News Digest 3719 - Modern Distribution Management

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News Digest 3719

CED (Consolidated Electrical Distributors) will acquire US Electrical Services, LLC, Exton, PA,&nbsp ; a recently formed distribution holding company lead by former Sonepar USA chief Richard Worthy. US Electrical Services will continue to operate as a separate entity. Worthy will lead the company as its CEO.&nbsp ; More
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Hagemeyer NV said in a press release Tuesday that Sonepar's unsolicited bid of US$3.5 billion (2.5 billion euro) "significantly undervalues the company." Hagemeyer says it will meet with Sonepar to "clarify its intentions." Paris-based Sonepar announced in an unsolicited offer that it would pay 4.25 euro in cash per share for the ...
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involves transferring production from Great Britain. “This is part of our strategy to increase sourcing from Eastern Europe and&nbsp ; Asia,” says Fredrik M& ouml; ller, business unit president, Atlas Copco Industrial Technique.&nbsp ; “By establishing production in&nbsp ; Hungary, we are lowering our cost base and safeguarding our future growth prospects.” More
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American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc., an Air Liquide affiliate, has agreed to buy Scott Specialty Gases, Inc., Plumsteadville, PA, an international producer and supplier of mixed and pure high specialty gases to the analytical, medical and electronics sectors, and of gas handling equipment and specialty gas delivery systems. Scott has annual sales of $88 million. More
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Building Materials Holding Corporation, San Francisco, CA, a supplier of construction services and building materials to professional residential builders and contractors, announced its subsidiary, BMC West Corporation, has sold three retail-oriented business units in Western Colorado for $11.4 million. Sales for these three operations in 2006 were $40 million or 3 percent of BMC West. More
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Wilden Pump & Engineering has acquired Griswold Pump Company, Thomasville, GA. With the acquisition, Wilden, a division of Dover Corp., will have annualized sales of more than $140 million. Wilden, whose international business exceeds 60 percent of total sales, says international growth will be a focus in Griswold’s strategic plan going forward. More href=”/issues/1_1/breaking-news/4475-1.html”>More
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Canadian manufacturing shipments rebounded from a sharp&nbsp ; 2 percent drop in June, gaining&nbsp ; 2.3 percent to&nbsp ; $50&nbsp ; billion in July, the highest level since March. Excluding the motor vehicle and parts industries, shipments advanced&nbsp ; 0.4 percent in July. Durable goods manufacturers reported a&nbsp ; 3.7 percent increase. New orders advanced&nbsp ; 3.2 percent. Unfilled factory orders increased&nbsp ; 2.9 percent compared to June. More
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Canadian wholesalers sold an estimated&nbsp ; $44.1&nbsp ; billion worth of goods in July, a&nbsp ; 2 percent gain over June. The automotive products sector led the way with a&nbsp ; 4.9 percent gain. Other sectors: personal and household goods (+4.0 percent), machinery and electronic equipment (+2.8 percent), and building materials (+1.3 percent). Sales excluding the automotive sector rose&nbsp ; 1.3 percent in July. More
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Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, announced that beginning Dec. 1, 2007, or as contracts permit, its operating units will increase prices on bulk and packaged gases.&nbsp ; Prices will increase, on average, as follows: 20-30% for helium; 10-15% for argon; 8-10% for all other bulk atmospheric gases, and packaged industrial, specialty, and medical gases. Airgas also will raise rental rates for cylinders and bulk tanks and other delivery and service charges up to 15%.&nbsp ; More
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3MCEO George Buckley outlined to investors this week&nbsp ; how the diversified manufacturer wants to continue to rebuild and expand its core, especially adhesives, abrasives, tapes and films. Its continuing strategy, he said, is to advance its core businesses, grow through complementary acquisitions, build new business in adjacent markets and drive strong international expansion. More
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WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened two branches in Nebraska: Husker Winlectric in Omaha, NE, and Lincoln Winwater Works Company in Lincoln, NE, to serve utilities, municipalities and contractors in eastern Nebraska. WinWholesale has opened 14 locations in 2007. More
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WinWholesale subsidiary Noland Company, Newport News, VA, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributor, has opened a branch in Cleveland, TN, to serve HVAC contractors in a six-county area in the southeastern part of the state. Noland has 108 locations in the southeastern U.S. WinWholesale has 459 locations nationwide. More
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Graybar, St. Louis, MO, distributor of electrical and communications products, has opened a 10,000-square-foot distribution facility in Collinsville, IL. With the addition of this facility, the company now has 12 locations throughout Missouri and Illinois, including regional distribution centers in Joliet, IL, and Springfield, MO. More
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Pro-Build Holdings subsidiary Lumbermens Inc., Lacey, WA, has agreed to buy Alpine Lumber Supply’s two North Idaho facilities, according to local newspaper, the Bonner County Daily Bee. Alpine is a supplier of building materials with two lumber yards focused on eastern Washington and North Idaho builders. More
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Atlas Copco, Stockholm, Sweden, will establish a factory for assembly of pneumatic tools in Hungary. The moveCED (Consolidated Electrical Distributors) will acquire US Electrical Services, LLC, Exton, PA,&nbsp ; a recently formed distribution holding company lead by former Sonepar USA chief Richard Worthy. US Electrical Services will continue to operate as a separate entity. Worthy will lead the company as its CEO.&nbsp ; More
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Hagemeyer NV said in a press release Tuesday that Sonepar’s unsolicited bid of US$3.5 billion (2.5 billion euro) “significantly undervalues the company.” Hagemeyer says it will meet with Sonepar to “clarify its intentions.” Paris-based Sonepar announced in an unsolicited offer that it would pay 4.25 euro in cash per share for the Netherlands-based distributor. The global electrical distributor notified Hagemeyer of its intention on Oct. 8. More
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Barnes Group Inc., Bristol, CT, has named Patrick J. Dempsey as president of Barnes Distribution. Dempsey was the president of Barnes Aerospace. He replaces Idelle K. Wolf, who is retiring. Dempsey takes the helm immediately. More
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Though not yet official, 3M Co. has plans to acquire Standard Abrasives, Simi Valley, CA, a competitor in the metal-abrasives industry. More
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Gases and welding supplies distributor Valley National Gases, LLC, Washington, PA, has acquired Allegheny Welding and Industrial Supply Inc., an industrial gas and welding supply distributor with locations in Johnstown, Greensburg, and McKeesport, PA.&nbsp ; Valley National Gases was acquired in February 2007 by Caxton-Iseman Capital LLC, a New York-based private equity firm. More
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Caxton-Iseman has acquired Conney Safety Products, LLC, Madison, WI, a full-service national distributor of personal protective equipment, safety equipment, first aid supplies, and various other safety products, from K+K America Corporation. The transaction is valued at $48 million. More
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Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in September for the eighth consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. Still, the trend is toward slower growth in manufacturing as the rate of growth in both the New Orders Index and Production Index slowed. The Inventories Index fell to 41.6 percent, indicating significant inventory liquidation. The rate of growth in the Employment Index increased slightly in September. More

Despite some softening in individual components of a composite quarterly measurement,&nbsp ; U.S. manufacturing should maintain its growth trend in the near term, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Survey on the Business Outlook, a leading indicator for the industrial sector.&nbsp ; The September 2007 composite index of 65 is unchanged from that reported in the June 2007 survey.&nbsp ; A business index above 50 indicates that overall manufacturing activity is expected to increase over the next three to six months. &nbsp ; The index measures the direction of change rather than the absolute strength of activity in manufacturing.

Real gross domestic product -the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. -increased at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2007, according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.6 percent.

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