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Breaking news in Wholesale Distribution
Janitorial Supplies represented a market in 2006 of $19.98 billion, according to estimates by Industrial Market Information, Minneapolis.
These charts show the top ten industries, by SIC code, consuming these products; and the 2006 end-user consumption of these groups sorted by the nine government market regions.
Click on Related Document below to see the charts and breakdown by end-user.
…Grainger, Chicago, IL, distributor of facilities maintenance supplies, has released a new specialty catalog for plumbing products and supplies. Products offered through the catalog include water heaters and coolers, pipes, valves, fittings, fixtures, faucets and water filtration systems. The catalog is 316 pages, with more than 16,000 Plumbing, Valves and Fittings, of which 12,000 are new to Grainger’s offering. An additional 1,500 products that are related to Plumbing bring the total to about 17,750 items. More …
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, NC, has acquired 96 percent of Toronto-based Harris Steel for C$46.25 in cash per share. Nucor intends to eventually buy …
As this first quarter comes to a close, it’s a good time to evaluate the annual plan created in September, or in January for those who subscribe to JIT strategic planning. This is when most plans start rotting on the shelf. The end-of-quarter flurry is too hectic to perform a disciplined review. Then a new cycle starts.
Perhaps you know where you are on the most important scale – your own internal sense of behind, on or ahead of plan year-to-date. Your sales force is crystal clear where they are. Most of the time that’s good enough. But with as volatile as current markets, customers, competition and the economy are, your company might benefit from a more formal review process with your entire executive team. Consider a different approach to the typical rearview mirror …
Home Depot CEO Frank Blake reinforced his drive to refocus on the business’ retail division at the company’s annual investor and analyst conference at the end of February.
To that end, Blake told participants that acquisitions outside of the retail core won’t be a priority for us. HD Supply acquisitions have slowed and will continue to, with the exception of White Cap’s recent purchase of concrete distributor GSI General Materials.
Soon after the annual meeting – at which HD executives only briefly touched on the possible sale of HD Supply, and then only in response to a question – reports started to emerge on private equity firms’ interest. Many analysts and industry-watchers expect the supply division to be sold, despite Blake’s insistence that a decision has not …
In Part II of MDM’s interview with Wolseley CEO Chip Hornsby, he addresses the differences between the global building materials and HVAC/plumbing distributor’s North American and European markets, and Wolseley’s aim to grow significantly on the European mainland -doubling its market share every five to seven years.
MDM: Can you talk a little about the European distribution landscape?
Chip Hornsby: The first thing I had to understand -we laugh about it all the time -was that in fifth-grade geography they didn’t teach us that there’s another continent out there called the UK. And then there’s Europe. And those 22 miles are bigger than the ocean between us and them. I get asked all …
This article details two mid-sized distributors' experiences with global sourcing and is adapted from presentations at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors' annual meeting, with additional information provided through follow-up interviews with MDM.
To use a cliché, the devil is in the details. Andrew Berlin, president of Berlin Packaging, says this has never been truer than when sourcing from China.
And one more cliché," he says. "You get out of it what you put into it."
Berlin should know. He's been sourcing from China for his customers and suppliers for almost 20 years, and understands the value of taking the time required to set up a profitable transaction rather than …
Albuquerque-based SUMMIT Electric Supply has opened a new sales office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
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< “Opening shop in Dubai signifies our commitment to global electrical professionals, says SUMMIT president and CEO Vic Jury. "SUMMIT has been servicing international customers for many years through our export division in Houston."
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< SUMMIT's Dubai office opened in February and is a partnership with the drilling supplies and services company Driltools.
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< SUMMIT's export department is staffed by multilingual personnel versed in export law and regulations, as well as packing and shipping procedures. They can solicit requests and contracts, purchase material worldwide, negotiate agreements, and ...
The European manufacturing sector, much like that of the U.S. and Japan, saw its industrial cycle peak in 2006 and will see its growth moderate in 2007, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Industrial Outlook for Europe February 2007, a report that analyzes 27 major industries.
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In a sign of manufacturing sustainability, however, 23 of the 27 industries tracked in the report had inflation-adjusted production above the level of the previous year, indicating continued broad-based growth in the industrial sector.
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Top industry performers in 2006, recording year-over-year double-digit growth, were valves, tubes and electronic components (20 percent); machine tools (14.7 percent); optical instruments (14.3 percent); electric …
F & M Mafco, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, a distributor of construction and industrial supplies, has agreed to buy Carolina Industrial Tools, Inc., Charlotte, NC. Carolina is a distributor of tools, equipment, consumables, machinery and related products.
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The Carolina Industrial Tools acquisition will expand F & M Mafco’s ability to serve customers in the southeast U.S.
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Mike McKenna, vice resident of sales, said: “Not only does this acquisition carry out our strategic plan, it also adds to our already growing business in the consumables market and will give us the opportunity to establish our tool & equipment rental capabilities in this area.
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F & M Mafco is a distributor of construction tools and …
John F. Baugh, the founder of foodservice distributor Sysco Corp., has died at age 91.
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Baugh left his job in 1946 as a manager for the local A & P, Waco, TX, to launch food distributor Zero Foods. He made deliveries in the company’s only truck six times a week – and after that he would make sales calls to cafeterias, bakeries and hospitals.
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More than 20 years later, in 1969, Baugh met with eight other distributors and created SYSCO Corporation. Since the company’s initial public offering in 1970, when the company was at $115 million; SYSCO has grown to $30.3 billion in sales, according to its Web site.
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SYSCO has 69 distribution facilities and provides products and services to more than 390,000 …
