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2008

Ferguson, Stock Building Supply Make Acquisitions

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

Wolseley plc, global distributor of plumbing and heating products and a supplier of building materials, announced five bolt-on acquisitions for £33 million (US$66.5 million at current exchange rates).
 
In a full year, these bolt-on acquisitions are expected to add £45 million (US$90.7 million) to total revenue.
 
Since Aug. 1, 2007, the start of Wolseley’s financial year, a total of 15 bolt-on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed for £203 million. These 15 acquisitions are expected to add £263 million (US$530 million) to Group revenue in a full year.
 
North America
Ferguson has acquired C.B. Group, Inc. trading as JC Plumbing Supply. JC Plumbing is a distributor operating from two facilities in …

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U.S. PT/MC Sales Up 7.6% in January

Economic Trends, Free, News, Power Transmission/Motion Control/Fluid Power, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

After a two-month decline in U.S. distributors’sales of PT/MC products, January sales were up 7.6% compared to December 2007, according to the latest Power Transmission Distributors Association January 2008 trend data report.  When matched up against sales in January 2007, sales in January 2008 gained 4.5%. 
 
Accounts receivable collection days were down 2.8% in January 2008 after an increase in December 2007.  For January 2008, the confidence index of U.S. distributors remained flat at 5.8 (on a 10-point scale).
 
Canadian distributors posted positive gains in PT/MC sales, rising 7.7% in January 2008. Sales growth over the same period last year was down 0.7%.  Days sales in account receivables dropped 12.5% as compared to December 2007.  …

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January Wholesale Revenues Up 2.7% from December

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

U.S. wholesale trade revenues in January 2008 were $387.7 billion, up 2.7 percent from December and up 15.1 percent from January 2007. The December preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.7 billion or 0.2 percent.
 
January sales of durable goods were up 2.4 percent from last month and were up 5.1 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, were up 4.2 percent and sales of furniture and home furnishings were up 3.7 percent. Sales of nondurable goods were up 3.0 percent from last month and were up 24.8 percent from last year. Sales of farm product raw materials were up 16.1 percent from last month and sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 3.5 percent.
 
Inventories. Total inventories of …

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The Changing Face of Product Liability

Legal Issues in Wholesale Distribution, Operations, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

More distributors have been hit with product liability lawsuits. If pursuing a private label, distributors must educate themselves on all possible risks associated with taking on a manufacturing role. Distributors and their customers must also be aware of the risk of counterfeits in the supply chain, another potential source of liability claims.
 
Nearly 250,000 circuit breakers can fit into one shipping container. Look at how many possible homes these circuit breakers infiltrate and how many lives and properties can be damaged if the circuit breakers are defective or not installed properly,”says Bernie Heinze, attorney and president/CEO of Sequent Insurance Group, Philadelphia, PA.
 
“And that is just one container. The amount of product that is coming into …

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Case Study: Distributor Holds Seminar to Inform Customers on the Risk

Legal Issues in Wholesale Distribution, Operations, Subscriber Only, Top Distributor Sectors /

After learning about some of the risk distributors and their customers can face when counterfeits enter the supply chain, Maurice Electrical Supply, a $166-million distributor of electrical products in Washington, D.C., organized a seminar for its customers.

"Can I defend myself?" asks Warren Janes, Maurice vice president for sales and marketing. "You realize you can't. So you have to educate your customer base, and between the two of you figure out a way to move forward."

About 95 percent of Maurice's customer base is contractor, a segment that Janes wanted most to educate.

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Making Room for Growth

Finance, Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Research & Analytics, Strategy, Subscriber Only /

Over the past six years, Dayton, OH-based WinWholesale Inc. has embarked on a project to optimize its distribution network. The diversified national distributor, with $2.6 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2007, has five distribution centers across the country: Phoenix, AZ; Denver, CO; Dayton, OH; North Haven, CT; and Richmond, VA.

The company has seen incredible growth over the past several years, benefiting from the housing boom. In addition, WinWholesale acquired Noland Company in 2005.

The company has 462 local Win companies, and 105 Noland branches, in 44 states. WinWholesale distributes plumbing and water-heating supplies, industrial PVF, electrical equipment, electronics, industrial and commercial fastening hardware, waterworks …

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MDM Survey: Economy Sparks Concern

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

More than 50% of MDM readers are concerned”about the state of the economy, and 27% in a recent MDM survey saying they are “very concerned.”About 45% expect the economy to grow worse over the next six months. About the same number expect the economy to stay about the same in the next six months.

The results are part of the MDM Reader Survey on the Economy, conducted in the last two weeks of February.

Overall, results were mixed and, it seems, dependent on customer segment. The two most cited segments in which respondents are seeing slowdowns were building materials/construction and automotive.

Others mentioned slowdowns in any market tied to residential construction, including electrical, HVAC, appliances, plumbing, flooring, and machinery …

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Commentary: Not Every Market Showing Signs of a Slowdown

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

A funny thing happened on the way to a recession. Data keeps getting in the way, at least in certain markets that the mass media don’t pay a lot of attention to. Case in point: January trend data by the Power Transmission Distributors Association shows an uptick in sales for the month in the U.S. and Canada.

So while broad-based needles continue to point down, it’s important to keep the market niches, customer segments and top ten customers that define the long-term health of your business front and center in your perspective.

The MDM Survey on the Economy in this issue offers a few interesting indicators within wholesale distribution. Nearly a quarter of those who responded are planning an acquisition in the next six months. More than a third expect to have …

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MDM News Digest 3805

Free, Subscriber Only /

Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Northeast Gas Technologies Ltd., Albany, NY-based distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related supplies. The business, with five locations in upstate New York and Vermont, generated $10 million in revenues in 2007. More
Industrial distributor Lewis Goetz and Company Inc., Pittsburg, PA, has acquired JA-MAR Conveyor and Components, a regional conveyor system installation and service company in Bellaire, OH. More
Noland Company, Newport News, VA, has opened a 3,500-square-foot remodeled Bath &Idea Center at the Charleston, SC, for customers of contractors …

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MDM Inflation Index: January 2008

Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only /

Modern Distribution Management’s January Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.49% from the previous month, and up 3.18% from January 2007.
 
Summary of MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:

January 2008 Index 277.2
December 2007 Index 275.9
November 2007 Index 274.7
October 2007 Index 273.6
September 2007 Index 273.5
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

Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the MDM Inflation Index for January 2008, listing the ten individual product categories that make …

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MDM March 10, 2008

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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Rexel Succeeds in Offer for Hagemeyer

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

Rexel’s offer for competitor Hagemeyer NV has gone through. Rexel had offered to pay nearly $4.7 billion (at current exchange rates) for the Dutch electrical distributor.
 
Jean-Charles Pauze, chairman of Rexel’s management board, said: The success of our offer for Hagemeyer underscores the strategic merits of the transaction, which marks a step change in the distribution of electrical supplies worldwide and reinforces Rexel’s leading market positions in Europe. We are greatly looking forward to moving on to the next stage, working with Hagemeyer’s teams and building on a stronger platform to accelerate profitable growth.”
 
Sonepar has agreed to buy some of Hagemeyer’s assets from Rexel, including those in the U.S. Sonepar CEO Marie-Christine Coisne said the …

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H&E Equipment Sales Up in 2007

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

H&E Equipment Services, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA, reported sales in 2007 were $1 billion, up from $804.4 billion in 2006. Equipment rentals in 2007 were up 14% to $251.4 million. New equipment sales were up 47.2.
 
Fourth-quarter sales were up 34.4% to $289.7 million. Profit fell to $17.1 million, compared with $20.5 million a year ago.
 
Our fourth quarter results reflected solid year-over-year performance as we continued to experience strong new equipment sales due to the demand for cranes, resulting in a 68.3% increase. Rental revenues were also solid at an 18.5% increase, or a 13% increase excluding rental revenues from the Burress acquisition,” said John Engquist, H&E Equipment Services’president and CEO.
 
H&E is a supplier of equipment for …

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Cardinal Health Agrees to Buy Enturia for $490M

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

Cardinal Health, Dublin, OH, has agreed to buy Enturia Inc. for $490 million. The cash transaction includes Enturia’s line of infection prevention products sold under the ChloraPrep brand name and is expected to close within 60 days.
 
The acquisition will expand the company’s Medical Products and Technologies segment.

Enturia (www.enturia.com) was founded as Medi-Flex Hospital Products in 1985. Over the past two years, the company’s revenue has grown more than 70% to $140 million in 2007. The company has about 600 employees in Kansas, Texas and the United Kingdom.
 
Separately, Cardinal Health has decided to pursue the sale of several smaller, non-core offerings within its Medical Products and Technologies segment. Cardinal Health says it will …

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ProBuild Acquires Truss Manufacturers

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

ProBuild Holdings, Denver, CO, supplier of building materials to professional contractors, has purchased Northeast Panel &Truss, LLC and Collins Truss Systems, Inc, manufacturers of roof and floor trusses and wall panels.
 
Kingston, NY-based Northeast Truss is a full-service manufacturer of truss and wall panels. The company has built a distribution network into the Hudson Valley, a market ProBuild currently serves from 10 locations.
 
This acquisition allows ProBuild to extend our truss capabilities to national and regional builders in our Hudson Valley markets,” said Buddy Ables, president of ProBuild’s East region.
 
ProBuild currently operates more than 560 lumber and building product distribution, manufacturing and assembly centers in 41 …

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Harbour Group Acquires Top Knobs

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

Top Knobs USA, provider of fine decorative hardware for the kitchen and bath industry, was acquired by Harbour Group.

Top Knobs, Hillsborough, NJ, provides pulls, handles and knobs to a broad customer base of home owners, contractors, architects, and designers. Top Knobs offers over 2,600 products in 17 different collections through independent kitchen, bath, and decorative hardware dealers as well as through cabinet manufacturers and distributors nationwide.

Jeff Fox, Harbour Group’s CEO, said: We see interesting similarities between Top Knobs and our previous investments in the home décor market. Our strategy will be to invest in a variety of organic growth initiatives, while aggressively seeking to acquire complementary businesses. Although many people …

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U.S. Foodservice Changes Structure in PA

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

U.S. Foodservice, Rosemont, IL, has announced plans to transition its multi-unit business currently serviced from Altoona, PA, to other U.S. Foodservice locations to improve efficiency in its operations.
 
Under the new structure, service currently provided by the Altoona Division to national multi-unit restaurants will move to other U.S. Foodservice locations. The change will reduce the miles driven to serve these customers, according to a press release, and reduce fuel consumption and time it takes to drive.
 
The change reduces U.S. Foodservice’s workforce at the Altoona Division by 20% of the 450 employees.
 
U.S. Foodservice is a national broadline distributor with more than 70 locations worldwide. The company distributes food and related products to …

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DXP Enterprises Sales Double in 2007

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

DXP Enterprises, Inc. reported sales increased 58.9% to $444.5 million for 2007, thanks to its acquisition of Precision Industries earlier in the year. Profit was $17.3 million, up from $11.9 million in 2006.
 
In the fourth quarter, profit was $5.7 million, compared with profit of $3.5 million in 2006. Sales in the fourth quarter were up 113% to $168.8 million, again thanks to the acquisition of Precision.
 
DXP Enterprises distributes pumps, bearings, power transmission, seals, hose, safety, fluid power, electrical and industrial supplies. The distributor also has an integrated supply program, Smart …

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Foodservice Distributor IJ Company to Consolidate Operations

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

Foodservice distributor IJ Company, Knoxville, TN, announced it will consolidate its Tallahassee division into its IJ Valdosta facility.
 
Over the last several years the IJ Tallahassee Division has continued to grow and now requires additional warehouse space,” the company said in a release.
 
The change will allow the Southern Region, which includes IJ Tallahassee, IJ Valdosta and IJ Atlanta to continue its growth. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to dramatically expand the available product offering to IJ’s customers and enhance its competitive offering through realizing the synergies that a larger facility can achieve,” said Barry Houghtalen, Senior Vice President, IJ Company Southern Region. 
 
The target date for this consolidation is …

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Recession a ‘Self-Fulfilling Prophecy’?

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

Could a recession in the U.S. be a self-fulfilling prophecy,” as some in MDM’s recent Reader Survey on the Economy contended? Some in the survey blamed the media, saying talk of a recession was overblown; one said: “Talk like this feeds on itself.”
 
Some other comments indicated belief that consumer confidence and business spending is heavily influenced by media reports, and that customers have become “afraid” to spend money.
 
How do you view the role of the media in economic slowdowns? What are you seeing in your business?
 
Comment below in the box under “Write Your …

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