January 11, 2009

Zep Reports 1Q Loss of $1.5M

Leave a Comment / Free, Companies, Top Distributor Sectors, Facilities Maintenance (MRO), News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Zep Inc., Atlanta, GA, a producer, marketer, and service provider of a wide range of cleaning and maintenance solutions, reported a loss for the first quarter ended Nov. 30, 2008, of $1.5 million. The company reported profit of $6.3 million for the same period the prior year.

First quarter sales declined 10% to $129 million.

We are facing a new economic reality - a broad-based recession that is significantly impacting most of the customer segments we serve, resulting in weaker demand for our products. While we planned for a challenging first quarter, the depth and breadth of this recession is much more severe than what we had anticipated, said John K. Morgan, president and CEO. "However, we continue to maintain a strong balance ...

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Lincoln Electric Sues Distributor

Leave a Comment / Free, Operations, Companies, Top Distributor Sectors, Electrical, News, Legal Issues in Wholesale Distribution, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Cleveland,OH-based The Lincoln Electric Co. and Lincoln Global, Inc., two subsidiaries of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., have filed a lawsuit against Lisco, Inc., a Los Angeles-based company doing business as Rhino Welders and Phoenix Welding Supply Co., for patent, trademark, copyright and trade dress infringement and unfair competition. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Rhino Welders recently imported and started selling a family of Chinese-manufactured MIG welders through its distributor, Phoenix Welding Supply. Lincoln Electric alleges that the machines are copies of Lincoln's POWER MIG(R) line of welders and infringe Lincoln's intellectual property ...

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Atlas Copco Buys UK Distributor

Leave a Comment / Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Free, Top Distributor Sectors, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Swedish manufacturer Atlas Copco has acquired Compressor Engineering Ltd., a UK distributor and service provider for compressed air equipment, with customers throughout the Northamptonshire and Manchester areas.

The acquired company has 39 employees and annual revenues of about MSEK 40 (US$4.96 million).

Compressor Engineering Ltd. will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Copco Compressors Ltd. and will operate within Atlas Copco's Compressor Technique business area.

Atlas Copco has revenues of BSEK 63 (US$7.82 billion).

Atlas Copco's Compressor Technique business area develops, manufactures, markets, and services oil-free and oil-injected stationary air compressors, portable air compressors, gas and process compressors, ...

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Hagemeyer NA Launches Electrical MRO Catalog

Leave a Comment / Research & Analytics, Free, Companies, Top Distributor Sectors, Electrical, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Hagemeyer North America, Charleston, SC, has launched its 2009-2010 Electrical MRO catalog. The 642-page catalog is the first full-line Electrical MRO products catalog produced by Hagemeyer NA and features 12,845 electrical products from more than 100 Hagemeyer suppliers.

Hagemeyer North America recognized a need for a catalog aimed specifically at the electrical MRO industry, says Brad Pulver, senior vice president, Product Strategy and Marketing. "Our new catalog showcases products and services that satisfy the unique needs of our customers in this market. By compiling this assortment of products from industry-leading manufacturers, and supporting it with inventory investments and attractive pricing, we have created a one-stop-shop for the key ...

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Kennametal Announces Plans to Eliminate 800 Positions

Leave a Comment / Metals Service Centers, Free, Top Distributor Sectors, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, announced plans to reduce headcount by 800 positions within the next three to six months in an effort to address current market challenges and reduce costs while improving competitiveness. The cuts are in addition to 400 positions announced as part of a restructuring plan in April 2008.

A global decline in industrial production, amplified by customers reducing their inventories has significantly decreased demand and precipitated further cost reduction actions. In addition to the headcount reductions, the company continues to adjust its manufacturing workforce in line with production requirements and to implement other steps to reduce costs.

The global supplier of tooling, engineered components and advanced materials expects to ...

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M&A Falls in November

Leave a Comment / Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Free, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

M&A activity fell significantly in November, reflecting the paralyzed credit markets and an accelerating global recession, according to a report from Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. Global M&A deal value fell 68.2% month-over-month, while U.S. deal value fell 86.1%.

Year-to-date, global transactions were down 15.8%, and dollar volume is down 38.4% from the year-ago period. Global middle-market transactions represented 40.4% of total year-to-date deal count.

Year-to-date, U.S. transactions are down 22.8% from the year-ago period, and dollar volume was down 38.3%.

Strategic buyers are now dominating the M&A landscape, representing 83% of total global deal volume. According to Baird, well-capitalized strategics are taking advantage of ...

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HVACR Sales Down 14.1% in November

Leave a Comment / Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Plumbing Products & PVF Distribution, Free, Top Distributor Sectors, HVACR, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

National HVACR distributor sales for the month of November 2008 were down 14.1% from a year ago, according to the Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies Report produced by Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International.

All eight HARDI regional reports indicated negative performance in November. Over the previous twelve months, U.S. and Canadian wholesale sales were collectively even with 2007.

The Western region reported the poorest performance with a sales decline of 31%. The West region was also the only region to report that inventories were down when compared to same month last year. Median Days Sales Outstanding stood at 48.8 days up a half -day from October ...

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Machine Tool Consumption Drops in November

Leave a Comment / Economic Trends, Research & Analytics, Free, News, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

November U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $185.57 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 34.7% from October and down 51.4% from the total of $381.76 million reported for November 2007. With a year-to-date total of $4,004.31 million, 2008 is up 2.8% compared with 2007.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.

The November numbers demonstrate the much publicized slowdown in manufacturing, said Peter Borden, AMTDA president. "After three years of averaging over 2,000 ...

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Gates Canada Closing London, Ontario, Facility

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Gates Canada Inc., Denver, CO, will close its London, Ontario, Canada, power transmission facility as a result of declining sales volumes, continued pricing pressures and higher raw material costs.

The company plans to transition a portion of its operations to its facility in Windsor, Ontario by the end of the second quarter of 2009. Full closure of the facility is expected by December 2009 to allow for completion of production to meet customer requirements. There are 179 associates at the London facility.

Gates Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Gates Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial and automotive products, systems and component with operations in 25 ...

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