Distributor News
Chicago-based Grainger reported daily sales for May 2013 increased 5 percent versus May 2012. U.S. daily sales were up 6 percent. More

Grainger plans to expand in Chicago’s Citigroup Center, supporting the distributor’s planned growth of an additional 300 IT and e-commerce new hires in the next several years. Grainger is the 15th largest e-retailer in North America, according to Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide. More

HD Supply, Atlanta, GA, reported sales for the first quarter ended May 5, 2013, of $2.1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 12.6 percent. The distributor reported a loss of $131 million, compared with a year-ago loss of $360 million. More

HD Supply has commenced its initial public offering of common stock. The price is expected to be between $22 and $25 a share, according to an HD Supply news release, and the distributor plans to use the proceeds to pay off debt. More

The Fastenal Co. of Winona, MN, reported sales for May of $289.4 million, up 5.3 percent over May 2012. Daily sales averaged $13.1 million, also up 5.3 percent from a year ago. More

Houston-based GHX Industrial, a subsidiary of The United Distribution Group, has acquired Flowline Components Inc. and Flowline OEM Group Inc. Flowline operating in Maryland and Pennsylvania, is a distributor of fabricated hose and MRO products. More

Houston-based industrial PVF distributor MRC Global Inc. has agreed to acquire Dan H. Brown Inc., known as Flow Control Products, Odessa, TX. Flow Control is a provider of pneumatic, electric and electro-hydraulic valve automation packages. More

Jergens Industrial Supply, Cleveland, OH, a division of Jergens Inc., has acquired certain assets of Gray Industrial Supply, excluding the high pressure hydraulic equipment distribution and service center but including web-based Spectrum Supply. More

Stock Building Supply Holdings Inc., Raleigh, NC, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined. More

French private equity firm Eurazeo announced the sale of 28.1 million shares of global electrical distributor Rexel. The sale by holding company Ray Investment represents about a 10 percent stake in Rexel and is valued at €500 million (US$653.3 million). More

Production Tool Supply, Warren, MI, has acquired Specialty Tool of Ft. Wayne and Indianapolis, IN. Specialty Tool provides an assortment of industrial supplies including cutting tools, abrasives, coolants and MRO products. More

Paris-based Air Liquide has agreed to acquire Voltaix Inc., a U.S.-based electronics materials company. Voltaix is a manufacturer of materials used in the production of semiconductor devices and advanced solar cells. More

H.B. Fuller Co., St. Paul, MN, has acquired Plexbond Quimica S/A, a provider of chemical polyurethane specialties and polyester resins based in Curitiba, Brazil. More

Private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners, Evanston, IL, has acquired Western Tool Supply in Salem, OR, via its platform company Carlson Systems. More

Singer Equities, Inc., Glen Burnie, MD, has acquired Stewart-Hunt Inc., Burlington, MA, a fluid power distributor specializing in hydraulic pumps, motors, cylinders and various other hydraulic components. More

C.H. Briggs Company, Reading, PA, a distributor of interior and specialty building products in the U.S., has opened a new 28,000 square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Norcross, GA. More

MRO distributor Stellar Industrial Supply, Tacoma, WA, has agreed to acquire cutting tools provider BC Tool & Carbide Inc. of Upland, CA. More

Building products distributor ABC Supply Co. Inc., Beloit, WI, has acquired the inventory and select equipment previously owned by JB Supply Co., a distributor of roofing, siding and other exterior building products in Flint, MI. More

Kaman Industrial Technologies, Bloomfield, CT, has agreed to acquire Northwest Hose & Fittings Inc., Spokane, WA. More

Praxair Offshore Services Limited, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, has acquired Aberdeen, Scotland-based Dominion Technology Gases Investment Limited, a global supplier of diving, welding, industrial, laboratory and calibration gases. More

IBT Industrial Solutions, Merriam, KS, has acquired Sheppard Supply Co., Springfield, MO. More

Sonepar, Paris, France, reported sales for 2012 of €16.3 billion (US$21 billion), up 10 percent over sales in 2011. Organically, group sales increased 2.4 percent in 2012. More

Economic News
The Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute for Supply Management registered 49 percent in May, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from April. More

April U.S. manufacturing technology orders were $372.5 million, according to The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total was down 26.6 percent from March and down 12.6 percent from April 2012. With a year-to-date total of $1.7 billion, 2013 is down 7 percent compared with 2012. More