News Digest 3819

The subsidiary of Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, CT, Kaman Industrial Technologies Corp., has acquired Industrial Rubber and Mechanics, Inc. of Puerto Rico. INRUMEC will become part of Kaman's industrial distribution segment. INRUMEC is a distributor of fluid power products; industrial and hydraulic hoses; belting and conveyer systems; pipe, tube, fittings and valves; and packaging machinery to such diverse markets as food, beverage, pharmaceutical, cement and aggregate. The company is also a manufacturer of hydraulic hose assemblies for the same end markets. More
Valley National Gases, LLC, Independence, OH, has agreed to acquire General Welding Supply, Martins Ferry, OH, and its affiliates. Valley also acquired L.P. Gas Company, a distributor of propane with one location in Bridgeport, WV. Valley National Gases has made eight acquisitions since being acquired by CI Capital Partners LLC in February 2007. More
Mayer Electric Supply, Birmingham, AL, has agreed to purchase Electric Supply of Macon, Macon, GA. Bob White, president of Electric Supply of Macon, will continue with Mayer as branch manager of the location. The acquisition expands Mayer's footprint into central Georgia. Mayer has 12 other locations in the state. Mayer Electric Supply is a wholesale-distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, lighting, factory automation, tools and communications. More

Industrial distributor Lewis-Goetz and Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, has acquired the Rubber Belting and Hose group of companies, including RBH/Mill &Elevator Supply, Inc and RBH/Industrial, Inc. a provider of industrial supplies to the agricultural and industrial markets of the Midwest. More
United Rentals, Inc., Greenwich, CT, has acquired Portland U-Rent-It, Inc., a privately held industrial-oriented rental company, with sales of $11 million, Corpus Christi, TX. More
VWR International, LLC, West Chester, PA, global laboratory supply distributor, has acquired OMNILAB AG, a Swiss scientific laboratory supply distributor in Mettmenstetten near Zurich. The acquisition supports VWR's growth in Western Europe. VWR has annual sales of $3.5 billion in more than 20 countries. More
TTI, Inc., Fort Worth, TX, has acquired the Mateleco Group, connector distributor in France. Mateleco has six locations. TTI is a specialty distributor of passive, interconnect and discrete components with more than 50 locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. More
Maurice Electrical Supply Company Inc., Washington, D.C., has been acquired by US Electrical Services, Inc., which is owned by Consolidated Electrical Distributors. Maurice has been a family-owned independent distributor since 1922. More
Parker Hannifin Corp., Cleveland, OH, manufacturer in motion and control technology, has acquired three companies whose total sales in the most recent fiscal year approached $500 million: Legris, SA; Origa Group; and Hargraves Technology Corp.  More
Regal Beloit Corp., Beloit, WI, has acquired Dutch industrial motor distributor Dutchi Motors B.V. for $34 million and the assumption of about $3.2 million in debt. Dutchi is a distributor of Regal Beloit's Hwada motor products, acquired in April 2008. More
Nordson Corp., Westlake, OH, has

acquired Wachter, Paul and Co., operator of Bigger Dosier Klebetechnik, a distributor of Nordson's EFD brand product line. The company will become part of Nordson's subsidiary Nordson (Schweiz) AG and will continue to function as before. More
Precision Castparts Corp., Portland, OR, has agreed to acquire Fatigue Technology, Inc., Seattle, WA. FTI manufactures split sleeves, bushings, rivetless nut plates, blind nuts and fittings. More
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp., Cleveland, OH, has acquired Integrated Holdings Ltd., the parent company of Integrated Hydraulics Ltd., a U.K. manufacturer of screw-in cartridge valves, custom-engineered hydraulic valves and manifold systems. Eaton had 2007 sales of $13 billion. More
Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, has acquired UK-based Avery Weigh-Tronix, a manufacturer of industrial weighing products and systems. More
Monomoy Capital Partners has acquired L&P Plastics, LLC from Leggett &Platt, Inc. L&P Plastics, a non-core operating division of Leggett &Platt, manufactures and designs custom plastic components for the power tool, medical device, furniture and automotive industries. More
IDEX Corp., Northbrook, IL, has acquired Richter Chemie-Technik, Kempen, Germany, a provider of pumps, valves and control equipment for the chemical, fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Richter has annual revenues of 37 million euro (US$53 million). More
Manufacturing failed to grow in September, according to the latest Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Report On Business. This is the lowest level for the PMI since October 2001. More
Industrial production decreased 1.1 percent in August. After little movement over the previous three months, factory output was down 1 percent in August, in part because of a drop of 11.9 percent in the production of motor vehicles and parts. The capacity utilization rate for total industry fell to 78.7 percent. More
Construction spending during August 2008 was nearly the same as the revised July estimate, according to The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. The August figure is 5.9 percent below the August 2007 estimate. During the first eight months of this year, construction spending was 5.9 percent below the same period in 2007. More
In August, Canadian price indexes for manufactured goods and raw materials declined 0.2 percent and 7.7 percent respectively from July. More
Rockwell Automation, Inc., Milwaukee, WI, announced a restructuring plan "to better align resources with growth opportunities and reduce costs in light of current and anticipated market conditions."The plan is expected to generate costs savings of $75 million in fiscal 2009. More
Swiss fasteners distributor Bossard Group reported sales for the second four-month period of 2008 were down 3 percent overall. Profit increased 17 percent. Sales fell in Europe and the U.S. in the second four-month period. More