MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM), Melville, New York, on Tuesday announced it has acquired a majority interest in Wm. F. Hurst Co., LLC, a Wichita, Kansas-based distributor of metalworking tools and supplies with a significant presence in the aerospace industry. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Wm. F. Hurst will continue to go to market under its current name as “an MSC company.” The company’s president and owner, John Mullen, will continue to lead the business and hold a minority interest.

The company has offices in Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Dallas, Texas. The MSC said the acquisition enhances its “leadership position in metalworking and expands the company’s presence in the aerospace industry. It also allows Wm. F. Hurst to offer their customers access to MSC’s 1.9 million-plus products, inventory management and other supply chain solutions and to expand the company’s reach across MSC’s national footprint.”

“One of our most important growth drivers is building on our leadership position in metalworking,” said MSC President and CEO Erik Gershwind. “This acquisition will contribute to the growth of our metalworking base and serve as a center of excellence for expanding our technical capabilities in the aerospace sector. The Wm. F. Hurst team focuses on solution selling to solve technical challenges for aerospace customers, which aligns well with our approach to helping customers solve their mission-critical challenges on the plant floor. We believe our companies are a strong match in terms of expertise, capabilities, customer focus and culture, and we are delighted to bring the Wm. F. Hurst team aboard as an important part of our growth plan.”

Added Mullen: “We are pleased to be joining forces with MSC, a respected leader in metalworking and MRO products and solutions for 80 years. We see a strong growth opportunity to build our business by combining our technical expertise to deliver customized solutions to Wm. F. Hurst and MSC customers. We look forward to extending MSC’s vast MRO and metalworking products and solutions portfolio to provide even more solutions to our customers.”