News
Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
R & M Manufacturing Co., LLC, St. Louis Park, MN, has acquired Die Products Company, a stamping and tooling company in Fridley, MN.
  ;
R & M Manufacturing is a sheet metal fabricator, specializing in custom, short and medium run sheet metal parts.
  ;
The acquisition of Die Products is a strategic investment that increases the services that R & M and Die Products can provide our customers,” R & M President Todd Dyste …
The Bossard Group, a global fastener distributor based in Switzerland, reported sales were up 6.7% in the first four months of 2007 compared with the same period a year ago.
The distributor saw broadly based growth in Europe but sales in the U.S. fell by 10.9%. Bossard reported it had expected this decline, which confirmed a decrease in production previously announced by its customers. Sales in Europe grew 18.5% in local currency. All regions reported double-digit growth.
Overall sales for the first four months were (Swiss franc) CHF 204.1 million (US$167.7 million). Sales in the U.S. were CHF 60.7 million (US$49.8 million). Sales in Europe were CHF 117.6 million (US$96.6 million), and in Asia were CHF 25.8 million (US$21.2 million).
Currency translations …
Allied Building Products Corp., East Rutherford, NJ, has acquired roofing materials distributor Spartan Supply Co., Culver City, CA. Spartan will move to a new facility in West Los Angeles.
  ;
The acquisition provides Allied access to a high-end, niche market. It will also fill in logistical gaps. On its Web site, Spartan says it specializes in high-end materials such as imported and domestic slates, specialty clay tiles and copper products, as well as standard roofing …
Platinum Equity, Los Angeles, CA, has purchased Weyerhaeuser Company’s wholesale products distribution centers in Canada and established the distribution business as a standalone company named Broadleaf Logistics Company.
Broadleaf distributes a wide range of building materials, including engineered wood products, oriented strand board, panels, framing lumber, and plywood panels; appearance grade and other cedar products; and specialty products such as exterior siding, insulation, rebar, and roofing.
Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Broadleaf is Platinum’s first Canada-based business. Jacob Kotzubei, the Platinum Equity executive who led the acquisition, said the strategic plan for Broadleaf would focus not only on sustaining current operations, but …
Austin Hardware and Supply, Inc. has acquired JPC Specialties, a supplier of standard and specialty fasteners in Philadelphia, PA. The acquired firm will continue operations from its Philadelphia location under the name JPC Fasteners, an Austin Hardware Company.
  ;
Mark Dudenhoeffer, president of Austin Hardware, said the acquisition broadens Austin’s product line; before the acquisition, the distributor was supplying fasteners on a limited basis. JPC makes us a complete fastener resource,” he said. Austin also plans to ramp up its vendor-managed bin-stocking programs with this acquisition.
  ;
Austin Hardware is a supplier of specialty industrial and vehicular hardware. Primary industries served include truck body, trailer, specialty and recreational vehicle OEM …
Construction spending during April 2007 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,190.0 billion, 0.1 percent (& plusmn; 1.3%) …
Praxair Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, has acquired Wilson Welding & Medical Gases of Warren, MI. Wilson is a distributor of industrial, medical, specialty gases and related equipment and supplies.
  ;
Wilson operates a cylinder filling plant and retail store in Warren, retail stores in Macomb and Pontiac, and a beverage CO2 business in Flint, Michigan. The business generated sales of $20 million in 2006 and has 72 employees.
  ;
Praxair, Inc. is a global industrial gases with 2006 sales of $8.3 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of …
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May for the fourth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 67th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
  ;
The PMI rose to its highest level in the past 12 months. Both the New Orders and Production Indexes indicated growth. The ISM Inventories Index indicates that manufacturers are now in their 10th month of inventory reduction. A major concern of respondents is the rate of price increases covering a wide variety of …
Trelleborg, Stockholm, Sweden, through the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions unit, has acquired precision bearing and sealing devices company Hydro-Components Research & Development Corporation, Streamwood, IL. The company employs 80 and has annual sales of SEK 50 million (US$7.2 million).
  ;
HCRD manufactures high-precision components, focusing on large diameter seals and bearings.
  ;
The acquisition helps Trelleborg expand in North America within the heavy duty vehicle segment.
  ;
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has annual sales of SEK 5.4 billion (US$778 million). It has production units in Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, India, Italy, Japan, Malta, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the U.S.
  ;
Trelleborg is a global industrial group …
Radiac Abrasives, Salem, IL, has purchased Burlington, WA-based Bates Abrasives, Inc. Bates Abrasives, a full-line, resin-bonded cut-off and grinding wheel manufacturer will continue to be run by previous owner and CEO, Paul Anderson. The company employs 55 people.
  ;
The company will retain the Bates brand name with rough grinding target markets including forestry, natural stone, steel mills, foundries and metal fabrication. In addition to cut-off and grinding wheels, the company manufactures organic surface grinding segments, cylinders, nut-inserted disc wheels, flaring cups and cones and plugs.  ;
Radiac Abrasives is a manufacturer of bonded abrasive and superabrasive grinding …
