News
Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Praxair China has announced plans to build a specialty gases facility in the Nanjing Science Park, in Nanjing, China.
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This facility will allow Praxair to dramatically increase its presence in the rapidly growing Chinese specialty gas markets,” said David Chow, president of Praxair China. “With the addition of high-purity gases, calibration gases and ultra-high-purity gases for the electronics segment, this facility will also be capable of producing complex mixtures for research laboratories and emission testing centers being developed throughout China.”
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The facility is scheduled to start up in August 2008. Markets served will include the petrochemical, automobile, lighting, and pollution control industries as well as laboratories and research centers. In a …
The Timken Company, Canton, OH, has agreed to acquire The Purdy Corp., Manchester, CT, a precision manufacturer and systems integrator for military and commercial aviation customers, for $200 million.
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The acquisition will further expand the growing range of power-transmission products and capabilities Timken provides to the aerospace market.
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The Purdy Corp.’s expertise includes design, manufacturing, testing, overhaul and repair of transmissions, gears, rotor-head systems and other high-complexity components for helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft platforms. Purdy employs more than 200 people and had 2006 sales of $87 million.
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Timken offers a comprehensive line of aerospace quality bearings, along with a select range of turbine engine …
Flowserve Corp., Dallas, TX, a global supplier of fluid motion and control products and services, has agreed to sell certain product distribution assets of its non-core instrumentation and positioner facility in Karlstad, Sweden, to Indutrade.
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The Karlstad facility provides instrumentation products and systems including gas analyzers, I/O devices, recorders, radiation density meters and other non-core products used for measurement and control of flow processes in industries such as power, paper and machinery.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Indutrade will continue to sell Flowserve’s products and services, which should provide Flowserve wider access to sales channels in the region.
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This agreement enables Flowserve to strengthen its focus …
Klein Cutlery Inc., an affiliate of hand tool manufacturer Klein Tools, Lincolnshire, IL, has acquired Heritage Cutlery, Bolivar, NY, from Rogers, Lunt and Bowlen Company.
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The acquisition includes the brand names Heritage and C-Mon.
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Heritage Cutlery is a manufacturer of hot-forged scissors and shears for a wide variety of markets including electrical and industrial. The company employs about 55 people at its 18,000-square-foot facility. Heritage has about 900 distributors in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe.
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The new company will operate under the name Klein Cutlery LLC. No changes in management are …
Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in August after an increase of 0.5 percent in July. At 114.4 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production in August was 1.7 percent above its year-earlier level.
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Manufacturing output fell 0.3 percent in August after five consecutive months of increases, mining output dropped 0.6 percent, but unusually hot weather contributed to an increase of 5.3 percent in the output of utilities.
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Capacity utilization for total industry was unchanged, at 82.2 percent, a rate 0.2 percentage point below its level in August 2006 but 1.2 percentage points above its 1972-2006 average.
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Market Groups
The production of consumer goods edged up 0.1 percent in August.
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The production of …
Brady Corp., Milwaukee, WI, reported sales rose 34% in fiscal 2007 to $1.36 billion. Organic growth was 4%. Acquisitions contributed 26% to sales.
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Profit for fiscal 2007 rose 5% to $109.4 million.
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In the fourth quarter, Brady sales rose 26% to $362.8 million. Organic growth was 5% from the prior-year quarter, with acquisitions adding 17% to total sales growth.
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Regionally, sales were up 25% in the Americas, 28% in Europe, and 25% in Asia/Pacific.
Profit was up 17% to $26.2 million in the fourth quarter.
Fiscal 2007 was a very busy year for Brady, and included 7 acquisitions, 16 SAP implementations, and further expansions in Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, India, China and the Philippines among other geographic areas,” said …
Actuant Corp., Milwaukee, WI, has acquired Templeton, Kenly & Co, Inc., Broadview, IL, for $48 million in cash.
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TK produces hydraulic pumps and tools, mechanical jacks, wrenches, and actuators. Its products are sold under brand names including Simplex, Uni-Lift, and Pow’r-Riser. TK generated $33 million in sales in the last year, and has 120 employees.
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TK will operate within Actuant’s Industrial Segment, which includes Enerpac.
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  ; TK’s leading positions in the mechanical jack product line and the railroad end market represent attractive market extensions for Actuant, and we are excited about the prospects for utilizing our global distribution network to accelerate the sales of these products. In addition, TK’s hydraulic pumps and tools …
BusinessWeek just ran a couple of articles on Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the private equity firm that joined with Bain Capital and the Carlyle Group to buy HD Supply. Due to a tightening in the credit markets, the trio will pay $8.5 billion instead of the original $10.3 billion price for the Home Depot wholesale unit.
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The first BW article was aptly titled, Private Equity’s White-Knuckle Deal,” and the other focuses on CD & R’s chairman Joseph L. Rice III, 75, who discusses how his firm years ago fell into the trap of buying into industries it did not understand and “embraced debt too enthusiastically.” (Read article)
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“White-Knuckle Deal” recounts in …
Air Liquide, Houston, TX, has acquired Team One Technologies Inc., an independent producer and distributor of medical and specialty gases in Romeoville, IL.
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Air Liquide Healthcare America will own and operate the medical and specialty gas facility to support its strong growth initiatives in the Midwest medical gas market.
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The newly acquired facility will also supply Air Liquide’s non-medical packaged and specialty gas business, with an additional geographic base for direct and distributor sales.
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The acquisition strengthens Air Liquide Healthcare America’s position as a major supplier in the greater Chicago area, a region that represents about 6 percent of the overall U.S. medical gases …
Construction spending during July 2007 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,169.1 billion, 0.4 percent below the revised June estimate of $1,173.2 billion.   ; The July figure is 2.0 percent below the July 2006 estimate of $1,192.9 billion.
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During the first 7 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $657.7 billion, 3.4 percent below the $680.9 billion for the same period in 2006.
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Private Construction
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $880.1 billion, 0.7 percent below the revised June estimate of $886.3 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $534.0 billion in July, 1.4 percent below the revised June estimate of $541.8 billion. …
