Alamo Iron Works Inc, San Antonio, TX, has filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection, according to an announcement on its website. Alamo Iron Works will use Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection to allow for a sale of the company’s assets to Industrial Distribution Group, Charlotte, NC. IDG is owned by Texas-based investment group Luther King Capital Management. More

Industrial distributor Kaman Industrial Technologies Corp., a subsidiary of Kaman Corp. (Nasdaq: KAMN), Bloomfield, CT, has acquired Minarik Corp. for $39 million. The transaction closed on April 30, 2010. Minarik, Glendale, CA, is a national distributor of motion control and automation products. Minarik operates from 16 branch locations in many of the high tech manufacturing markets in the U.S. The company had sales of $84 million during the year ended Dec. 31, 2009. More

Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG), Radnor, PA, distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and related supplies, reported sales in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010, were $980 million. Total same-store sales from the prior-year period were down 3 percent, with hardgoods down 2 percent, and gas and rent down 3 percent. Acquisitions contributed 2 percent sales growth in the quarter. Profit for the quarter was $40.1 million. Airgas’ earnings did see an impact from legal fees related to the Air Products’ takeover attempt. More

Phoenix, AZ-based electronics distributor Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) has agreed to acquire the Tallard Technologies companies, part of Itautec S.A. – Grupo Itautec. Tallard is a distributor focused on Latin America. From its headquarters in Miami, FL, Tallard distributes servers, software, peripherals, convergence equipment and enterprise integration services directed toward resellers, solution providers and systems integrators. More

Denver, CO-based ProBuild Company LLC, professional building materials supplier, has agreed to buy the assets of Oso Lumber Inc., a building materials supplier based in Arlington, WA. The transaction is expected to close on April 30, 2010. More

IMCO (Independent Medical Co-Op), the cooperative for medical supply distributors in the physician, hospital, nursing home, home health, EMS, industrial and other related markets, announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with IDEA, a business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce solution and professional service provider that has traditionally served electrical distributors. More

Interline Brands Inc., Jacksonville, FL, (NYSE: IBI), distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations products, reported sales for the quarter ended March 26, 2010, were $245.2 million, down 4.5% compared with the prior-year period. More

Lawson Products Inc. (NASDAQ:LAWS), Des Plaines, IL, distributor of products and services to the MRO and OEM marketplaces, reported first quarter sales were $95.1 million, down 4.3% from $99.4 million in the prior year, but up from the fourth quarter 2009. More

Anixter International Inc. (NYSE: AXE), Glenview, IL, distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire & cable, fasteners and other small parts, reported sales of $1.27 billion for the quarter ended April 2, 2010, flat from the year-ago quarter. More

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO), Coconut Grove, FL, reported sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, were $510 million, reflecting $226 million of sales added by Carrier Enterprise. Same-store sales fell 3 percent, reflecting 5 percent growth in sales of air conditioning and heating equipment (46 percent of sales), an 11 percent decrease in other HVAC products (41 percent of sales) and a 1 percent decrease in the sale of refrigeration products (13 percent of sales). More

Industrial distributor Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT), Cleveland, OH, reported sales for the fiscal 2010 third quarter ended March 31, 2010, were up 7.6 percent to $486.1 million from the same period a year ago. Profit for the quarter was up 43 percent to $16.5 million. More

BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BXC), Atlanta, GA, distributor of building products, reported sales for the first quarter ended April 3, 2010, were $431.1 million, up 6 percent from the same period a year ago. Overall unit volume rose 1.4 percent. More

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), Pittsburgh, PA, distributor of electrical and industrial MRO products, construction materials, and integrated supply procurement outsourcing services, reported sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, were $1.14 billion, down 2.6 percent from the prior-year period. More

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) increased 1.3 percent in March, to a seasonally adjusted level of 84.1 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index ticked down 0.1 percent in February to 83.1. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) increased 0.9 percent in March. More

Wholesale prices rose 0.7 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This advance followed a 0.6-percent decline in February and a 1.4-percent increase in January. More

Manufacturing expanded in April, according to the latest Manufacturing Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management. The rate of growth as indicated by the Purchasing Managers Index is the fastest since June 2004 when the index hit 60.5 percent. More

Power transmission/bearings manufacturer The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR), Canton, OH, reported sales of $913.7 million during the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 5 percent over the same period a year ago. Despite weaker demand in certain aerospace and industrial market sectors, higher volume in the company’s mobile end markets drove the overall sales improvement, with contributions from surcharges and currency. More

Emerson (NYSE: EMR), St. Louis, MO, reported sales for the second quarter ended March 31, 2010, were $5.1 billion, an increase of 1 percent from the same quarter a year ago. More

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE: KMT), Latrobe, PA, reported fiscal 2010 third-quarter sales were $493 million, up from $424 million in the prior-year period. Sales were up 16 percent due to an organic increase of 11 percent and a 5 percent favorable impact from foreign currency impacts. Profit was $10.2 million, compared with a loss in the prior-year quarter. More

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK), New Britain, CT, reported sales for the first quarter 2010 were $1.3 billion. The merger of Stanley Works and Black & Decker was completed March 12, 2010. The financials include Black & Decker operations from March 13-April 3. More

Diversified industrial manufacturer Pentair, Inc. (NYSE: PNR), Minneapolis, MN, reported sales for the first quarter 2010 were $707 million, up 12 percent from the same period a year ago. Profit was $35.3million, compared to $17.3 million in the prior year period. More

Stamford, CT-based Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) reported sales for the first quarter 2010 were $263.0 million, down 14.4 percent in a year-over-year comparison. Profit declined 32 percent to $15.8 million. More

3M (NYSE: MMM), St. Paul, MN, reported first-quarter sales were $6.35 billion, an increase of 24.7 percent over first quarter 2009. Profit attributable to the diversified manufacturer improved 79.5 percent to $930 million. Local-currency sales increased 19.8 percent. More

Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL), Charlotte, NC, reported first-quarter sales of $562.0 million, up 6 percent over first quarter 2009. Profit was $24.3 million compared to $6.6 million a year ago. More

Sweden-based Alfa Laval, a manufacturer in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling, reported sales for the first quarter 2010 were SEK 5.4 billion (US$752.2 million), a decrease of 16.9 percent excluding exchange rate variations. Profit declined 19.5 percent to SEK 615 million (US$85.7 million). More

The Alfa Laval Group (STO: ALFA) acquired 65 percent of the shares in Si Fang Stainless Steel Products Co. Ltd. in China. The Chinese company targets the food and beverage market in China More

Sewerin GmbH and 3M, St. Paul, MN, announced an expansion of the strategic alliance between 3M and Sewerin GmbH of Gutersloh, Germany. Under the alliance, 3M will assume the exclusive distribution rights for the sale of Sewerin’s water leak detection product portfolio in the U.S. More

Ingersoll-Rand plc (NYSE: IR), Swords, Ireland, reported sales for the first quarter were $3.0 billion, an increase of 1 percent compared with the 2009 first quarter. Orders increased by 10 percent. Profit for the diversified industrial manufacturer was $1.4 million, compared to a year ago loss of $26.7 million. More

Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has agreed to acquire The Hillman Companies, Inc. (NYSE-Amex: HLM_P), Cincinnati, OH, from Code Hennessy & Simmons, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and certain members of company management. More

Hubbell Inc. (NYSE: HUBA, HUBB), Orange, CT, today reported first quarter sales of $570.5 million, down 3% from first quarter 2009. Revenues from the Burndy acquisition contributed 7 percent to sales. Profit increased 14.2 percent. More

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), Greenwich, CT, reported total revenue for the first quarter was $478 million, a decrease of 18.5 percent for the same period last year. Rental revenue was $380 million. The company recorded a net loss of $40 million for the period, compared to a year-ago loss of $19 million. More

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS), Los Angeles, CA, reported sales for the first quarter 2010 were $1.45 billion, down 7 percent from the prior year same period. Profit was $44.7 million, compared to year-ago profit of $20.1 million. More

Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), Dublin, Ireland, reported first quarter 2010 sales were $1.23 billion, a decline of 2.2 percent from first quarter 2009. Core revenues were down 4.7 percent. Profit increased 18.5 percent to $118.6 million. More

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp (NYSE: ETN), Cleveland, OH, reported first quarter sales of $3.1 billion, an increase of 10% over sales a year ago. Profit was $155 million, compared to a loss of $50 million in first quarter 2009. Organic sales increased 5%. More

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT), Providence, RI, reported sales in the first quarter 2010 were $2.2 billion, down 12.5 percent from last year, reflecting lower deliveries of aircraft and the downsizing of the company’s finance business. More