and other construction materials were down 4.0 percent, while sales of metals and minerals, except petroleum, increased 2.6 percent. More …
September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $407.21 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and the Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total was up 31.9% from August and up 43.1% from September 2005. With a year-to-date total of $2,815.34 million, 2006 was up 26.2% compared with 2005. More …
Rexnord Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, manufacturer of highly engineered precision motion technology products, primarily power transmission products, reported sales grew 9.1 percent in second quarter fiscal 2007 to $298.1 million. Rexnord recorded profit of $0.4 million for the quarter. The sales increase was driven primarily by strength in its industrial products end markets of natural resource extraction, metals processing, infrastructure expansion (mining, cement, aggregates) and food and beverages as well as strong demand for aerospace products. For the first six months of fiscal 2007, sales were $586.5 million, an increase of 14.3 percent. More …
Tencarva Machinery Company, Greensboro, NC, has acquired Engineering Equipment Company, Richmond, VA. Engineering Equipment Company had $8 million in sales last year. Tencarva reported that the acquired company has strong industrial and municipal sales coverage in Virginia, with very little overlap with Tencarva’s territory. More …
Universal Forest Products Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, has agreed to acquire for $47 million the Banks Lumber division of Banks Corporation, a manufacturer of roof trusses and cut-to-size structural lumber for manufactured housing and recreational vehicle manufacturers. Banks Lumber had 2005 sales of $147 million.
Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst, NY, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, has formed Columbus McKinnon Europe, which expands its existing Yale Europe business to include the sale of Columbus McKinnon products into European markets. About 13% of the company’s trailing 12-month consolidated sales of $571.3 million are generated by this operation. The change integrates the Columbus McKinnon line under one sales entity in Europe and supports the supplier’s objective of expanding into emerging European markets.
Brady Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, reported sales grew 42.8 percent in the first quarter 2007 ended Oct. 31, 2006, to $332.3 million. Acquisitions added 34.6 percent to sales growth. Net income increased 14.1 percent to $34.4 million.
Grainger, Chicago, IL, announced its Lab Safety Supply subsidiary has agreed to acquire Professional Inspection Equipment Inc. and Construction Book Express Inc, both of Hauppage, NY. The businesses are direct marketers of tools, instruments and reference materials to the $2.5-billion building and home inspection market. Professional Inspection Equipment and Construction Book Express will be marketed as independent brands by LSS, a direct marketer of targeted, specialty businesses in the safety, industrial, environmental and homeland security markets. The companies had annual sales in 2006 of $20 million. More …
HD Supply, Home Depot’s fast-growing wholesale division, reported sales increased 159 percent to $3.5 billion in the third quarter. HD Supply accounted for about 15 percent of The Home Depot’s overall sales. Overall sales for The Home Depot were boosted by the supply sector, but otherwise were softer than expected, at $23.1 billion, an 11.3 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Total sales in the retail segment grew 1.1 percent to $19.7 billion. Comparable store sales declined 5.1 percent. More …
Caxton-Iseman Capital, a New York-based private investment firm, has agreed to acquire Valley National Gases Incorporated for about $312 million. Valley National is a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases delivered in packaged or cylinder form, related welding equipment and supplies, and non-pipeline propane. The company serves more than 225,000 customers through 75 branches in the East and Midwest. Valley National had revenue of $220 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2006, and employs about 750 people. This is Caxton-Iseman’s first venture in the industrial gas and welding supply business. More …
Strategic Distribution, Inc., Bristol, PA, was considering a takeover offer as MDM went to press, valued at roughly $24.5 million in cash. The proposal was to remain in effect until Nov. 22. The company announced that the special committee of its board of directors received a letter from William R. Berkley, chairman of the board of the company, that an entity he controls, Interlaken Capital Inc., proposes to acquire Strategic Distribution for $8.30 per share in cash. Berkley owns about 22.5% of the company’s outstanding common stock. Strategic Distribution had previously formed a special committee of independent directors in 2005 to consider strategic alternatives for the company. Berkley says he would retain the existing management and employees. More …
Strategic Distribution, Inc., Bristol, PA, distributor of MRO products, reported revenues of $46.2 million for the third quarter 2006 compared with $37.5 million for the third quarter of 2005. The company reported net income of $0.2 million compared with a net loss of $0.4 million in the same quarter of 2005. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2006, the company reported revenues of $120.2 million compared to $100.2 million reported for the comparable period in 2005. Strategic reported a net loss of $1.9 million for the first nine months compared to a net loss of $3.1 million for the same period 2005. More …
September 2006 wholesale revenues were $330.2 billion, down 1.2 percent from the revised August level, but up 8.1 percent from the September 2005 level. September sales of durable goods decreased 0.3 percent from last month, but were up 9 percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, sales of lumber
