SEARCH

February 2010 News

Grainger names top suppliers
Grainger recognized its 25 top performing suppliers with its Partners in Performance Award during the company’s annual supplier conference held in Schaumburg, Ill.

Johnson to speak at STAFDA
The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) announced that Max A. (Andy) Johnson, president of Mar-Mac Wire Inc., will be STAFDA’s Associate State-of-the-Industry speaker at its 34th Annual Convention & Trade Show.

BSA updates planned
Attendees at the Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) 2010 Annual Convention May 1-4 at the Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples, Fla., will hear a timely pair of industry-specific updates from BSA and the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA).

Acme United's sales increase
Acme United Corporation announced that net sales for the fourth quarter were $13.4 million compared to $12.6 million in the same period in 2008, an increase of 7%.

MAPI report: Expect muted growth
A number of positive trends are emerging as the United States digs itself out of the “Great Recession,” but there remain cautionary signals that growth will be muted and the rebound restrained, according to a new report.

10th District manufacturing expands
The seven-state 10th Federal Reserve District manufacturing activity continued to strengthen in February.

KIT's sales fall 20%
Kaman Industrial Technologies said its sales decreased 20.0% in the 2009 fourth quarter to $149.8 million from $187.2 million a year ago.

Lawson Products reports 16.4% sales decline
Lawson Products said its net sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 were $89.3 million, a 16.4% decrease compared to $106.8 million for the prior year period, reflecting continued weakness in the economy.

Kaman to acquire Allied Bearings Supply
Kaman Industrial Technologies Corporation (KIT) has agreed to acquire Allied Bearings Supply Company of Tulsa, Okla.

Durable goods orders up in January
New orders for manufactured durable goods in January increased $5.2 billion or 3.0 percent to $175.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today.

Kaman acquires Fawick de Mexico
Kaman Industrial Technologies Corporation (KIT) has agreed to acquire the assets of Fawick de Mexico, S.A. de C. V. (Fawick) of Mexico City, Mexico.

Central Atlantic manufacturing advances
Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region advanced slightly in February, following several months of modest declines, according to the Richmond Fed's latest survey.

Werner names Campbell VP
Werner Co. appointed Jeff Campbell as vice president of Professional Sales, effective Feb. 8.

Home Depot's sales fall 0.3%
The Home Depot reported sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 of $14.6 billion, a 0.3 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

MAPI: Federal deficit must be brought under control
The United States embraced a credit-based growth model that required both increasing debt among existing borrowers and ever easing credit standards to attract more new borrowers, two primary factors that led to the “Great Recession” of 2008 and 2009, according to a new Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI report.

AutoCrib names Premier Distributors
AutoCrib Inc. announced its AutoCrib Premier Distributors for 2010.

Chicago Fed National Activity Index up sharply
Led by improvements in production- and employment-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index in January was slightly positive for the second time in the past three months.

Texas manufacturing activity expands
Texas factory activity continued to expand in February, according to business executives responding to the Fed's Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.

Lincoln Electric's Q4 sales fall 12.1%
Lincoln Electric Holdings reported 2009 fourth quarter net income of $24.3 million, or 57 cents per diluted share, on sales of $462.4 million.

Airgas rejects latest Air Products takeover bid
Airgas Inc. announced that its board of directors voted unanimously to reject the unsolicited tender offer from Air Products & Chemicals Inc. to acquire all outstanding common shares of Airgas at a price of $60.00 per share in cash.

Acklands-Grainger acquires Ranson Industrial and Safety Supplies
Acklands-Grainger Inc. announced that it has acquired the assets of Ranson Industrial and Safety Supplies Inc., effective February 20, 2010.

Walter USA gets tax credits for Wis. expansion
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced the state will provide $300,000 in financial assistance to toolmaker Walter USA to create jobs in the state.

Brady Corp.'s sales rise 11%
Brady Corporation said its sales for the quarter were up 11% to $295.8 million compared to $266.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009.

Interline Brands reports 8.3% sales drop
Interline Brands reported $254.6 million in sales for the fourth quarter of 2009, 8.3% below the fourth quarter of 2008.

Philadelphia area manufacturing improves
Manufacturing conditions continue to improve in the region, according to firms polled for this month's Business Outlook Survey by the Philadelphia Fed.

Inventory management seminar
Jason Bader of the Distribution Team will hold an Inventory Management Seminar in Chicago April 1-2.

Barnes Group reports 3% sales dip
Barnes Group Inc. reported income from continuing operations of $6.2 million, or 11 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of $5.5 million, or 10 cents per share in Q4 2008.

Fastenal catalog offers 10% more products
Fastenal announced that its latest Big Blue product catalog has been delivered to more than 2,300 Fastenal stores across North America.

Industrial production rises
Industrial production increased 0.9 percent in January following a gain of 0.7 percent in December.

Cooper Tools names new president
Cooper Industries announced the appointment of Laura K. Ulz as president, Cooper Tools.

Motion Industries sales fall 11%
Sales at Motion Industries decreased 11% in the fourth quarter to $736.5 million, compared to $828.3 million in the same period last year.

New York state manufacturing improves
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers improved at a healthy pace in February.

Manufacturing gains in Canada
Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1.6% in December to $43.0 billion.

ITW reports 5% sales growth
ITW reported a total company operating revenue increase of 5 percent for its most recent quarter compared to the same period last year.

Metalformers expect growth in orders
Metalforming companies expect conditions to remain fairly steady over the next three months.

Beacon Roofing acquires Independent Building Materials
Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. has acquired Independent Building Materials, a distributor of mostly residential roofing systems and related accessories with one location in Orlando, Fla.

Ingersoll-Rand reports 10% revenue decline
Ingersoll-Rand plc reported Q4 revenues decreased 10% to $3.3 billion, compared with $3.6 billion for the 2008 fourth quarter.

Gardner Denver's sales fall 14%
Compressor and pump manufacturer Gardner Denver reported Q4 revenues decreased 14% to $450.8 million. Net income was $37.2 million, or 71 cents per share.

United Stationers reports 3% Q4 sales gain
United Stationers reported net sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 were $1.2 billion, up 3.3% versus 2008.

Grainger sees 12% bump in January sales
Grainger reported sales for the month of January increased 12% versus January 2009.

Airgas board rejects Air Products offer
The board of directors of Airgas Inc. announced that it unanimously rejected an unsolicited proposal from Air Products & Chemicals to acquire Airgas.

Bradco acquires Insulation Systems
Bradco Supply has acquired Insulation Systems Inc., a distributor of commercial roofing products with three offices in North Carolina.

Grainger releases 2010 catalog
Grainger announced the release of its 2010 catalog including more than 300,000 maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products.

Machine tool consumption rises
December U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $219.60 million, up 22.9% from November but down 5.7% from $232.93 million reported for December 2008.

Construction spending falls in December
The U.S. Census Bureau said construction spending during December 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $902.5 billion, 1.2 percent below the revised November estimate of $913.2 billion.

NSK's Q3 sales rise 1.6%
Bearings manufacturer NSK reported third quarter sales rose 1.6% to ¥155.7 billion (about $1.74 billion).

Rexnord sales fall 18%
Rexnord LLC said its third quarter sales were $366 million, a decline of $77 million, or 18%, compared with the prior year third quarter.

IDC-USA donates $30K to Haiti relief effort
Distributors, suppliers and staff of IDC-USA collectively donated in excess of $20,000 to the IDC Charitable Trust Fund designated to Haiti Relief.

ProBuild opens Sacramento location
ProBuild Holdings Inc. announced it is opening its first store in Sacramento, Calif. The operation will create 20 new positions.

Airgas rejects Air Products offer
Airgas Inc. confirmed that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Air Products & Chemicals Inc. to acquire the company for $60.00 per share.

NAM welcomes Obama goal of doubling exports
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) welcomed the Obama administration's goal of doubling exports over the next five years.

Baldor Electric sales down 25%
Baldor Electric Company reported earnings of $59.8 million on sales of $1.52 billion for 2009. For the fourth quarter, sales were down 25% to $356.4 million.

NewAge Industries founder dies
NewAge Industries announced the death of Raymond E. Baker, who founded the company in 1954.

Sandvik's sales fall 25%
Cutting tool manufacturer Sandvik reported fourth quarter sales of SEK 18.2 billion (about $2.5 billion), a 25% decrease from the same quarter last year.

Snap-on reports sales improvement
Snap-on Incorporated announced fourth quarter sales of $618.1 million were up 6.2% sequentially from third-quarter 2009 levels.

Regal Beloit reports 4.1% sales dip
Regal Beloit Corporation reported net sales of $463.3 million decreased 4.1% compared to $483.0 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2008.

Anixter's sales decline 17%
Anixter International Inc. announced that its fourth quarter sales of $1.22 billion decreased 17 percent compared to sales of $1.46 billion in the year ago quarter.

Seco Tools posts 31% revenue drop
Seco Tools said its 2009 revenue declined 31% to SEK 4.889 billion (about $672.9 million in U.S. dollars).

Carlisle reports 15% sales decline
Carlisle Companies reported net sales of $555.2 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, a 15% decline from $651.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

U.S. manufacturing losing competitiveness?
American manufacturers slipped from 5th to 8th in a new a ranking of cost competitiveness released by AlixPartners LLP, a global business-advisory firm.

Beacon Roofing Supply reports 20.6% sales drop
Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. announced that its first quarter sales declined 20.6% to $367.7 million in 2009 from $463.3 million in 2008.

PTDA members optimistic
Members of the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) are finding cause for optimism as 2010 begins.

Simpson's sales fall 11.4%
Simpson Manufacturing Co. announced that its fourth quarter 2009 net sales decreased 11.4% to $132.6 million compared to $149.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2008.

Black & Decker reports 6% sales decline
The Black & Decker Corporation announced fourth-quarter sales decreased 6% for the quarter to $1.3 billion. For the full year, sales decreased 22% to $4.8 billion.

Emerson's sales fall 7%
Emerson announced that net sales for the first quarter ended Dec. 31 were $5.0 billion, a decline of 7 percent from $5.4 billion reported in the prior year quarter.

Timken posts $134 million loss
The Timken Company reported sales of $3.1 billion for 2009, a decrease of 38 percent from a year ago.

ISM Survey: Manufacturing expands for sixth month
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January for the sixth consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the ninth consecutive month.

Transcat acquires United Scale and Engineering
Waukesha, Wis.-based United Scale and Engineering Corp., a distributor and servicer of industrial equipment, has been acquired by Transcat Inc., a Rochester, N.Y.-based distributor of handheld test and measurement instruments.

Senco Brands names new CEO
Senco Brands Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of fasteners and fastening tools to professional construction and industrial markets, announced the appointment of Ben Johansen to the position of CEO.

Survey: Manufacturers more optimistic
The fourth quarter PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Manufacturing Barometer reports cautious optimism about the U.S. and global economies among U.S.-based industrial manufacturers.