Parker Hannifin, Cleveland, OH, motion and control technologies supplier, today announced has acquired the Texas Thermowell Industries, Beaumont, TX, business of Bravura, Ltd., a manufacturer of temperature sensing protection equipment.  ; More
Electrical manufacturer Legrand, based in France, is buying TCL Wuxi, a Chinese manufacturer specialized in modular and high-current circuit-breakers. The move reinforces Legrand’s presence in China. Legrand is already active in the energy-distribution segment in China. More
Ingersoll-Rand Company Ltd. has sold its Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments business units to Doosan Infracore for $4.9 billion. The combined businesses manufacture and sell compact equipment, including skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, mini-excavators and telescopic tool handlers; portable air compressors, generators, and light towers; general-purpose light construction equipment; and attachments. More
Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, reported revenue growth of 15.6% for the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2007. Base revenues were up 2.2%, due to strength in international markets. North American organic growth was flat in the quarter.  ; More  ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;   ;
Myers Industries, Inc., Akron, OH, reported sales from continuing operations for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, were up 15% to $213.9 million. The sales increase includes $29.5 million from the acquisition of ITML Horticultural Products and sales of $8 million from the purchase of material handling lines from Schoeller Arca Systems Inc. North America. More
According to various news reports, 84 Lumber is closing 12 stores in nine states. A spokesman says that all but two of the closing are due to consolidation in markets in the U.S. 84 Lumber is leaving Redding, CA, and Manchester, TN, due to a steep drop in housing starts in those markets. More
The Timken Company, Canton, OH, is establishing a joint venture with Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer Xiangtan Electrica Manufacturing Co. Ltd. to manufacture ultra-large-bore bearings for main rotor shafts of multi-megawatt wind turbines. The turbines are for the Chinese wind energy market. China has a goal of generating 30 million kilowatts of power from wind energy systems by 2020. The joint venture will build a $38 million facility in Xiantan, in China’s Hunan province. Construction will begin in 2008. More
Ross Valve Manufacturing Co., Troy, NY, has acquired Troy Die Cutting Co., Troy, NY. Ross Valve hopes the deal will trim costs and spur new product development, according to the Albany, NY, Business Review. Ross Valve, which designs, manufactures and services automatic control valves, anticipates making more acquisitions. The company is a fifth-generation family-run business. More energy-related segments. More
SKF and GE Aviation have agreed to establish a new company that will manufacture and repair bearings for GE’s engines for large aircrafts. The new company, with SKF holding 51 percent and GE Aviation 49 percent, will be consolidated into the SKF Group and represents an investment of $28 million. More
TECSYS Inc., Montreal, (TSX: TCS), supply chain management software company, has acquired Streamline Information Systems Limited, a Brantford, Ontario-based software supplier in the industrial distribution sector, for CDN$1.4 million. More
The ERIKS Group has agreed to buy Wielens Beheer B.V. in Groningen, the Netherlands. Wielens sells electromechanical power transmission equipment parts and services. Wielens serves mainly the industrial maintenance market (MRO) and has annual sales of & euro; 22 million.  ; More
U.S. distributors’sales of Power Transmission/Motion Control products continue to fluctuate, dropping 5.5 percent from August to September after a 9.9 percent increase in sales the prior month, according to the September 2007 month-end trend data from the Power Transmission Distributors Association. More
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index for current North American conditions rebounded sharply in November, rising by more than 15 points from a month earlier. At 52.2, the index signaled the first month-to-month improvement in business conditions since April. By contrast, the future conditions index for North America lost ground on the month, slipping to 40 from 42.6 a month ago. 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 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2007, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  ; In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent. More
Industrial rubber and elastomer product supplier Redwood Plastics Corp., a division of The Redco Group, has acquired BC Rubber Supply Ltd., Langley, BC. Redwood Plastics has seven branches and two manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and in Canada.  ; More
Atlanta-based Zep Inc. says it is looking for opportunities in independent distribution channels to grow its core business in industrial and institutional cleaning and maintenance chemicals. The company named HD Supply and Grainger as examples of distributors they could sell through.  ; More
Beacon Roofing Supply Inc., Peabody, MA, reported sales grew 9.7 percent to $1.65 billion in fiscal 2007, reflecting acquisitions made during the year. Existing market sales fell 4.8 percent, with decreases in residential roofing and complementary building product sales. More
Cooper Industries, Ltd., Houston, TX, has acquired Hyundai Explosion-Proof Electric Company, a South Korea-based manufacturer of explosion-proof electrical equipment. HEPEC specializes in explosion-proof Glass Reinforced Plastic lighting, control panels and switchgear and its products are complementary to the current Cooper Crouse-Hinds product offerings. More
UK-based Wolseley plc will be laying off 1,300 more workers in the U.S. in its second quarter; the global building materials and plumbing distributor reduced headcount by 1,700 in the three months ended Oct. 31, 2007. In total to date, layoffs represent a third of Stock Building Supply workforce and 10 percent of the Ferguson work force. More
Noland Company, Newport News, VA, has cut 45 jobs across the company over the past month due to the national housing downturn, according to the local paper, the Daily Press. Noland, bought by WinWholesale, Dayton, OH, in 2005, sells plumbing and HVAC supplies to construction end-markets. More
HD Supply has reportedly agreed to sell its Lumber and Building Materials unit to Pro-Build Holdings Inc. The unit includes 19 lumberyards in the Atlanta area and 20 in Florida.  ; More
WESCO International, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, provider of electrical MRO products and construction materials, has acquired Monti Electric Supply Inc., Waveland, MS. Monti Electric has three branch locations and annual sales of $20 million. More
Suncoast Roofers Supply Inc., Tampa, FL, has filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection. In its bankruptcy filings, the roofing supplies distributor reported a 57 percent decline in sales over 2006 due to the decline in housing and related markets. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, sales were about $100 million. More
Graybar, St. Louis, MO, distributor of communications and electrical products, has been awarded a new, three-year U.S. Communities Program contract effective Jan. 1, 2008. The company forecasts sales of more than $100 million through the program in 2008. More
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Wright Welding Supply, Inc., an industrial gas and welding supply distributor in Des Moines, IA, and two other distributors in Texas and British Columbia. Together, the three transactions add $22 million in acquired annual sales.  ; More
Construction spending during October 2007 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,158.3 billion, 0.8 percent below the revised September estimate of $1,168.0 billion, according to  ; the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce. More
Total transportation and logistics deal volume for 2007 is on pace to exceed 2006 levels, according to Intersections, PricewaterhouseCoopers’quarterly report on M & A in the global transportation and logistics industry. This may be due in part to the effects of the decline in debt market liquidity and stock market volatility felt by financial investors. More
Manufacturing expanded in November, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The rate of growth in the sector however was down slightly compared with October. The PMI registered 50.8 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point. A reading above 50 percent indicates manufacturing expanded; below 50 percent indicates a contraction. More
Lincoln Electric, Cleveland, OH, has acquired Vernon Tool Company Inc., a San Diego, CA-based manufacturer of computer-controlled pipe cutting equipment used for precision fabrication. Vernon Tool’s annual sales are about $9 million. Its customer base is in industrial construction as well as infrastructure and
