Paris-based electrical distributor Rexel confirmed that it will keep its bid of & euro; 4.85 per share for Dutch rival Hagemeyer NV, a total of about & euro; 3.1 billion (US$4.5 billion). Analysts had questioned whether the company would move ahead with its takeover bid or reduce the offer after Hagemeyer was ordered to pay & euro; 50 million in advance damages over the bankruptcy of a former subsidiary.
Ingersoll-Rand Company Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, has agreed to acquire Trane Inc., formerly American Standard Companies Inc., Piscataway, NJ, for $10.1 billion, including the assumption of $150 million of Trane net debt. Trane is a manufacturer of indoor climate control systems with expected 2007 sales of $7.4 billion. More
Electrical distributor WESCO International Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, will enter a joint venture with Deutsch Engineered Connecting Devices Inc., where the Hemet, CA-based company would own 60 percent of WESCO’s LADD operations at a price of $75 million. Under the agreement, Deutsch has the option to acquire the remaining 40 percent in 2010. LADD, a part of Carlton Bates, was acquired by WESCO in September 2005. More
HD Supply has signed a letter of intent to sell its Rheem/Ruud HVAC operations to Watsco Inc., Coconut Grove, FL, an HD Supply spokeswoman confirmed. She said  ; the companies are in the process of due diligence on the deal. The assets will become part of Watsco’s Gemaire group in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. More
Viking Electric Supply, Minneapolis, MN, a subsidiary of Sonepar USA, has acquired Anchor Electric Supply, a single-branch distributor in Sturgeon Bay, WI, which serves the contractor and industrial markets. More
Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, has acquired VYCMEX S.A. de C.V., headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It is a fluid power distributor with more than 70 employees. More
WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened Orlando Winnelson Co. in Orlando, FL, to serve contractors in a four-county area with plumbing equipment, supplies and accessories. More
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp., Cleveland, OH, plans to acquire two electrical suppliers -one in Europe and one in Asia-Pacific. The acquisitions’combined estimated sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, are $2 billion. When the acquisitions close, Eaton’s electrical business will have annual sales of more than $7.5 billion. More
DE-STA-CO, New York, NY, an operating company within the Material Handling platform of Dover Corp.’s Industrial Products segment, has acquired Industrial Motion Control LLC, Wheeling, IL, with annual revenues of $50 million. IMC has additional facilities in Belgium and China. More
ProBuild Holdings, Denver, CO, supplier of building materials to professional contractors, has purchased Fort Lauderdale, FL.-based Rosen Building Supplies, supplier of drywall and related products to commercial and residential building markets. Pro-Build Holdings has also acquired Lumber Inc., Albuquerque, NM, distributor of lumber, flooring and roof trusses. More
Freudenberg has agreed to sell its European and U.S. brake hose business, Flexitech, to Mitsubishi Corp. and Meiji Flow Systems. Flexitech had sales in Europe and the U.S. of & euro; 80 million in 2006. More
SKF will build a factory near Moscow in Russia for taper bearing units to supply the fast-growing Russian railway market. The factory will also have a channel dedicated to the reconditioning of bearings. In an effort to reduce costs, SKF will close its manufacturing facility in Glasgow, KY, and reduce the number of employees at the Fontenay-le-Comte facility in France. The company is moving its Kentucky production to Mexico. More
Industrial Controls Distributors LLC, Wanamassa, NJ, distributor of HVAC controls, process instrumentation and industrial automated valves, has merged with Piedmont Instruments and Controls, Charlotte, NC. Piedmont will integrate with Industrial Controls’Charlotte operation to cover North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. More
Descartes Systems Group, Waterloo, Ontario, a global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions provider, has acquired Burnsville, MN-based RouteView Technologies, Inc., for $3 million. RouteView provides map-based routing software solutions with wireless/GPS and automated call-out technology to small- and medium-sized organizations. More
To broaden the company’s position in the voice, data and video channel, Textron Inc.’s Greenlee business unit has acquired Paladin Tools, Oilville, VA, a provider of tools and accessories for the telecom, datacom and wiring industries. More
Air Liquide is planning to expand and modernize its production capabilities in Europe to the tune of & euro; 2 billion a year through 2011. The industrial gases company will build three new air separation units (ASU) in response to needs of ArcelorMittal and two industrial areas in France. More
Actuant Corp., Milwaukee, WI, reported sales of $415 million in the first quarter 2007, a 21 percent increase from the prior year. The manufacturer had 3 percent organic growth. More
Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, revenues increased 16.6 percent in the three months ended Nov. 30, 2007. Organic growth was 2.5 percent. International base revenues were up 5 percent while North American revenues grew less than 1 percent. More
Industrial production increased 0.3  ; percent in November. Capacity utilization for total industry edged up, to 81.5 percent, a rate slightly above its year-earlier level and 0.5 percentage point above its average. More
Wholesale prices rose 3.2 percent in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The gain followed increases of 0.1 percent in October and 1.1 percent in September. More
Canadian manufacturing sales edged up  ; 0.1 percent in October, basically holding steady after decreasing in five of the six previous months. Sales of manufactured goods increased  ; $38  ; million, reaching  ; $50.2  ; billion from  ; $50.1  ; billion in September. More
U.S. distributors’sales of PT/MC products have fluctuated all year, with six out of ten months of positive growth in sales, according to the Power Transmission Distributors Association’s October 2007 trend data.  ; October sales came in at 5.3 percent over September sales. More
Real gross domestic product