News
Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Hagemeyer North America has acquired Bryant Electric Supply Company, Inc., Charlotte, NC, to extend its goal of expanding its electrical market penetration in the Southeastern U.S.
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Bryant has annual revenues of $50 million and operates five locations with 100 associates. It is focused in the industrial segment and also serves the Construction and Installation market, mainly non-residential. Bryant will be merged with Hagemeyer’s Carolinas business unit. Bryant Electric Supply will continue to operate under the same name.
We’re excited to be teaming up with Bryant to further penetrate the growing Charlotte market,” said Dave Gabriel, CEO of Hagemeyer North America. “This further strengthens Hagemeyer’s commitment to growing our electrical business, building …
Illinois Tool Works Inc. has acquired Texas-based software provider Ameri-CAD Inc. The acquisition includes Ameri-CAD’s architectural services division as well as software solutions VisionREZ & VUDOX.
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Ameri-CAD will function as a separate business unit in the ITW Building Components Group.
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Illinois Tool Works acquisition of Ameri-CAD enables us to more quickly and effectively deliver on the promise of technology to a fragmented housing industry. Ameri-CAD’s intelligent model-based CAD software integrates and consolidates architectural, engineering and manufacturing data resulting in improved communication, and enhanced ROI,” said Jimmy Moore, Ameri-CAD, Inc. CEO.
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Illinois Tool Works Inc. is a diversified manufacturer of fasteners and …
Norcross Safety Products LLC, Oak Brook, IL,  ; reported sales were $156.4 million in the second quarter 2007, up 19% from the prior-year period.
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In the general safety and preparedness segment, sales increased 17.6%. In the fire service segment, sales increased 15.8%. In the electrical safety segment, sales increased 30.3%, primarily driven by strong overall market demand, new product penetration and incremental net sales resulting from the acquisition of The White Rubber Corporation.
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For the first six months of 2007, sales were up 13.8% to $304.6 million compared with the same period a year ago.
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In the general safety and preparedness segment, sales increased 11.8. In the fire service segment, sales increased 7.1%. In the electrical …
Industrial gases company Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, has agreed to sell its majority interest in Maxima Air Separation Center Ltd., Ramat Gan, Israel, to Discount Investment Corporation Ltd., one of Israel’s largest holding companies, a part of the IDB Group.
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DIC already holds an interest in Maxima.
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Maxima has two air separation plants and had sales of $23 million in 2006. Following the sale, Maxima will continue to serve as a distributor of Praxair’s products in Israel and will continue to have access to certain Praxair technology. Under the agreement, Maxima will be defined as a Praxair technology associate.
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Praxair had 2006 sales of $8.3 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and …
SYSCO Corporation, Houston, TX, reported sales increased 8.5% to $9.23 billion in the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2007. Sales for fiscal 2007 increased 7.4% to $35.04 billion.
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Profit was $303.4 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $254.1 million in the prior-year period. In fiscal 2007, profit was $1 billion, compared with $855.3 million in the prior fiscal year, an increase of 17%.
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The Timken Company, Canton, OH, will realign the company around two major business groups, the Steel Group and the Bearings and Power Transmission Group. The latter is composed of four divisions -Mobile Industries, Process Industries, Aerospace & Defense and Distribution & Services.
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The company has named Michael C. Arnold as executive vice president and president, Bearings and Power Transmission Group. Salvatore J. Miraglia, Jr., will continue as president of the Steel Group.
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Before, Timken had three groups: Steel, Industrial and Automotive.
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The organizational changes are focused primarily on improving Timken’s operating effectiveness and are also anticipated to streamline operations and eliminate redundancies. When fully implemented, the …
The lead article in this issue offers an interesting example of how private equity has been changing the course of consolidation in independent distribution channels. Would a family-held company such as McJunkin try to execute a deal of this size if not for the new ownership?
In any given sector of distribution, you can often identify one or more market leaders who are so locked into their paradigm of success by their own competitive and cultural history that they may not see emerging growth opportunities. Or the risk/reward equation appears too severe when they look at how their model could change. That may not be the case here, but it points out the competitive outlook outside investors can bring to company.
At the same time, you often find smaller distributors who …
This is the pdf of this issue of Modern Distribution Management. Apply the full $24.95 pay-per-view cost toward an annual subscription (within 30 days of purchase), which includes two issues a month plus access to more than six years of online archives and market data. Call 1-888-742-5060 or email info@mdm.com to …
Total construction spending in the first half of 2007 was down 3.5% from the first half of 2006. Click below to download a pdf of private and public construction spending in the first …
Modern Distribution Management’s June Inflation Index, which measures a cross-section of industrial supplies, was up 0.18% from the previous month, and up 3.32% from June 2006.
Summary of  ; MDM Inflation Index for the past 12 months:
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June 2007 Index 271.7
May 2007 Index 271.2
April 2007 Index 270.8
March 2007 Index 269.6
February 2007 Index 269.4
January 2007 Index 268.7
December 2006 Index  ; 267.1
November 2006 Index 266.5
October 2006 Index 265.9
September 2006 Index 265.6
August 2006 Index 265.2
July 2006 Index 264.0
June 2006 Index 263.0
Please click below to view a print-ready pdf of the  ; MDM Inflation Index for June 2007, listing the ten individual product categories …
