United Stationers Inc., Deerfield, IL, master distributor of business products, reported its wholly owned subsidiary, United Stationers Supply Co., has agreed to buy the New Jersey business of Emco Distribution, LLC, for $15 million. More
Industrial Rubber Products, Inc., Hibbing, MN, has agreed to be acquired by affiliates of two private equity firms: Lime Rock Partners, Westport, CT, and Thompson Street Capital Partners, St. Louis, MO. More
Transcat, Inc., Rochester, NY, a distributor of professional grade test, measurement and calibration instruments and accredited provider of calibration and repair services, has acquired Westcon, Inc., a Portland, OR-based test and measurement instruments distributor and calibration services provider, in a transaction valued at $7.2 million. More
Norandex Building Materials Distribution, Hudson, OH, a distributor of exterior siding, windows, and doors, has opened two new branch locations in Portland, OR, and Austin, TX. In Portland, Norandex has acquired limited assets from Crown Building Materials, which began operations as Norandex Building Materials Distribution on Aug. 15. More
WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened Winnelson companies in Lakeland, FL, Bloomington, IL, and Clinton, MO, to provide residential and commercial contractors with plumbing supplies, equipment and accessories. More
Atlas Copco Tools and Assembly Systems LLC, USA, a U.S. arm of Swedish manufacturer Atlas Copco, acquired Industrial Power Sales, Inc., Raleigh, NC, a distributor of tools, assembly systems and material handling equipment. More
Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, announced that it plans to divest its Decorative Surfaces segment consisting of the Wilsonart and related laminate businesses and the Click Commerce industrial software business. Wilsonart was acquired in 1999 and Click was acquired in October 2006. More
Alfa Laval Group, a manufacturer in transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling, has acquired Hutchison Hayes Separation, Houston, TX, a provider of separation equipment, parts and services to the U.S. energy-related industries. Hutchison Hayes’sales in 2007 were about SEK 150 million. More
Air Liquide America Specialty Gases LLC, Houston, TX, will raise prices on gases, equipment and services beginning Sept. 1, 2008. Prices will increase between 5 percent and 20 percent for cylinder oxygen, acetylene, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and other gas products. Prices for helium will be increased between 20 percent and 25 percent. In addition, cylinder rental fees will be increased by 10 percent while delivery charges will be increased by 25 percent. More
Hagemeyer has released its 2008-2009 Safety Products catalog. Hagemeyer’s user-friendly catalog is an expanded version of the original safety catalog and now includes products for the industrial, governmental and industrial hygiene communities. The 652-page catalog also features safety and firefighting products. More
U.S. wholesale prices rose 1.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This increase followed a 1.8-percent jump in June and a 1.4-percent rise in May. More
U.S. industrial production increased 0.2 percent in July after having advanced 0.4 percent in June. In July, the capacity utilization rate for total industry edged up to 79.9 percent, a level 1.1 percentage points below its average for 1972-2007. More

Canadian manufacturers reported $52.5 billion in sales in June, up 2.1 percent from May and the fifth increase in six months. In constant dollars, manufacturing sales increased 0.6 percent to $47 billion in June. Industrial prices for petroleum and coal, chemical products, wood products, and motor vehicles rose notably during the month. More

The weakness in the U.S. economy shows no signs of immediate abatement, and significant challenges may last well into 2009, according to a new report. The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Economic Forecast predicts that inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) growth will slow to 1.6% in 2008 and decelerate to 1.3% in 2009. More
Atlanta, GA-based The Home Depot, a home improvement retailer, reported sales of $21 billion for the second quarter of 2008, a 5.4 percent decrease from the same period 2007. Profit was $1.2 billion, down 25 percent from second quarter 2007. For the first six months, sales were down 4.5% to $40.7 billion. Profit was down 40 percent. More
San Francisco, CA-based Building Materials Holding Corp., a provider of building materials and construction services to professional residential builders and contractors, reported sales of $385 million for the second quarter of 2008, a decrease of 41 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $31.9 million compare to a profit of $19.4 million for second quarter 2007.
The second quarter results put BMHC in violation of certain financial covenants. The company has received a temporary waiver from its lenders to allow for borrowing up to $60 million through Sept. 30 while it is negotiating a permanent amendment with lenders to better reflect current economic conditions. More
Five Star Products, Inc., New York, NY, distributor of paint sundry and hardware products in the Northeast and Middle-Atlantic states, reported revenue for the second quarter were down 12.5 percent to $31.4 million. Profit was $98,000, compared with profit of $567,000. The distributor reported sales for the first six months of 2008 were down 4.4 percent. The net loss was $609,000. As previously announced, National Patent Development Corp., which owns 82% of Five Star, and NPDV Acquisition Corp., a subsidiary of National Patent, have agreed to buy Five Star’s common stock. More
RONA Inc., Boucherville, Quebec, reported sales of $1.47 billion for the second quarter, a slight increase from the same quarter 2007. Profit was $80.1 million, a 7 percent decrease from the prior year. Same-store sales for the period were down 4.4 percent. For the first half of 2008, sales were up 1.6 percent. Profit dropped 14.8 percent. More
General Bearing Corp., West Nyack, NY, reported sales of $35.1 million for the second quarter ended June 28, 2008, an 8 percent increase. Profit was down 15.5 percent. For the first six months, sales were up 7.9 percent and profit down 22.1 percent. More
Industrial distributor Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, reported sales in 2008 increased 3.7 percent to $2.1 billion from fiscal 2007. Profit rose 11 percent to $95 million. CEO David Pugh says about half of the top 30 industries Applied serves were down, and the other half were flat to up in the past year. More
Lawson Products, Inc., a Des Plaines, IL-based distributor of services, systems and products to the MRO and OEM marketplaces, reported sales of $126.3 million for its second quarter ended June 30, 2008, a decrease of 2.2% from the prior year quarter. The company reported a loss of $29.7 million. More