MDM News Digest 3810

Wolseley plc, distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a supplier of building materials, reported overall that sales for the first nine months ended April 30, 2008, were up 2 percent and profit fell 23 percent. As a result of what the distributor called tough market conditions, Wolseley has made further cost reductions in North America since April 30, 2008. The distributor has closed 75 branches and reduced headcount by 200 at Ferguson and closed or consolidated an additional 15 locations in Canada, with a reduced headcount of 50 people. More
Womack Machine Supply Company has acquired California-based Applied International Motion LLC. The addition of Applied International Motion allows Womack Machine Supply to sell and service Factory Automation products and Motion Control systems in California and Nevada. More

HD Supply Waterworks, an HD Supply business, has opened a 15,000-square-foot facility in Brunswick, GA. The new location features a warehouse, office space and tool showroom. The company has also consolidated two existing local branches into its Savannah-area facility in Pooler, GA. More

Building Materials Holding Corp., San Francisco, CA, a provider of building materials and construction services to professional residential builders and contractors, announced that is wholly-owned subsidiary SelectBuild Arizona will discontinue its residential framing and concrete operations in Tucson, AZ, on July 18. More

Sonepar USA, Philadelphia PA, a subsidiary of Sonepar, has acquired ESSCO Wholesale Electric in Arizona. ESSCO Wholesale Electric, distributor in Arizona and California, is a full-line commercial and residential contractor supply house. The company is a 14-branch operation. More

The Manitowoc Company, Inc., Manitowoc, WI, has increased its offer for commercial foodservice equipment maker Enodis to $2.4 billion, including the assumption of Enodis'net debt of $245 million. In the first week of May, Illinois Tools Works Inc. made an offer of $2.1 billion plus the assumption of debt. More

Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, has agreed to acquire Suministros Industriales Enol, S.A. de C.V. and its group of companies. Enol is one of Mexico's largest distributors of power transmission products including bearings, hydraulic hose, electric motors, conveyor products, and lubricants, and had sales of US$25 million in 2007. More

Metals distributor Samuel, Son &Co., Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario, has agreed to buy Namasco Limited, the Canadian subsidiary of Klockner &Co. AG of Duisburg, Germany. Samuel, Son &Co. operates 45 facilities throughout North America and has locations in Australia, The United Kingdom and China. More

3M, St. Paul, MN, has agreed to buy Quest Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of environmental monitoring equipment, including noise, heat stress and vibration monitors. The move boosts 3M's offering in safety products. More

3M has agreed to sell HighJump Software, a 3M company, to Battery Ventures, a technology venture capital and private equity firm. 

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Parker Hannifin Corp., Cleveland, OH, supplier in motion and control technologies, has acquired the remaining stake in its joint venture, Parker Seal de Mexico. Parker held a 49 percent stake in the $8.3 million revenue company prior to acquiring the remaining interest from multiple joint venture partners. The acquired operation will become part of Parker's Seal Group, and its results will be reported within the Industrial North America business segment. More

Industrial production declined 0.7 percent in April after having risen 0.2 percent in March. Manufacturing output fell 0.8 percent in April. As was the case in March, factory output in April was held down by a large drop in the index for motor vehicles and parts; strikes and strike-related parts shortages resulted in suspended production at many facilities. More

All categories of power transmission/motion control products posted a decline in sales for the first time in 2008, according to the March 2008 month-end trend data from the Power Transmission Distributors Association. U.S. distributors'sales of PT/MC products dropped 7.6 percent in March 2008 compared to February 2008. More

March U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $544.62 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors'Association, and the Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 84.4% from February, and up 36.1% from the total of $400.19 million reported for March 2007. With a year-to-date total of $1,183.75 million, 2008 is up 16.4% compared with 2007. More

Canadian manufacturers gave back some of their recent gains in March as factory sales retreated 1.6 percent to $49.0 billion. The scope of March's slowdown was extensive as 18 of the 21 manufacturing industries, representing 76 percent of total sales, posted declines. A sharp downturn in motor vehicle manufacturing was the chief contributor. More

Building Materials Holding Corp., San Francisco, CA, provider of construction services and building materials to professional residential builders and contractors, reported sales for the first quarter 2008 decreased 37 percent to $355 million from $559 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net loss for the first quarter 2008 increased to $33.9 million. More

Building Materials Holding Corp. announced its subsidiary BMC West will close its millwork and building materials distribution facilities in Merced and Bakersfield, CA. Both markets will be served from nearby operations in Modesto and Fresno. More

Roofing supplies distributor Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc., Peabody, MA, reported sales in its first half were up 5.3 percent to $702.6 million from the same period a year ago. Growth was due to acquisitions. Sales in existing markets fell 9.8 percent. More

DXP Enterprises, Inc. reported sales increased 101.5 percent to $168.5 million in the first quarter 2008, due mostly to sales by four businesses acquired in 2007 and 2008, including Precision Industries. Profit was $5.4 million. Excluding sales from acquired businesses, sales for the first quarter were up 13.5 percent.

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Park-Ohio Holdings Corp., Cleveland, OH, reported sales of $267.1 million for the first quarter 2008, unchanged from the first quarter 2007. Park-Ohio reported profit of $3.5 million, down slightly from the year-ago period. More
Graybar, St. Louis, MO, distributor of electrical and communications products and related supply chain management and logistics services, reported sales grew 4.8 percent in the first quarter 2008 to $1.28 billion from the same period a year ago. Profit was $18.9 million, a 58.7 percent increase. The increase was due to modest growth in electrical market sales coupled with a solid growth in the data communications market. More

Quebec-based RONA, distributor and retailer of hardware, renovation and gardening products, reported a 3.8 percent increase in sales to $911.5 million in the first quarter 2008. Same-store sales declined by 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Profit was $1 million, compared with $9 million in the year-ago period. More

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, reported operating revenue increased 11.5 percent for the quarter ended April 30, 2008. Growth in revenues was primarily due to contributions from translation and acquisitions. More
Rexel reported 3.1 percent organic growth (on a constant and same-day basis) for the first quarter 2008, with profit up 27.2 percent from the year-ago period. Sales in the first quarter were €2.5 billion, compared with €2.4 billion a year ago. Sales were up 3.7 percent in Europe, led by Northern Europe and the United Kingdom. North America had growth of 1.2 percent. In Asia-Pacific, growth was 8.2 percent. More

Atlanta, GA-based Industrial Distribution Group, Inc. reported first-quarter revenues of $127.3 million, compared with $135.1 million in the year-ago period, a decline of 5.7 percent. Profit was $0.9 million, compared with $1.5 million last year. More

Werner Co., Greenville, PA, has acquired Green Bull Inc. from Green Bull Loan Acquisition, LLC. The assets purchased include the Green Bull brand and certain intellectual property, manufacturing operations and equipment in Louisville, KY, finished goods inventory, and certain warehouse and facility leases. More
The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Economic Forecast predicts that inflation-adjusted GDP growth will slow to 1.3 percent in 2008 before improving to 1.9 percent in 2009. The 2009 forecast is down from 2.5 percent projected in the February outlook. More