MDM News Digest 3424

Bosch Rexroth AG plans to spend $110 million (83 million euro) to expand production capacities in China over three years. In addition to investment for expansion in existing production sites, a new factory will be constructed in Beijing in 2005. The largest subproject within the framework of the investment package is the construction of a new factory in Beijing in 2005. Among other products, axial piston machines will be produced on an area of 85,000 m2 for the Asian market. The new investment has become necessary due to the stretched capacities in the existing Bosch Rexroth factory in Beijing, which has just under 350 employees. The existing production sites will be relocated there.

supplyFORCE, the procurement solutions company that spun out of marketing group Affiliated Distributors, announced several national contracts. It has signed a three year national account agreement with garage door manufacturer Wayne Dalton to provide industrial, pipe, valves, fittings, plumbing and power transmission supplies. Electrical supplies will also be provided at the Pensacola, FL location of Wayne Dalton. supplyFORCE has signed a three year national account contract with welded steel pipe manufacturer Northwest Pipe to provide electrical, industrial and pipes, valves and fittings supplies. Longview Fibre has signed a three year national account agreement with supplyFORCE for industrial and safety supplies. Longview Fibre is a manufacturer of corrugated and solid-fiber containers, bags and other paper products. The company operates one of the largest pulp-paper mills in the world at Longview, WA; 17 converting plants in 12 states; a lumber plant; and owns 584,000 acres of timberlands managed for Sustainable Forestry in the Pacific Northwest. Finally, supplyFORCE has been awarded a three year contract for MRO supplies in the PVF commodity by Cemex. The contract will support 13 Cemex locations in the U.S. and Mexico.

WESCO International, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, is taking some cash off the table to pay down debt by publicly offering 4,000,000 shares of its common stock. Certain selling stockholders, including The Cypress Group LLC and a few members of the company's management team, are offering an additional 6,000,000 shares of common stock. The underwriters will have an option to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional shares, substantially all of which would come from The Cypress Group LLC.

October U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $234.44 million, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 38.9% from September (the highest monthly total in four years) but up 46.5% from the total of $159.98 million reported for October 2003. With a year-to-date total of $2,379.98 million, 2004 is up 42.6% compared with 2003.

Industrial buying group NetPlus Alliance has launched a new publication designed to add value to member distributors and participating suppliers. Supply Line magazine presents information on product innovation, application recommendations and supply chain trends from manufacturers and their distributor partners. Supply Line is published by NetPlus Alliance on behalf of its distributors and provided to nearly 25,000 of their end user customers as a resource to give them an edge in their industry. The 24-page Fall 2004 issue of Supply Line features articles on how local distributors provide value-added services to customers, as well as product category articles detailing trends in power tools, abrasives, aerosols, specialty tapes and plant maintenance products. NetPlus will publish two issues of Supply Line in 2005, in the Spring and in the Fall.

Parker Hannifin Corporation, Cleveland, OH, reported orders for the month of