MDM News Digest 3811 - Modern Distribution Management

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MDM News Digest 3811

Grainger's Canadian subsidiary Acklands-Grainger Inc. has acquired Excel Industriel, Granby, Quebec. Excel is a business-to-business broad line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies. The company expects an incremental sales contribution of $11 million from the acquisition over the next 12 months. More
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has agreed to buy Energy Safety Services Inc., doing business as Oilind Safety, based in Phoenix, AZ. The provider of rental safety equipment and safety services had $21 million in sales in 2007. Oilind Safety will operate as a stand-alone company within a new Airgas organization that includes construction and rental businesses. <a ...
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Grainger’s Canadian subsidiary Acklands-Grainger Inc. has acquired Excel Industriel, Granby, Quebec. Excel is a business-to-business broad line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies. The company expects an incremental sales contribution of $11 million from the acquisition over the next 12 months. More
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has agreed to buy Energy Safety Services Inc., doing business as Oilind Safety, based in Phoenix, AZ. The provider of rental safety equipment and safety services had $21 million in sales in 2007. Oilind Safety will operate as a stand-alone company within a new Airgas organization that includes construction and rental businesses. More
WinWholesale Inc., Dayton, OH, has opened three Winnelson locations on the East Coast and in the Southeast. The new Winnelson companies provide plumbing supplies, equipment and accessories to residential and commercial plumbing contractors. WinWholesale Inc. is a supplier of domestic and industrial supplies and materials. More
WinWholesale has opened the first renewable energy resources company in the Win Group of Companies. The company –Framingham Winsupply Company, Holliston, MA -will focus on the renewable energy market by providing contractors with photovoltaic, solar thermal, geothermal and wind turbine products for residential and commercial use. More
LLR Partners Inc. will buy Singer Equities, Inc., owner of five industrial rubber distributors: Allied Rubber and Rigging, Hampton Rubber Company, National Hose and Accessory, PRC Industrial Supply and R/W Connection. Singer Equities sells hoses, belts, fittings, gasket materials and other specialty items. LLR Partners, a private equity firm based in Philadelphia, PA, provides capital to middle market growth companies. More
At the end of May, Atlas Copco Compressors LLC, in the U.S., purchased Gulf Atlantic Equipment Company in Florida, and Compressed Air Products in Georgia. Both companies were Atlas Copco compressor distributors. The distributors will keep their names for an interim period and will become part of the southern region within Atlas Copco Compressors LLC, in U.S. The distributors together employ about 60 people. More
EnPro Industries, Charlotte, NC, has acquired Air Perfection, Inc., Dixon, CA. Air Perfection distributes compressed air products, including those made by Quincy Compressor, an EnPro Industries company, and it will be operated as a unit of Quincy. EnPro Industries, Inc. is a supplier of sealing products, metal polymer and filament wound bearings, compressor systems and components, diesel and dual-fuel engines and other engineered products. More
As of May 30, Dutch seals distributor ERIKS held 95 percent of shares in valve manufacturer Royal Econosto NV. The distributor will buy the company for €8.21 a share. ERIKS and Econosto terminated the listing of Econosto on Euronext Amsterdam. More
France-based Schneider Electric has agreed to buy RAM Industries, Leesport, PA, a supplier of engineered control systems to HVAC&R machine manufacturers. The acquisition will strengthen Schneider’s automation offering into the OEM market. It also strengthens its position in the energy efficiency segment. RAM has facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and China. More
RBC Bearings Inc., Oxford, CT, international manufacturer ofPrice Index (IPPI), rose 1.4 percent. While down slightly from the 1.8 percent increase observed in March, the growth in prices remained strong for a second consecutive month, pushing the IPPI above its last historical peak reached in April 2007. This increase was almost entirely driven by petroleum and coal products, which continued their upward climb with an increase of 7.9 percent, similar to the rate recorded in March. More
New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $1.0 billion or 0.5 percent to $214.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This was the third decrease in four months and followed a 0.3 percent March decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 2.5 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.3 percent. Transportation equipment, down three of the last four months, had the largest decrease of 8 percent to $56.1 billion. More
Construction spending in April 2008 was estimated to be 0.4 percent below March, according to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. April 2008 was also 3.9 percent below the April 2007. Both private and public construction reported lower rates for April 2008. More
The total value of building permits in Canada was up strongly in April as construction intentions rose in all provinces and in both the residential and non-residential sectors. Contractors took out $6.4 billion worth of permits in April, up 14.5 percent from March and the highest level since October 2007. Permits have seen a downward trend since last summer. More
The total value of residential construction investment in Canada reached $19.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 7.5 percent compared with the first quarter of 2007. The favorable job situation, growth in disposable income, flexible financing options and the strength of the economy in Western Canada continued to support demand for housing. The biggest increases in residential investment occurred in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. More
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 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. More
China‘s trade surplus declined by 8 percent from January-April 2008 compared year-over-year with 2007, the result of higher oil prices and other crude materials imports. The surplus for manufactures surged by 34 percent, according to a Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI analysis of Chinese trade data for the first four months of the year. China’s worldwide trade surplus in manufactured goods is on track to rise from $444 billion in 2007 to $586 billion in 2008. More
Following sharp drops a month ago, NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Indexes (EBCI) for both current and future North American conditions rebounded in May. The EBCI for current North American conditions, after tumbling to 27.3 in April, sprang back to 48. More
Canadian wholesalers reported a modest rebound in sales in March, helped by higher deliveries of building supplies and machinery and electronic equipment. Sales increased by an estimated 0.6 percent to $42.7 billion, recouping some of the 2.1 percent decline reported in February. More

U.S. distributors’overall sales of PT/MC products climbed 6.4% in April 2008 compared to March 2008, according to April 2008 month-end trend data from the Power Transmission Distributors Association. When matched up against sales in the same month last year, sales were up 11.5%. Canadian distributors’sales gained 8.6% in April 2008. Sales over the same period last year were up 6.6%. 

U.S. manufacturers’sales declined in April 2008, with a 2.7% loss compared to March 2008. Sales in April 2008 climbed 2.1% compared to April 2007. Canadian manufacturer’s sales declined slightly in April 2008 with a 0.4% loss compared to March 2008. Sales were down 2% when compared to the same period last year. More

Premier Farnell, a UK-based industrial distributor, reported sales in the first quarter 2008 were up 6 percent to £199 million (US$389 million at current exchange rates). Sales in China were up 57 percent, and sales in Eastern Europe and India were up 60 percent. Web sales were up 31 percent year-on-year. More

Rexnord LLC, Milwaukee, WI, a diversified industrial company with platforms in power transmission and water management products, reported sales in the fiscal 2008 were up 47.6 percent to $1.85 billion, due to acquisitions. Core sales growth was 9.1 percent. More
RBC Bearings Inc., Oxford, CT, international manufacturer of highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense and aerospace industries, reported sales for fiscal 2008 were $330.6 million, an increase of 8 percent from 2007. Excluding the impact of the decrease in the class 8 heavy truck market, sales rose 12 percent. Profit for fiscal 2008 was $40.2 million, compared with $28.5 million in the same period a year ago. More
  highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense and aerospace industries, has acquired Precision Industrial Components LLC (PIC Design), Middlebury, CT, for $6.6 million in cash and assumption of debt. More
For the second time this year, Veyance Technologies, Inc., Birmingham, AL, is broadening its conveyor belt installation, splice and repair service footprint to support coal producers. The manufacturer of Goodyear Engineered Products has agreed to buy National Belt Service, or NBS, based in Bessemer, AL, with additional operations in Wheeling and Charleston, WV, and Atlanta, GA. In February, Veyance bought Monk Mining Supply, a coal mining conveyor belt service company based in Tazewell, VA. More
Parker Hannifin Corp., Cleveland, OH, manufacturer in motion and control technologies, has acquired Titan Industries, South Gate, CA, a manufacturer of industrial rubber, custom and composite hoses as well as related products. Titan will be integrated into the Industrial Hose Products Division, part of Parker’s Fluid Connectors Group. More
Swedish supplier Alfa Laval -manufacturer in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling -has acquired Melrose Park, IL-based Standard Refrigeration, a supplier of shell-and-tube heat exchangers for refrigeration, air-conditioning and industrial applications in the North American market. Standard Refrigeration had annual sales of about SEK 220 million (US$36 million) and 185 employees in two locations in the U.S. More
Gates Corp., Denver, CO, is restructuring its belt manufacturing facilities in North America and closing its Moncks Corner, SC, belt plant. Production from the plant will be absorbed into its other North American belt production facilities. The Moncks Corner plant closing is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2009. More
Swedish manufacturer Atlas Copco has opened a new plant in Wuxi, China. The plant replaces an old factory and adds capacity. The facility will manufacture diamond bits for regional markets, as well as casing shoes and reaming shells for global markets. The new facility belongs to Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Exploration Equipment Ltd in the Atlas Copco Geotechnical Drilling and Exploration division. More
April U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $396.47 million, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 27.6 percent from March, but up 29.2 percent from the total of $306.86 million reported for April 2007. Year-to-date, 2008 is up 19.9 percent compared with 2007. More

Manufacturing failed to grow in May, according to the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI fell below 50 percent for the fourth consecutive month. In relative terms, May was down slightly from April as the rate of contraction in manufacturing slowed. The Production Index was a bright spot as it moved above 50 percent after declining for two months. Exports continue strong due to the weak dollar — without the weak dollar the story would be much more negative in manufacturing. More
In April, indexes for manufactured goods and raw materials prices reached record levels in Canada. From March to April, prices charged by Canadian manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product

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