Interline Brands, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, No. 14 on MDMs list of the top 40 industrial distributors, distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations products, has acquired CleanSource Inc., a distributor of jan-san supplies, for $60.1 million. More

Lawson Products, Des Plaines, IL, No. 21 on MDMs list of the top 40 industrial distributors and distributor of maintenance and repair products, unveiled a line of safety products. The safety line includes 5,000 new items, with a range of personal protective equipment, including head, face, eye and respiratory protection and other facility and work zone safety products. The line includes brands such as 3M, Ansell, Crews, E-A-R, North and Uvex. More

Lawson Products reported sales for the third quarter were $89.3 million, an increase of 6.2 percent over the third quarter of 2009. Growth was primarily due to increased sales with strategic, government and automotive customers. Profit more than doubled to $3.43 million, compared to $1.5 million a year ago. More

Airgas Inc., Radnor, PA, No. 4 on MDM’s list of the top 40 industrial distributors, reported sales for the second quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, were $1.06 billion, an increase of 10 percent over the same period a year ago. Second-quarter sales were up 1 percent over first quarter. Profit increased 22.2 percent to $66.6 million. Compared to the prior year, same-store sales increased 9 percent in the quarter, with hardgoods up 12 percent and gas and rent up 7 percent. Acquisitions contributed 1 percent to growth over the prior year. For the first six months, sales were $2.11 billion, up 8.2 percent over the prior year same period. Profit increased 20.1 percent to $131.4 million.

Following the earnings announcement, the Airgas Board of Directors sent a letter to John McGlade, president and CEO of Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Lehigh Valley, PA, reiterating the boards view that Air Products offer of $65.50 per share for the distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases is grossly inadequate. The letter restated the boards willingness to authorize negotiations at a per share price in excess of $70. More

Air Products reported sales of $2.35 billion for the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, an increase of 10.3 percent over the same period a year ago. Profit increased 11.6 percent to $272.1 million. For fiscal 2010, sales of $9.02 billion increased 9 percent on higher volumes. Profit was $1.03 billion, compared to year-ago profit of $631.3 million. More

Houston, TX-based Hisco, No. 31 on MDMs list of the top 40 industrial distributors, has opened a new Canadian division, HiscoCan, Inc. Located in the greater Toronto area, HiscoCan will service the Canadian electronics assembly and industrial markets. More

Kaman Corp. , Bloomfield, CT, No. 3 on MDMs list of the top power transmission/bearing distributors, reported third-quarter sales of $359.5 million, an increase of 24 percent over the same period a year ago. Profit increased 64.4 percent to $15.8 million. More

DXP Enterprises, Inc., Houston, TX, No. 4 on MDMs list of the top Power Transmission/Bearing distributors, reported sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, were $172.2 million, up 20.1 percent from the prior-year period. Profit was $5.34 million. More

Applied Industrial Technologies, Cleveland, OH, reported sales for the first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, were $527.5 million, an increase of 20.5 percent over the comparable period a year ago. Profit increased 85.5 percent to $20.8 million. More

Barnes Group Inc., Bristol, CT, No. 19 on MDMs list of the top 40 industrial distributors, and a diversified global manufacturer and logistical services company, reported sales for the third quarter 2010 were $289.9 million, an increase of 11.4 percent from the third quarter 2009. Profit was $15.1 million. More

Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, reported sales for the third quarter ended Oct. 1, 2010, were $1.4 billion, an increase of 10 percent over the same period a year ago. Organic sales increased 12 percent. Profit for the global distributor of communication and security products, electrical and electronic wire & cable, fasteners and other small parts increased 66 percent to $36.5 million. More

Atlanta, GA-based BlueLinx Holdings Inc., a distributor of building products, reported sales for the third quarter ended Oct. 2, 2010, were up 3.4 percent to $464.7 million. The increase reflects a 5.9 percent increase in structural product sales and a 2.5 percent increase in specialty product sales. The distributor had a net loss of $14.9 million, compared with a $13.5 million net loss in the same period a year ago. More

United Stationers Inc., Deerfield, IL, master distributor of business, industrial and jan-san products, reported sales for the third quarter rose 1.9 percent to $1.27 billion, compared with $1.25 billion in the prior-year quarter. More

Huttig Building Products, St. Louis, MO, reported third-quarter sales of $127.2 million, a decrease of 3.2 percent from third quarter 2009. The decrease reflects continued challenges in the residential construction market, including the expiration of the home buyer tax credit in April. More

Ronco Industrial Supply Company, Bensenville, IL, has acquired Manderscheid Equipment & Supply, Chicago, IL. The acquisition expands Roncos offerings and expertise in abrasives. More

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October, say the nations supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. ISM reported: The manufacturing sector grew during October, with both new orders and production making significant gains. Since hitting a peak in April, the trend for manufacturing has been toward slower growth. However, this months report signals a continuation of the recovery that began 15 months ago, and its strength raises expectations for growth in the balance of the quarter. More

North American HVACR median distributor sales for September 2010 were up over 10 percent from last year, according to the latest Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies Report released by Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International. This marks the seventh consecutive month in which overall distributor sales were up from the previous year. More

Construction spending during September 2010 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $801.7 billion, 0.5 percent above the revised August estimate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. The September figure is 10.4 percent below the September 2009 estimate of $894.8 billion. More

Real gross domestic product – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the U.S. – increased at an annual rate of 2 percent in the third quarter of 2010 (from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.7 percent. More

The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) in Canada increased 0.2 percent in September compared with August, led mainly by primary metal products, according to Statistics Canada. The Raw Materials Price Index declined 0.4 percent in September, largely because of significantly lower prices for mineral fuels. More

New orders for manufactured durable goods in September increased $6.3 billion or 3.3 percent to $199.2 billion, according to the latest release from the U.S. Census Bureau. Up two of the last three months, this increase followed a 1 percent August decrease. More

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index increased 0.1 percent in September, to a seasonally adjusted level of 80.2 (2007 = 100). Revised data show the index fell 1.3 percent in August to 80.1. The Federal Reserve Boards industrial production index for manufacturing edged down 0.1 percent in September. Regional output in September rose 8.4 percent from a year earlier, and national output increased 5.9 percent. More

Led by declines in production-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index decreased to -0.58 in September from -0.49 in August. Three of the four broad categories of indicators that make up the index slightly improved from August, but only the sales, orders, and inventories category made a positive contribution to the index in September. More

The Timken Company, Canton, OH, reported sales of $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 39 percent over the same period a year ago. The sales increase reflects stronger global demand across most of the companys end markets and higher material surcharges. More

The World Bearing Association has launched an awareness campaign to inform about safety hazards arising from counterfeit bearings. More

Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, PA, reported fiscal 2011 first quarter sales of $529 million, up 29.3 percent from $409 million last year. Organic growth was 34 percent. More

St. Paul, MN-based 3M reported sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, were $6.9 billion, an increase of 11 percent versus the third quarter of 2009. Profit attributable to the diversified manufacturer increased 15.6 percent to $1.1 billion. More

Brady Corp. , Milwaukee, WI, has acquired ID Warehouse, New South Wales, Australia. More

General Cable Corp. , Highland Heights, KY, reported third-quarter sales were $1.2 billion, an increase of 11.1 percent over third quarter 2009. On a metal-adjusted basis, sales were up 1.2 percent. Profit for the diversified industrial company fell 58.5 percent to $18.1 million. More

RBC Bearings Inc., Oxford, CT, reported sales for the second quarter ended Oct. 2, 2010, were $83.1 million, an increase of 30.5 percent over the prior year same period. Profit for the manufacturer of highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense and aerospace industries increased 95.5 percent to $8.6 million. More

Praxair Inc., Danbury, CT, reported sales for the third quarter were $2.54 billion, an increase of 11 percent over the previous-year quarter. Profit for the industrial gases company increased 19 percent to $377 million. More

Allied Motion Technologies Inc., Denver, CO, reported third-quarter sales of $22 million, an increase of 47 percent from the same period a year ago. Profit was $1.13 million, compared to $279,000 for third quarter of 2009. More

Emerson, St. Louis, MO, announced that net sales for fiscal 2010 increased were $21 billion, a 5 percent increase in a year-over-year comparison. Underlying sales declined 1 percent, while currency translation added 2 percent and acquisitions added 4 percent. Profit increased 25.5 percent to $1.72 billion. More

Columbus McKinnon Corp. , Amherst, NY, manufacturer of material handling products, reported sales for the fiscal 2011 second quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, were $132.3 million, up 14.8 percent from the prior-year period. Organic growth was 18.9 percent. More

Encore Wire Corp. , McKinney, TX, reported sales for the third quarter were $242.8 million, an increase of 43.9 percent over third quarter 2009. Profit was $5.1 million. More