Distributor News

Global electrical distributor Rexel has agreed to acquire Platt Electric Supply, Beaverton, OR, a distributor of electrical products & services in the Western U.S. This acquisition represents an investment of about 300 million (enterprise value) for Rexel. More

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc., Peabody, MA, has agreed to acquire Cassady Pierce Company, a distributor of residential and commercial roofing products and related accessories headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. More

Beacon Roofing Supply reported sales for the second quarter were $395.2 million, up 33.4 percent year-over-year. Profit was $3.1 million compared to a year-ago net loss of $6.2 million. For the first six months of the fiscal year, sales increased 26.2 percent to $885 million. Profit was $22.3 million. More

Hydradyne LLC, New Orleans, LA, a fluid power and motion control products distributor, has acquired Allen Orton LLC. More

Tanner Fasteners & Industrial Supplies, Brooklyn, NY, has acquired City Sprint Safety & Supply, Long Island City, NY. More

Global HVAC distributor Wolseley completed the sale of Bathstore, its U.K. retail business, to a newly incorporated company backed by Endless LLP for £15 million (US$24.1 million). More

Oilind Safety Inc. has changed its name to Airgas On-Site Safety Services Inc. Airgas, Radnor, PA, acquired Oilind Safety in 2008. More

Edgen Group Inc., Baton Rouge, LA, reported pro forma sales for its first quarter were $505.8 million, up 55 percent over sales a year ago. Pro forma profit was $4 million, compared to a year-ago loss of $6 million. More

Graybar, St. Louis, MO, reported first-quarter sales of $1.28 billion, a year-over-year increase of 7.8 percent. Profit increased 41.9 percent to $16.4 million. More

Grainger, Chicago, IL, reported daily sales for April increased 12 percent versus April 2011. Results for the month included a 5 percentage point contribution from acquisitions. More

Interline Brands, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, reported first-quarter sales were $313.6 million, up 5.4 percent from last year. Profit increased 8.7 percent to $7.5 million. More

MRC Global Inc., Houston, TX, first-quarter sales of $1.38 billion were up 39 percent from 1Q2011. Profit was $37.5 million, compared to a year-ago net loss of $1.1 million. More

Economic News

March U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $495.97 million, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 11.3 percent from February, but down 1.4 percent when compared with the total of $502.89 million reported for March 2011. With a year-to-date total of $1.35 billion, 2012 is up 12.9 percent compared with 2011. More

Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 717,000, 2.6 percent above March and 29.9 percent above April 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. More

Industrial production increased 1.1 percent in April. At 97.4 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production for April was 5.2 percent above its year-earlier level. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry moved up to 79.2 percent. More

The 1Q2012 PTDA Business Index was at 75.4, the eighth consecutive quarter for business growth among Power Transmission Distributors Association members. The reading in the fourth quarter of 2011 was 67.3. More

Wholesale prices fell 0.2 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices for finished goods were unchanged in March and increased 0.4 percent in February. More

Manufacturer News

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., Cleveland, OH, has acquired Wayne Trail Technologies, Inc., a privately held Ohio-based manufacturer. Terms were not disclosed. More

Precision Castparts Corp., Portland, OR, reported fourth-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, a 16 percent increase year-over-year. Profit increased 24.8 percent to $338.4 million. Fiscal-year sales were $7.2 billion, a 16 percent increase. Year-end profit increased 20.7 percent to $1.2 billion. More

Brady Corp., Milwaukee, WI, reported third-quarter sales of $331.6 million, down 1.9 percent. Profit decreased to $27.7 million from $28.6 million. For the first nine months, sales were $1 billion, a 0.5 percent decrease. More

Allied Motion Technologies Inc., Denver, CO, reported first-quarter sales of $26.8 million, up slightly from $26.7 million last year. Profit fell 4.5 percent to $1.16 million. More

Rexnord Corp., Milwaukee, WI, reported sales for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012, were up 19 percent to $546 million. Profit was $9 million. Sales for the year were up 16 percent to $1.97 billion. More

Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Nashville, TN, reported first-quarter sales of $362 million, a year-over-year increase of 9 percent. Loss from continuing operations was $11 million, versus a $23 million loss for the prior-year period. More

The Home Depot, Atlanta, GA, reported first-quarter sales of $17.8 billion, up 5.9 percent over the same period a year ago. Profit grew 23.2 percent to $1 billion. More