tin -have remained high, leading to the jumps, the company said. More
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Schneider Electric reported sales growth of 28.4 percent in the third quarter 2007, with revenues of 4.5 billion euro (US$6.4 billion). Acquisitions contributed 17 percent of sales growth. Organic growth was 13.8 percent. Sales in North America were up 13.1 percent to 1.3 billion euro (US$1.8 billion). Year-to-date, sales were up 12.7 percent in North America.&nbsp ; More
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Thomas & Betts Corp., Memphis, TN, reported third quarter sales of $552.7 million, up 16.8 percent. Acquisitions accounted for $33.6 million of the sales increase. Profit for the quarter was $51.3 million. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, sales increased 11 percent. Profit was $134.9 million.More
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Cooper Industries, Ltd., Houston, TX, reported third quarter revenues increased 14 percent to $1.5 billion from the same period last year. Profit rose 19 percent. Core growth was 9 percent. More
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Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp., Cleveland, OH, has acquired Babco Electric Group, Alberta, Canada. Babco Electric Group had sales of $11 million in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2007. More
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Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst, NY, reported a 5 percent increase in sales in its second quarter fiscal 2008 to $151.4 million. The Company’s Products segment, which represents 92.7 percent of total revenue, increased sales by 8.7 percent to $140.3 million. Profit was $9.5 million for the second quarter, a 13.7 percent increase.&nbsp ; More
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Diversified Swedish manufacturer Atlas Copco reported organic sales growth of 19 percent in the third quarter 2007. In North America, demand for industrial equipment and related aftermarket products increased. Demand for advanced assembly tools and systems from the motor vehicle industry, however, decreased from the prior year. More
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Huttig Building Products, Inc., a distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products, reported sales for third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, fell 21 percent to $233 million from the prior-year period. The company registered breakeven results, compared with a net loss of $9.1 million in the prior year. Year-to-date, the net loss from continuing operations was $2.2 million. During the first nine months, sales declined 20% to $694.9 million.&nbsp ; More
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The Timken Company, Canton, OH, reported sales of $1.26 billion in the third quarter 2007, an increase of 6 percent. Strong sales in industrial markets were partially offset by the strategic divestment of the company’s automotive steering and European steel tube manufacturing operations in prior periods. For the first nine months of 2007, sales were $3.89 billion, an increase of 4 percent, driven by strong industrial markets. More&nbsp ;

The length and depth of the housing market downturn in the U.S., coupled with a financial shock that was sparked by problems in sub-prime mortgage lending, are the most notable concerns, according to &nbsp ; the MAPI Quarterly Forecast of&nbsp ; U.S. Exports, Global Growth, and the Dollar: Fourth Quarter 2007 Through Fourth Quarter 2008. Global sentiment against the dollar is gaining traction, generating challenges for the short-term economic outlooks of major&nbsp ; U.S. trading partners.

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Rexel has made an offer to acquire the Dutch electrical and industrial distributor Hagemeyer NV, and has agreed to sell certain assets of Hagemeyer to Sonepar if its offer is accepted. The offer was made for & euro; 4.60 euro a share in cash, valuing Hagemeyer at & euro; 3 billion euro, a 47 percent premium over Hagemeyer’s average share price for the one-month period prior to Sonepar’s Oct. 9 offer. (At the current exchange rate of $1.43=& euro; 1, the valuation is US$4.3 billion.) Hagemeyer has rejected the offer, saying it undervalues the company. More
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Rexel, based in France, has acquired EIW Holdings in Western Australia. More
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Motion Industries, Birmingham, AL, MRO distributor, has acquired Meier Transmission. Meier has two locations in northeast Ohio and is a distributor of motion control products, mechanical and electrical drives, pneumatic controls, machine safety products, and power transmission products. More
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DXP Enterprises, Inc., Houston, TX, has acquired Indian Fire & Safety, Hobbs, NM, a business that provides safety consulting and training services, as well as sells safety equipment and rents oilfield equipment. DXP paid $12 million. The unaudited sales for the acquired business for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2007, were $9.2 million. More
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GHX Industrial, LLC, a Houston-based fabricator and distributor of industrial fluid transfer and sealing products, has acquired All Hose & Specialty, LLC and Sykes Supply Company for $20 million. With the acquisitions, GHX will have annualized revenues of $70 million. More
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WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened four Winnelson locations and will soon open the first store in Washington state. It is now in 44 states. More
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Regal Beloit Corp., Beloit, WI, has acquired Morrill Motors, a manufacturer of fractional horsepower motors and components for the commercial refrigeration and freezer markets.More
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Adhesives supplier Barker, Inc., Fort Wayne, IN, and Adhesive & Equipment Co., Grand Rapids, MI, will merge. The new company will remain in Fort Wayne, IN, and will be known as A & E Barker Inc. Together they will have $12 million in sales. More
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SKF reported sales increased 12.8 percent to SEK14.2 billion (US$2.2 billion) in the third quarter 2007. Sales for the first nine months were up 10.9 percent to SEK 43.5 billion (US$6.7 billion). Profit was SEK 1.1 billion (US$181 million). For the first nine months, profit reached SEK 3.6 billion (US$566 million). More
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Industrial production increased 0.1&nbsp ; percent in September after having been unchanged in August. Total industrial production in September was 1.9 percent above its year-earlier level. For the third quarter as a whole, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 4&nbsp ; percent, a pace that was 1/2&nbsp ; percentage point faster than in the previous quarter.&nbsp ; More
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Housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,191,000, 10.2 percent below the revised August estimate and 30.8 percent below the revised September 2006 rate. More
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Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire & cable, and fasteners, reported sales of $1.52 billion in the third quarter 2007, which includes $31.7 million from acquisitions. Sales were up 14 percent. Profit fell 15 percent to $64.8 million. Year-to-date sales were $4.36 billion. More
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Genuine Parts Company, Atlanta, GA, reported total sales of $2.8 billion in the third quarter were up 4 percent from the prior-year period, and net income was up 6 percent. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, sales were $8.22 billion, up 4 percent, and profit was $380.3 million, up 7 percent. Motion Industries generated the strongest revenue increase, with sales up 7 percent in the quarter.&nbsp ; More
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WESCO International Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, supplier of electrical MRO products, construction materials, and integrated supply services, reported sales of $1.5 billion in third quarter 2007, an increase of 15.1 percent. Profit was $70 million in the quarter. Year-to-date, sales were $4.5 billion, up 14.4 percent. Sales from recent acquisitions were $524 million. More
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Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, reported that for its fiscal 2008 first quarter ended Sept. 30, profit rose by 15.8 percent and sales rose 5.3 percent to $518.5 million. More
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Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, reported third-quarter 2007 sales of $2.37 billion, 13 percent above the prior-year period. Profit grew 23 percent to $305 million. Sales were led by strong growth in Asia and South America from new business and project start-ups, and stable growth in North America.&nbsp ; More
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Hagemeyer NV reported Group revenue was up 3.2 percent on an organic basis in the third quarter 2007, with sales of 1.6 billion euro (US$2.3 billion).&nbsp ; Organic growth for the PPS business was 2.8 percent in the third quarter, with improvement in the North American rate. Organic growth for Hagemeyer’s electronics division was 3.7 percent. In the U.S., sales were down 3.9 percent in the first nine months of 2007, and down 0.6 percent in the quarter. More
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Snap-on Inc., Kenosha, WI, manufacturer and marketer of tools, diagnostics and equipment solutions for professional users, reported sales in the third quarter 2007 were $680.7 million, up 14.5 percent over the prior-year period.More
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Goodman Global, Inc., Houston, TX, manufacturer of residential and light commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, has agreed to be acquired private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC for $2.65 billion in cash. More
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3M, St. Paul, MN, has agreed to acquire Unifam Sp. z o.o., a manufacturer of cut-off wheels, depressed center grinding wheels and flap discs based in Poland.&nbsp ; More
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On the heels of a price increase announcement by Airgas, Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, PA, said it is also seeking price increases for most of its chemical products, effective Nov. 1, 2007. Increases will range from 5 percent to 15 percent. The costs of key raw materials -such as propylene, ethylene, methanol, as well as other raw materials like