2008 - Page 58 of 59 - Modern Distribution Management

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2008

Report: Sources of Productivity Growth Differ in U.S., Canada

Labor productivity in the manufacturing sector of both Canada and the U.S. increased at the same average pace between 1961 and 2003, according to a new report from Statistics Canada. Labor productivity is a measure of real output per hour worked.

In Canada, the more intense use of intermediate inputs, such as parts and materials, was a more important source of labor productivity growth than it was in the U.S. In the U.S., investment in capital and multifactor productivity growth (or the efficiency with which capital, labor and intermediate inputs are used in production) were the key factors.

According to the report, labor productivity in the manufacturing sectors of both countries increased at an annual average rate of 3.2 percent.

In Canada, the deepening ...

Report: Sources of Productivity Growth Differ in U.S., Canada Read More »

Commentary: Make Great Employees Your Strategy

Employees who care about a customer? Valuable. Employees who take ownership of making customers happy and initiative in making your company more profitable? Priceless and perhaps increasingly extinct.
 
Distributors aren't ignoring the issue of human resource development. In fact, the University of Industrial Distribution, an annual program that a few years ago went begging for students at its annual one-week session, has been quickly selling out about 500 seats the past two years. But it will take a lot more than annual off-site training to keep your company competitive and growing in turbulent economies. A team of motivated, resourceful and creative problem solvers can make the difference in a company's performance.
 
People with great skills are in short supply; ...

Commentary: Make Great Employees Your Strategy Read More »

Emerson Acquires The Automation Group

Emerson has acquired The Automation Group, Houston, TX. The Automation Group will join Emerson Process Management.
 
The move expands Emerson's capabilities for providing technical and management services for the design, engineering and implementation of process automation systems for the Refinery, Petrochemical, Oil &Gas Production and other industries.
 
The Automation Group has branches in Corpus Christi, TX; Bloomington, MN; Concord, CA, and Baton Rouge, LA.
 
The Automation Group's expertise covers process automation technologies including distributed control systems, safety shutdown systems, programmable logic controllers, human machine interfaces, supervisory control and data acquisition, process analyzers, control networks, control room ...

Emerson Acquires The Automation Group Read More »

Thanks to WYKO Acquisition, ERIKS Sales Shoot Up 74%

The ERIKS group had sales of €949 million (US$1.4 billion) in 2007, up 74.6% from 2006, thanks to its acquisition of WYKO.
 
Profit was about €45 million, up 62%.
 
CEO Jan van der Zouw said: 2007 was another excellent year for the ERIKS group. At this moment the order intake is at a good level and we are not experiencing any negative effects of the declining industrial production in Western Europe and the USA. We are positive about ERIKS'prospects for 2008."
 
ERIKS bought UK-based WYKO Holdings Limited, a distributor of power transmission, sealing technology, fluid power and maintenance products, in October 2006. WYKO had close to €320 million (US$450 million) in annual sales at the time of its ...

Thanks to WYKO Acquisition, ERIKS Sales Shoot Up 74% Read More »

Samuel, Son & Co. Buys Encore Coils from Reliance

Samuel, Son &Co., Ltd. has acquired Encore Coils division of Encore Group Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Steel &Aluminum Co.
 
Encore Coils currently stocks flat rolled carbon steel, including hot rolled, hot rolled pickled and oiled, galvanized, cold rolled, prepainted galvanized and aluminized.
 
Wayne Bassett, CEO of Samuel said The Western Canadian market is a very important market for us and the acquisition of Encore Coils will significantly enhance our ability to service our customers in Western Canada. We will now have 10 Western Canadian locations and can offer a full range of processing services, including plate burning, cut-to-length and ...

Samuel, Son & Co. Buys Encore Coils from Reliance Read More »

Joy Global to Buy Conveyor Systems Supplier

Joy Global Inc., Milwaukee, WI, supplier of mining equipment, has agreed to acquire NES Group's Continental Global Inc., a conveyor systems supplier focused on mining and other industrial applications, for $270 million.
 
Continental has customers on six continents and facilities in the U.S., UK, South Africa and Australia. Continental's 2007 sales of conveyor equipment are expected to be $340 million.
 
All businesses of NES unrelated to conveyor equipment, including the company's axle products business, will stay in the hands of NES Group.
 
Continental Global expands the range of products and services we can deliver to our customers, and is consistent with our strategy of adding related and highly synergistic product lines," said Mike Sutherlin, ...

Joy Global to Buy Conveyor Systems Supplier Read More »

Bosch Acquires Laser-Leveling Business

German manufacturer Bosch has acquired laser-leveling business RoboToolz Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong.
 
The acquisition expands the company's capacity in measuring tools.
 
RoboToolz has four locations: two in China and one each in the U.S. and Germany. In 2006, the company had sales of $11 million.
 
In acquiring RoboToolz, we are continuing our growth course in the promising segment of measuring tools," said Uwe Raschke, president of the Bosch Power Tools division. "This segment has huge global potential."
 
With power tools, accessories, garden tools, and measuring technology, the Bosch Power Tools division in 2006 had sales of €2.8 billion. Of this total, 90% was generated outside Germany.
 
The Bosch Group overall had ...

Bosch Acquires Laser-Leveling Business Read More »

Illinois Tool Works Expands Foodservice Line

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, has acquired Peerless Machinery Corp., Sidney, OH, a manufacturer and supplier of mixers, bread dividers, dough handlers, and other food processing equipment.
 
The Peerless Group will be a wholly owned unit of ITW and part of the company's existing food equipment group. ITW will continue to operate Peerless as a separate business under the Peerless brand name.
 
Peerless has an excellent reputation in the industry and is a good fit in ITW's portfolio of food equipment businesses," said Marc Fooksman, a group president of ITW. "The acquisition of Peerless will help support the continued growth of the food equipment group, specifically in the wholesale baking industry."
 
ITW is a $14.1 billion diversified ...

Illinois Tool Works Expands Foodservice Line Read More »

Survey: PPE Noncompliance Big Issue in Workplace

For the second year in a row, a survey of safety professionals has found that noncompliance with personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols continues to be an issue in the workplace.
 
Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they had observed workers failing to wear PPE when they should have been, according to a survey of attendees at the 2007 National Safety Council Congress, conducted by Kimberly-Clark Professional.
 
The main why" was "uncomfortable" PPE, according to 62 percent of respondents who had observed noncompliance in the workplace. This was followed by: workers thinking PPE was not necessary for the task, PPE was "too hot," PPE fits poorly, or was "unattractive looking."
 
So it's not surprising that when asked "what" could be improved ...

Survey: PPE Noncompliance Big Issue in Workplace Read More »

WinWholesale Opens Location in Connecticut

WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened Shelton Winlectric in Shelton, CT, to provide contractors in three western counties with electrical equipment, parts and accessories. The counties are Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven.

Another company, Nutmeg Winlectric in Colchester, serves eastern Connecticut.

Shelton Winlectric is the first WinWholesale company to open in 2008. There are 462 Win local companies and 107 Noland branches, mainly in the Southeast. ...

WinWholesale Opens Location in Connecticut Read More »

Canada Industrial Product Price Index Rises 0.6% in November

Source: Statistics Canada

In November, prices in Canada for manufactured products and raw materials were pushed up by surging petroleum prices.

From October to November, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), rose 0.6%, a marginal increase after six consecutive monthly declines. The rise in the index was caused almost exclusively by surging prices for petroleum and coal products.

On a 12-month basis, the IPPI declined 0.6%, continuing the downward trend. Declines in the prices for motor vehicles and other transport equipment, primary metal products and pulp and paper products were tempered by the steep increase in the prices for petroleum and coal products.

The exchange rate, ...

Canada Industrial Product Price Index Rises 0.6% in November Read More »

Electrical Supplier Leviton to Acquire ControlThink

Leviton Manufacturing Company Inc., Little Neck, NY, producer of electrical and electronic wiring devices, has agreed to acquire ControlThink LC, a home and building control software and services company.
 
Operating as a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary, ControlThink will continue to serve its existing OEM partners and customers, while aligning with Leviton to expand the market for intelligent home control solutions, products and services.
 
Leviton manufactures over 25,000 different products for use in homes in the U.S. and Canada, and in commercial facilities, industrial plants and OEM ...

Electrical Supplier Leviton to Acquire ControlThink Read More »

Emerson Sells Brooks Unit to Private Equity Firm

Emerson, St. Louis, MO, sold its Brooks Instrument unit to American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV, L.P. for $100 million in cash. 
 
AIP is a private equity investment firm focused on middle-market companies.
 
Brooks, headquartered in Hatfield, PA, provides flow measurement and control devices to the low flow application market, and principally serves the chemical and semiconductor industries.  Its sales in fiscal 2007 were $90 million.
 
The sale of Brooks is representative of Emerson's ongoing strategy to manage its business mix toward high-growth, high-return businesses that are strategic to its entire portfolio. Over the past 18 months, Emerson sold several small businesses which included its Western Forge hand tool unit and ...

Emerson Sells Brooks Unit to Private Equity Firm Read More »

Distribution’s Part in the Economy

Growth in overall macroeconomic activity as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and growth in the wholesale distribution industry are going to moderate in 2008. That was the message given by Adam Fein in a recent MDM Webcast, Wholesale Distribution Economic Outlook: Adam Fein's First Look at 2008." He said: "I believe they will remain positive but there are some significant risks."
 
In addition to tackling some high-level economic issues, including the key dynamics behind today's economy, the economic outlook and implications for key distribution markets, and what Webcast participants should consider as they plan where their company will go in the next year, Fein talked about the key part ...

Distribution’s Part in the Economy Read More »

Airgas Buys Pima Welding Supply

Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Pima Welding Supply, Inc., an industrial gas and welding supply distributor in Tucson, AZ. The business has been integrated into Airgas West, one of the regional companies within Airgas.
 
Pima, which had annual sales of nearly $5 million in the 12 months ended June 30, 2007, provides Airgas West with an industrial cylinder fill plant that will help improve service to customers in the Tucson area. The second location, a retail store, will provide a presence on the north side of Tucson.
 
Airgas is a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies, safety products, nitrous oxide and dry ice, liquid carbon dioxide, process chemicals, refrigerants and ...

Airgas Buys Pima Welding Supply Read More »

Barnes Aerospace Enters Revenue Sharing Program with GE

Barnes Aerospace, a business segment of Barnes Group Inc., has entered into a new aftermarket Revenue Sharing Program Agreement with General Electric Company. Similar to Barnes Aerospace's other aftermarket RSPs that provide the exclusive right to supply designated aftermarket parts to GE for the life of the related engine program, this agreement relates to spare parts for the CFM56 and CF6 engine families.
 
Revenue Sharing Programs are excellent complements to our aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul operations and strengthen our portfolio across the stages of an engine's life cycle,"said Gregory F. Milzcik, President and Chief Executive Officer, Barnes Group Inc.  
 
The CFM56 engine powers short-, medium- and long-range aircraft. Twelve different ...

Barnes Aerospace Enters Revenue Sharing Program with GE Read More »

A.M. Castle Expands in the UK

A. M. Castle &Co., Franklin Park, IL, distributor of specialty metal and plastic products, has acquired Metals UK Group, a distributor and processor of specialty metals primarily serving the Oil and Gas, Aerospace, Petrochemical and Power Generation markets worldwide.
 
Metals UK Group has four processing facilities; two in Blackburn, England, including its headquarters, one in Hoddesdon North East of London and one in Bilbao, Spain. Metals UK Group reported revenues of $72 million for fiscal year 2007.
 
Sales outside of the UK comprise 25% of the company's revenues and include customers in 36 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and the Americas.
 
Metals UK Group is complementary to our existing North American operations and provides an ...

A.M. Castle Expands in the UK Read More »

Pro-Build Grows in Florida

Pro-Build Holdings, Denver, CO, has acquired Granger Lumber-Hardware Inc., Jacksonville, FL, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal. The company has two locations and sells lumber, millwork and roof trusses to contractors and remodelers.
 
Pro-Build added 13 locations in Florida in 2007, according to the ...

Pro-Build Grows in Florida Read More »

Airgas Acquires Two Distributors

Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Smith Welding Supply &Equipment, Inc. and its affiliated company, Bayer Welding Supply, LLC. Six locations in the Detroit area have been integrated with Airgas Great Lakes, one of the regional companies within Airgas.
 
Smith and Bayer had combined annual sales of $16 million in calendar year 2006. Its central industrial gas fill plant in Ferndale, MI, supported branches in Wixom, Clinton, Detroit, and Auburn Hills, plus a location in Warren operating as Bayer Welding.
 
Airgas has also acquired Pacific Diazo Products Inc., Colton, CA, a distributor of aqua ammonia, anhydrous ammonia and related products and services. Pacific Diazo has been integrated into Airgas Specialty Products, a distributor of industrial ammonia ...

Airgas Acquires Two Distributors Read More »

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