Chicago-based Lawson Products Inc. (NASDAQ: LAWS), No. 27 on MDM’s list of the top 40 industrial distributors, reported sales for the third quarter of $72 million, a decrease of 4.5 percent from the same period a year ago. The distributor reported a loss of $1.3 million for the quarter, compared to a year-ago loss of $2.2 million.
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For the first nine months, sales were $222.3 million, 8.2 percent lower than 2011 levels. Nine-month losses were $64.3 million, compared to a profit of $923,000 for the first three quarters of 2011.
“Third quarter results show an improvement from where the company was just a quarter ago. In the coming quarters, we will renew our emphasis on improving sales by building upon productivity enhancements, utilizing our new ERP system as our foundation for growth and restoring our sales force to a more effective level,” Michael G. DeCata, president and CEO, said.
DeCata joined Lawson in his new role October 1. He previously served as president of Chef’s Warehouse, a $300 million specialty food distributor and has also held senior positions at United Rentals, Grainger and General Electric.