About a month after completing its merger with distributor TestEquity and supply chain solutions provider Gexpro Services, Chicago-based Lawson Products is changing its name. Now a distribution holding company, the firm announced May 5 that it is rebranding as Distribution Solutions Group, Inc., which includes the aforementioned three operating companies.

The news came a week after Lawson reported strong 2022 1Q earnings.

“DSG” and also will be changing its ticker symbol and be traded on the NASDAQ under symbol “DSGR” starting May 9.

“We are excited to reach this next step in the evolution and transformation of these businesses, and believe that Distribution Solutions Group, tagline Powerful Solutions. Proven Results., exemplifies our strong leadership position that these brands represent in the high-touch, specialty distribution industry,” said J. Bryan King, who began as chairman and CEO of DSG on April 4. Looking ahead, our Distribution Solutions Group companies provide industry-leading capabilities, with distinct differentiators for selling, innovation and technologies across a shared platform. Our vision is to continue to leverage these unique platform capabilities, capitalize on end markets that have strong secular tailwinds, and accelerate organic and acquisition growth.”

Lawson — No. 35 on MDM’s 2021 Top Distributors list for industrial & construction — has been a distributor of industrial MRO and automotive repair parts since 1952, serving markets of industrial, commercial, institutional and government MRO. It had 2021 total revenue of $418 million, up 18.8% vs. 2020. TestEquity is a distributor of electronic test and measurement equipment and solutions, electronic production supplies and tool kits that support the technology, defense, automotive, electronics, education and medical industries. Gexpro Services provides global supply chain solutions, specializing in the development of mission-critical production line management, aftermarket and field installation programs.

On May 2, DSG announced that TestEquity completed its acquisition of Interworld Highway, LLC, which includes category leader TEquipment. The addition offers electrical testing equipment and products with more than 20 years of test and measurement expertise, product selections and solutions, DSG said. And on April 7, DSG announced that Gexpro had recently completed a pair of 1Q acquisitions. On Jan. 3, it acquired Resolux Group — a Denmark-based supplier of components, assemblies and kits for on-shore and off-shore renewable energy markets with annual sales of about $36 million. And on March 31, Gexpro acquired the assets Brewton, Alabama-based Frontier Technologies — a manufacturer of machined and fabricated components for the renewable energy market with annual sales of about $21 million.