sales growth was 10.9 percent. For the first nine months of fiscal 2008, Rexnord had 9.5 percent core sales growth, with sales of $1.3 billion. More
St. Louis-based Emerson reported sales for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, were $5.6 billion, an increase of 12 percent over the same period last year. Organic sales growth in the U.S. was 5 percent and underlying international sales increased 9 percent, including 16 percent growth in Asia. More
Donaldson Company, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, has acquired LMC West, Riverbank, CA, a manufacturer of industrial dust collection and filtration systems. LMC West had annual sales of $10 million in 2007. More
WESCO International, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, provider of electrical MRO products, construction materials, and integrated supply services, reported sales for the full year 2007 were up 13 percent to $6 billion. Profit was $241 million. In the fourth quarter, organic growth was 2.8 percent. More
3M, St. Paul, MN, reported 2007 sales of $24.5 billion, up 7 percent from a year ago. Profit was $4.1 billion, up 6 percent. Sales for the full year were driven by a 7.3 percent increase in local-currency sales, including acquisitions. Sales in the international operations grew 10 percent and now constitute 63 percent of the company’s total. More
Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire &cable and a distributor of fasteners and other small parts, reported sales for 2007 were $5.85 billion, up 13 percent on an organic basis. Profit was $253.5 million. More
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc., Peabody, MA, reported sales were up 4.8 percent to $398.4 million in the first quarter 2008 ended Dec. 31, 2007. The jump was thanks to acquisitions. More
New orders for manufactured durable goods in December increased $11.2 billion or 5.2 percent to $226.6 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was the second consecutive monthly increase and followed a 0.5 percent November increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 2.6 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 2.9 percent. More
Diversified global manufacturer Carlisle Companies Inc., Charlotte, NC, has acquired Dinex International, Inc., a supplier of foodservice products to the healthcare and other institutional industries. With annual sales of $85 million, Dinex supplies traytop smallwares, dishware, disposable lids and packaging as well as heating and meal delivery systems. More
Material handling equipment manufacturer Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst, NY, reported sales for its fiscal 2008 third quarter were $155.2 million, up 9.3 percent. MoreHD Supply, Orlando, FL, will not move forward with its deal to sell its HVAC business to Watsco, Coconut Grove, FL, HD Supply spokeswoman Erica Crosling confirmed to MDM. The potential sales of the HVAC business to Watsco was always dependent up on a transaction that was beneficial for our customers and associates, and maximized value for the company,”Crosling said. “After carefully weighing the options and taking these concerns into consideration, we have decided to retain and grow our HVAC business.”More
ProBuild Holdings, Denver, CO, supplier of building materials to professional contractors, has finalized its purchase of substantially all of the assets of Atlanta, GA-based HD Supply Lumber and Building Materials. HD Supply Lumber and Building Materials operates 39 lumberyards in Georgia and Florida, seven truss plants, a construction services division and 10 engineered lumber production facilities. More
ProBuild has acquired North Atlanta-based Jasper Lumber Company. Jasper comprises a lumber yard, truss and millwork manufacturing facility in Kennesaw and a lumber distribution business in Cumming. More
Chicago, IL-based Grainger, distributor of facilities maintenance supplies, has released its 2008 catalog featuring more than 183,000 facilities maintenance products, 44,000 more items than last year. The distributor added more than 4,000 power transmission products including bearings, couplings, linear motion products and belts; 9,000 raw materials products such as metal, plastic, rubber and felt; 4,200 fleet maintenance products such as lift equipment, battery chargers and accessories; and 30,000 more products spread across product categories including plumbing, electrical, tools and material handling. More
Grainger reported sales of $6.4 billion in the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, up 9 percent from 2006. Profit was $420 million, up 10 percent. More
Gexpro has agreed to acquire Beacon Electric Supply, San Diego, CA. The acquisition is Gexpro’s first since Rexel bought the company. Gexpro was GE Supply. Beacon Electric has sales of more than $50 million. More
Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Worcester, MA, has acquired Moyco Precision Abrasives, Inc. of Montgomeryville, PA. Moyco makes coated abrasive products for lapping, grinding and polishing. More
WinWholesale, Dayton, OH, has opened Gulf Coast Winnelson Company in Port Charlotte, FL, to provide plumbing contractors in five counties with a complete line of equipment, parts and accessories. Gulf Coast is the second Winnelson company to open in 2008 in Florida. More
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Merriam-Graves Corp., an independent distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related supplies operating in 25 locations in New England and New York. The acquired business generated $47 million in revenues in 2007. More
Airgas reported sales of $1 billion in the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, an increase of 28 percent. More
DXP Enterprises, Inc. has acquired Rocky Mtn. Supply, Inc., Greeley, CO, a distributor of bearings, power transmission, belting, industrial and hydraulic hose, and industrial supplies. The business operates out of six locations in Colorado. DXP paid $4.6 million. More
News that the Fed would again cut rates, this time 0.5 percentage points to 3 percent, was preceded by news that the gross domestic product growth was slower than expected in the fourth quarter 2007, at 0.6 percent. The number is based on advance estimates and will be updated Feb. 28, 2008, using more complete data. More
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The PMI rose 2.3 percentage points, signaling stronger performance in January when compared to December. This represents a return to the recent trend of slow growth in manufacturing, as the PMI has averaged 50.2 percent for the past six months. More
Total transportation and logistics deal volume reached a 20-year high with 1,291 deals in 2007, toppling the prior record reached in 2006, according to Intersections, PricewaterhouseCoopers’quarterly report on M&A in the global transportation and logistics industry. Despite the record number of deals, total deal value in 2007 experienced a significant drop to $83 billion. More
The value of building permits hit another record high in 2007, thanks to widespread strong gains across
For 2007, Canadian manufacturers received an average of 1.5% more for their products in 2007 than in 2006, which was much less than the 2.3% increase received in 2006, Statistics Canada reported. The Industrial Product Price Index was mainly propelled by the prices for primary metal products. Raw material prices were up an average of 7.7% in 2007 compared with the 11.3% increase in 2006. This rise in prices was mainly attributable to the increase for non-ferrous metals.
Regal Beloit Corp., Beloit, WI, reported sales for 2007 were up 11.3 percent to $1.8 billion, including $129.7 million from acquired businesses. Profit was $118.3 million, a 7.8 percent increase. For the fourth quarter, sales were $474.7 million from $366.6 million in the same period in 2006. More
French electrical supplier Legrand reported sales were up 10.5 percent in 2007, with profit up 67 percent. Recent acquisitions added 3.6 percent in growth, and variations in exchange rates, mainly the euro vs. the dollar, had a negative impact of 1.8 percent. In the past three years, Legrand has acquired 15 companies. More
Huttig Building Products, Inc., St. Louis, MO, distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products, reported a net loss for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, of $8 million, compared with a net loss of $7.7 million in the prior year. Sales fell 21 percent to $874.8 million. More
Rexnord LLC, diversified producer of power transmission and water management products, reported sales for the third quarter were $449.1 million, an increase of 58.6 percent over the prior-year quarter. Consolidated core
