All your exclusive premium content in one location.
We detail the three-year running results of our survey research into the industry’s AI adoption, including a breakdown of AI activity by company size.
Rexnord LLC, Milwaukee, WI, power transmission and water management products supplier, reported sales of $283.1 million for the third quarter ended Dec. 30, 2006, up 7% from the prior-year period.   ; Income from operations grew 8.3% over the prior year to $18.2 million.
December U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $321.35 million, according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 6.9% from November, and down 0.5% from the total of $322.81 million reported for  ; December 2005. With a year-end total of $3,889.75 million, 2006 was up 26.8% compared with 2005.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
2006 was an exceptional year, with the highest U.S. consumption since 2000, says John B. Byrd III, AMT President. Growth should continue in 2007, at a more modest pace, as …
Saint-Gobain’s Building Distribution Sector has acquired Galvano Groothandel BV (the Netherlands), Schulte Tiefbau (Germany) and four companies belonging to the Norman group (Channel Isles).
Galvano Groothandel BV is a plumbing-heating wholesaler in the Netherlands. With estimated sales of 84 million euros in 2006, the company has 177 employees. Through this acquisition, Saint-Gobain Building Distribution establishes a foothold on the Dutch distribution market for plumbing-heating products and strengthens its European Division dedicated to this market.
Germany’s specialist civil engineering distributor, Schulte Tiefbau operates 13 branches specializing in water supply. With sales of 62 million euros …
Ryerson Inc., Chicago, IL, reported sales of $5.9 billion for 2006, up 2.2% from 2005. Profit was $71.8 million, compared with $98.1 million in 2005.
Fourth quarter 2006 volume, as anticipated, reflected the typical year-end slowdown, exacerbated by high inventories in a variety of products throughout the supply chain,” said CEO Neil S. Novich. “Additionally, this excess industry-wide inventory, coupled with an extraordinary run up in stainless steel prices, due to nickel surcharges (up an average of about $700 per ton from the third …
B & D Industrial, Macon, GA, a regional industrial distributor, has acquired Simco Technologies, an Atlanta-based distributor of industrial electronics, sensors, drives, motion control, machine safety and machine vision systems.
The New York Times reported today that some of the country’s biggest buyout firms have approached Home Depot CEO Frank Blake – put in place after Robert Nardelli resigned  ; – with proposals to buy $12 billion HD Supply.
BlueLinx Holdings Inc., Atlanta, GA, distributor of building products, reported sales of $4.9 billion, down 12.9% from $5.62 billion a year ago, reflecting lower structural product prices and unit volume. Profit was $15.8 million, compared with $44.6 million a year ago.
CEO Stephen Macadam said:  ; As a distributor of building products, we continued to experience a sharp drop in demand that began earlier in the year as housing starts continued their slowdown and prices for wood-based structural products remained sharply below year-ago levels. The fall-off in demand was exacerbated by ongoing inventory reductions throughout the supply chain, and by the normal seasonal business slowdown associated with the winter months.
Ferguson has acquired Grif-Fab Corporation, a distributor and fabricator of fire protection systems with three locations in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. In the year ended Nov. 30, 2006, Grif-Fab had revenue of $28.3 million.
UK-based Wolseley plc, Ferguson’s parent company, has recently made three other bolt-on acquisitions in addition to the Grif-Fab buy. The four in total will add 29 million pounds, or $37.7 million, to annual revenues.
Since Aug. 1, 2006, Wolseley has made 33 acquisitions in Europe and North America totaling 342 million pounds, or $458 million.
Watsco, Inc., distributor of air conditioning and heating products, reported sales of $1.8 billion in 2006, a 7% increase from 2005. Profit was $82.4 million.
Fourth-quarter sales were $388 million.
  ; “2006 was one of enormous change as virtually half the products we sell were transitioned to new families of higher-efficiency products. We expect these new products to provide a unique and sustainable sales opportunity for us given consumers’ high degree of sensitivity and focus on energy costs, President and CEO Albert H. Nahmad said.
The Watsco network expanded by 28 locations in 2006, including locations opened to enhance local service and locations acquired adding new customers, products and market share. Revenues contributed by new …
< Emerson, St. Louis, MO, sales for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006,  ; were $5.1 billion, an increase of 11% over the $4.5 billion reported in the same period last year. Profit for the first   ; quarter increased 12% to $445 million.
The Home Depot, Atlanta, GA, has announced it will evaluate strategic alternatives” for its HD Supply business, including a possible sale, spin or initial public offering of the business.
According to recent news reports, St. Gobain has put its abrasives unit up for sale. Forbes reported that AFX News carried the news, but St. Gobain would not comment on the possible sale.
St. Gobain’s abrasives unit had 2005 sales of 1.4 billion euro, 4% of the Group’s total.
Building Materials Holding Corporation, San Francisco, CA, provider of construction services and products to the homebuilding industry, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SelectBuild Construction, has terminated its letter of intent to acquire Willis Roof Consulting Inc.  ;
The bidding war between The Carlyle Group and Building Materials Corporation of America for ElkCorp has ended, with The Carlyle Group dropping its offer for the roofing and building products manufacturer.
A  ; Purdue University research project by Steve Epner is trying to understand key reasons why distributors adopt technology. Please take this brief survey now — less than five minutes to complete. Your participation is completely confidential and makes a difference in the quality of the results. Only summary data will be published. Watch MDM for results in June! Please invite other distributors you know to participate by using the “Forward this e-mail link above. The more responses we have, the more we can learn. Thank you!
Take the survey …
Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, identifies four key trends in Facing the Forces of Change: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain, put together every three years by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. He described these trends in a presentation at the NAW annual meeting in Washington, D.C., last month.
W.W. Grainger, Chicago, IL, has released its updated 2007 catalog with more than 138,000 MRO products, an increase of 23,000 over last year.
Strategic Distribution will soon shed the costs of public ownership when it sells to Platinum Equity. The two-year decision-making process was explained for shareholders in an SEC filing last month. MDM distills the details in this article.
Competitive pressures, a history of operating losses, limited stock liquidity and trading volume, and the cost of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley all played a part in leading Strategic Distribution to give up the public life and agree to sell to Platinum Equity for $10 a share, or $30 million, last month.
Hardware and renovation products distributor and retailer RONA, Boucherville, Quebec, has acquired Noble Trade Inc., a plumbing and heating supply wholesaler in Ontario with annual sales of about C$150 million. The purchase price was close to 7X EBITDA, RONA executives said in a conference call.
Prices charged by manufacturers in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), were up  ; 1.4 percent in December from the month before thanks to a significant increase in prices for petroleum and coal products, primary metal products, and motor vehicles. Higher prices were observed in the majority of product groups.
Work with a banking partner that knows your business. Get detailed information on investment banks with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry.
Build strategic sales plans.
Determine market and demand.
Create smart prospect lists.
Turn your sales data into actionable data with Market Prospector. A web-based SAAS tool that gives you insight into your market, your territories, your customers and new prospects too.
Our daily newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.
By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.
Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:
