Heating Supply Co., and D& C Plumbing & Heating Supply Co., in a stock transaction completed May 22, 2006. SNCG has annual sales about $46 million. Ferguson has also acquired three other smaller distributors: Central Lighting Inc., Jackson, MI; Davidson Electric Wholesale Supply Inc., Lexington, NC; and Montgomery, AL-based Central Supply Inc. More …
Praxair Distribution Inc., Danbury, CT, and Airgas Inc. have announced price increases in response to the rising cost of fuel and energy as well as basic materials steel, aluminum and brass. Praxair price increases include: 8 percent increase for industrial oxygen, nitrogen and argon; 5 percent increase for industrial carbon dioxide; 10 percent for industrial hydrogen; and 3-5 percent for equipment and associated consumables. Airgas increases include: 10-15 percent for packaged and bulk industrial gases, including oxygen and nitrogen; specialty gases; medical gases; nitrous oxide; carbon dioxide; and dry ice; and 15-20 percent for argon, hydrogen, helium, acetylene and other fuel gases. More …
Gases distributor Matheson Tri-Gas Inc., Parippany, NJ, has agreed to purchase Linweld Inc., Lincoln, NE. The acquisition is consistent with Matheson parent company Taiyo Nippo Sanso’s strategy to expand in the U.S. The purchase enhances the company’s presence in the Midwest and significantly broadens Linweld’s product line. Matheson is a distributor of industrial and specialty gases, including bulk and cylinder gases, gas handling equipment, purification systems and related hardgoods. More …
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Melville, NY, distributor of MRO supplies to industrial customers throughout the U.S., reported sales for the third quarter fiscal 2006 rose 14.3 percent to $329.8 million from $288.5 million in the same period last year. Results are for the quarter ended May 27, 2006. Net income for the third quarter rose 20.6 percent to $37 million versus $30.7 million in the year-ago period. For the first nine months of fiscal 2006, MSC’s sales rose 13.2 percent to $931.7 million. Net income in the fiscal 2006 nine-month period was $102.3 million, an increase of 21.6 percent. More …
Metals distributor MISA ($1.6 billion in annual sales) has acquired building products manufacturer Quality Edge Inc. Quality Edge, Grand Rapids, MI, produces roofing, siding and rainware finishing products in the U.S. The acquisition is part of MISA’s strategy to grow its Building Products Group and penetrate the residential building construction market.
W.W. Grainger Inc. President James Ryan detailed the distributor’s product expansion plans recently in a presentation to analysts in Chicago. Ryan said Grainger plans to double the size of its catalog in the next few years. This year, the distributor expanded it by 40 percent to 115,000 products. Grainger plans to add 20 percent more products in 2007 and 20 percent again in 2008. “Product expansion is the key driver to our growth,” Ryan said. More …
Simonds International, Florence, SC, manufacturer of cutting tools, has reached an agreement to sell its industrial knife business to IKS-ACM of Florence, SC. The announcement was made by Ray Martino, president of Simonds International. The sale consists of several Simonds industrial knife product lines previously sold under the International Knife & Saw brand, including tissue, metal shears and slitters, print knives, paper converting and other selected specialty lines. IKS-ACM produces industrial machine knives and saws, supplying more than 60,000 types of knives and saws to a variety of industries with diversified products for almost any cutting application. More …
Commercial Solutions, Edmonton, Alberta, has completed the acquisition of Rig Products Inc., an Alberta-based oil and gas equipment distribution company, for $8 million. The acquisition will add approximately $15 million in annual revenues to Commercial and is expected to be accretive to earnings. It also further strengthens Commercial’s depth of inside and outside sales staff with strong technical knowledge in the energy industry, an important requirement for growth in labor-tight Alberta. Rig caters to all facets of the oilfield from drilling, well testing, well servicing, plant turnarounds to fabrication. More …
Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, has agreed to sell its consumer products business, South Deerfield Industrial Inc., to private equity firm Cal SDI. The disposition of the business is in line with Kennametal’s strategy to concentrate on its core business. The sale also includes the Industrial Sawblade Division of Kennametal’s Industrial Products Group. Kennametal expects to receive $34 million from the sale. More …
Parker Hannifin Corporation, Cleveland, OH, has acquired Acofab SAS and its common majority shareholder Adecem SARL, a European supplier of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and thermal management products. Revenues of the acquired business totaled $12.9 million (Euro 10.2 million) for the year ended December 2005. More …
Singer Equities has acquired PRC Industrial Supply, Inc., Portland, ME, with a branch location in Bangor. Founded in 1880, PRC is an industrial rubber products distributor specializing in the sale and installation of conveyor belting, industrial hose, and hydraulic hose and components. Singer Equities is a private equity firm focusing its investments toward value-added distributorships in the industrial rubber products industry. Singer has invested in a number of industrial rubber products distributors including Hampton Rubber Co., RW Connection, Allied Rubber and Rigging Supply Co., and Advanced Fluid Connectors. More …
Ferguson, Newport News, VA, has acquired Supply North Central Group, Ann Arbor, MI, and its divisions, E& J Plumbing & Heating Supply Inc., Wagner Plumbing &
