July 10, 2006

Parker Hannifin Corporation, Cleveland, OH, announced the acquisition of the air conditioning and refrigeration business (AC & R) of Acal plc. Acal’s AC & R revenues totaled approximately $31.5 million (18.4 million pounds Sterling) for the year ended March 2006.  Earnings are expected to be accretive to Parker in the first full year.The majority of […]

How Plans SucceedA set of best practices for strategic planning has emerged from the experiences of many distributors. These guidelines have proven their effectiveness in a wide variety of situations: Keep the strategic planning team as small as practical, and choose carefully! The group has to be small enough to have productive discussions actively involving

Smith says.This enhances the customer’s relationship with the distributor. “In today’s global economy, this is a key ingredient for survival.”Other distribution-specific case studies can be found at www.mdm.com/stories/distcasestudies.html.Technology Case Studies:Automating Processes C.C. DicksonWireless Warehousing The Reynolds CompanyMerging Sales Teams Neff Group DistributorsThis tooling distributor implemented fee-based safety audits after a request five years ago from

remodel markets. They are all about convenience. They are located in many cases very close to or in the middle of heavy remodeling areas within a city. The idea is to look at where the population is, to look where the competition is and the companies that service that business, and to locate accordingly.It’s been

Praxair Distribution Inc. and Airgas Inc. have announced price increases recently in response to the rising cost of fuel and energy as well as basic materials such as steel, aluminum and brass.“The cost of fuel and energy has escalated beyond what we can absorb,” said Praxair Distribution President Wayne Yakich. “This, along with the increasing

Heating Supply Co., and D& C Plumbing & Heating Supply Co., in a stock transaction completed May 22, 2006. SNCG has annual sales about $46 million. Ferguson has also acquired three other smaller distributors: Central Lighting Inc., Jackson, MI; Davidson Electric Wholesale Supply Inc., Lexington, NC; and Montgomery, AL-based Central Supply Inc. More …Praxair Distribution