesale Inc. consists of more than 471 corporations that are collectively referred to as The Win Group of Companies.”The companies conduct business-to-business wholesale distribution across a broad range of …

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WinWholesale Opens Location in Oklahoma Read More »

Rexel, Sonepar Complete Hagemeyer Deal

Companies, Electrical, Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

Paris-based electrical distributor Rexel completed the sale of parts of Hagemeyer to Sonepar ahead of schedule, completing the deal June 30. Rexel also sold its German business to Sonepar in exchange for all of Sonepar’s activities in Sweden.
 
Rexel acquired Dutch distributor Hagemeyer NV in March in a $4.7 billion deal that included plans to sell Hagemeyer’s North American, Asian-Pacific and selected European businesses to Sonepar within six months of the acquisition.
 
The completion of the deal allows the businesses to move forward with the creation of action plans to improve business performance and achieve desired synergies, Rexel CEO Jean-Charles Pauze said.
 
Sonepar told MDM earlier this year that it will likely keep Hagemeyer’s North American …

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MSC Industrial Sales Grow 6.1% in 3Q

Companies, Free, News, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

MSC Industrial Direct Inc., Melville, NY, a distributor of metalworking and MRO supplies, reported sales in the third quarter 2008 ended May 31, 2008, rose 6.1% to $457.2 million over the third quarter 2007.
 
Profit in the third quarter was $51.4 million, an increase of 12.3%. 
 
Sales for the first nine months of 2008 increased to $1.33 billion, 7.6% over the same period a year ago. Profit was up 15.1% to $145.7 million. …

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MSC Industrial Sales Grow 6.1% in 3Q Read More »

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