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July 2010 News

Barnes Group profit improves
Barnes Group reported net income of $14.8 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, compared to $10.4 million, or 19 cents per share in the second quarter of 2009.

Kansas City Fed: Manufacturing rebounds moderately
Tenth District manufacturing activity rebounded moderately in July, and expectations for future production remained positive.

Interline Brands sales up slightly
Interline Brands reported sales for the second quarter of 2010 increased 0.1% to $270.2 million compared to $269.9 million for the second quarter of 2009.

Simpson Mfg. profit declines
Simpson Manufacturing Co. reported a decline in net profit for the second quarter, hurt mainly by higher expenses, as well as a huge asset impairment charge.

Stanley Black & Decker buys CRC-Evans
Stanley Black & Decker has acquired CRC-Evans International, a global supplier of specialized tools, equipment and services for constructing oil and natural gas transmission pipelines.

United Stationers Q2 sales up 5.3 percent
United Stationers reported second quarter sales increased 5.3% to $1.22 billion, compared with $1.16 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Saint-Gobain sales up 3.9 percent
Saint-Gobain reported 3.9% organic sales growth for the first quarter and a 4.3% uptick for the first half of the year.

Kennemetal sales up 40 percent
Kennametal Inc. reported fiscal 2010 fourth quarter sales were $539 million, compared with $386 million in the same quarter last year.

Capital Safety opens Texas warehouse
Capital Safety announced the opening of a warehouse in Texas.

Timken returns Q2 profit
The Timken Company reported sales of $1.0 billion in the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 37 percent over the same period a year ago.

Beige Book: modest economic activity
Economic activity has continued to increase, but at a more moderate pace, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book report issued today.

Fastenal may face government suit
Fastenal Company faces potential litigation by the Department of Justice for overcharging government customers.

Graybar expands Calif. warehouse
Graybar announced plans to add 70,000 square feet of inventory space to its City of Industry, Calif., warehouse to serve as a fully automated distribution center for its Southern California operations.

Durable goods orders decline
New orders for manufactured durable goods in June decreased $2.0 billion or 1.0 percent to $190.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today.

Rockwell Automation revenue up 25 percent
Rockwell Automation reported fiscal 2010 third quarter revenue of $1.2 billion, up 25 percent compared to $1.0 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

Praxair sales up 18 percent
Praxair Inc. reported second-quarter net income and diluted earnings per share of $371 million and $1.19, respectively, both up 24% from the prior-year quarter.

Davis named president of ORS Nasco
United Stationers Inc. announced that Larry D. Davis has been promoted to the position of president, ORS Nasco.

Lawson Products sales up 6.9 percent
Lawson Products reported Q2 net sales grew 6.9% to $101.6 million, primarily reflecting a modest improvement in the economy and continued growth with strategic, governmental and automotive customers.

Midwest manufacturing output decreased in June
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index decreased 0.5% in June, to a seasonally adjusted level of 79.4 (2007 = 100).

Central Atlantic manufacturing expands
Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region expanded for the sixth consecutive month but at a more moderate pace in July, according to the Richmond Fed's latest survey.

Zep Inc. to acquire Waterbury brands
Amrep Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zep Inc., signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain brands and assets of the North American operations of Waterbury Companies Inc.

Tomkins agrees to be sold to Canadian investors
U.K.-based engineering and manufacturing company Tomkins PLC announced it agreed to be acquired by an investment vehicle established by Canadian private-equity firm Onex Corp. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for about GBP2.89 billion.

National activity index declines
Led by deterioration in production and employment-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to –0.63 in June, down from +0.31 in May.

Dover Corp. sales up 29 percent
Dover Corporation announced second-quarter earnings of $171.9 million, or 91 cents diluted earnings per share, compared to $100.9 million, or 54 cents per share, in the prior year period.

Columbus McKinnon reports loss
Columbus McKinnon Corporation reported net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 were $119.1 million, relatively unchanged when compared with $119.0 million from the same period in the prior year.

Ingersoll-Rand revenues up 7 percent
Ingersoll-Rand said its second-quarter revenues increased 7% to $3.7 billion, compared with revenues of $3.4 billion for the 2009 second quarter.

Snap-on sales up 9.8 percent
Snap-on Incorporated reported second-quarter sales of $647.6 million increased $57.6 million, or 9.8%, from 2009 levels.

DXP Enterprises sales up 15.9 percent
DXP Enterprises announced net income of $4.5 million for the second quarter compared to $2.1 million for the second quarter of 2009.

Cooper sees growth for first time in 18 months
Cooper Industries plc reported second quarter 2010 earnings per share of 80 cents, excluding a charge of $93.7 million related to the formation of the Apex Tool Group joint venture with Danaher.

Airgas rejects latest takeover bid
Airgas Inc.'s board of directors voted unanimously to reject the revised unsolicited tender offer from Air Products & Chemicals of $63.50 per share in cash. 

Drives enters joint venture in Brazil
Drives LLC, has entered into a joint venture with MethalC Ltda. in Curitiba, Brazil.

Precision Castparts sales up 5.6 percent
Precision Castparts Corp. reported Q1 sales of $1.45 billion, an increase of 5.6 percent over $1.37 billion last year.

3M touts record earnings
3M reported record second-quarter earnings of $1.54 per share on sales of $6.7 billion.

WESCO sales up 8.6 percent
WESCO International Inc. said its consolidated net sales were $1.25 billion for the second quarter of 2010, compared to $1.15 billion for the second quarter of 2009, an increase of 8.6%.

Scoble named president of Hyde Tools
Robert Scoble has been named president and chief operating officer of Hyde Tools Inc.

Eaton posts 16 percent sales gain
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. said that its Q2 sales were $3.38 billion, 16 percent above the second quarter of 2009.

Stanley Black & Decker earnings fall
Stanley Black & Decker's earnings fell 34% on charges related to the $4.5 billion merger in March that formed the combined company.

Airgas sales up 6 percent
Airgas said its first quarter sales were $1.05 billion, a sequential increase of 5% in sales per day and 7% in total sales compared to the fourth quarter.

Sandvik sales up 14 percent
Cutting tool maker Sandvik reported sales in the second quarter amounted to SEK 20,603 M ($2.79 billion), up 14% in total and 15% at fixed exchange rates for comparable units compared with the second quarter in the preceding year.

Seco Tools reports 32 percent revenue jump
Seco Tools reported that revenue for the second quarter rose by 32 percent at fixed exchange rates, and by 26 percent in Swedish kronor, to SEK 1,485 M ($201 million).

Horizon Solutions to open N.Y. DC
Horizon Solutions announced plans to open a Central Distribution Center (CDC) in Guilderland, N.Y.

Housing starts fall again
Privately-owned housing starts fell 5% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000.

ITW revenues up 20.1 percent
Illinois Tool Works Inc. reported Q2 income per share of 83 cents, a 131 percent improvement versus 36 cents in the 2009 second quarter.

Timken acquires QM Bearings
The Timken Company has agreed to acquire QM Bearings and Power Transmission Inc., based in Ferndale, Wash.

Beacon Roofing acquires Posi-Slope
Beacon Roofing Supply has acquired Posi-Slope Enterprises Inc. and its sister company Posi-Pentes, which specialize in the design and fabrication of tapered roof insulation systems.

Motion Industries posts 26 percent sales gain
Second-quarter sales rose 26% at Motion Industries, according to the company's latest earnings report.

Metalformers say business stabilizing
Metalforming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during the next three months.

June industrial production inches higher
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in June after having risen 1.3 percent in May.

United Stationers forms transportation group
United Stationers Supply Co. announced the creation of a new Shared Services (SS) Transportation and Logistics Group that will centralize transportation services for the company's United Stationers Supply, LagasseSweet, and ORS Nasco subsidiaries.

Philly area manufacturing growth slows
Philadelphia regional manufacturing activity continued to expand in July but has slowed over the past two months.

NY manufacturing growth slows
Conditions for New York manufacturers continued to improve in July, but the pace of growth in business activity slowed substantially over the month.

Industrial recovery continues
A new survey shows the manufacturing recovery continues to trend upward and has rebounded from severely depressed levels in 2009.

Zep mourns passing of Zaban
Erwin Zaban, one of the founding family members of the company that became Zep Inc., passed away at his home on July 6. He was 88.

Canadian manufacturing improves
Canadian manufacturing sales increased for the eighth time in nine months, advancing 0.4% to $44.8 billion in May.

Grainger sales up 16 percent
Grainger said its second quarter sales of $1.8 billion increased 16 percent compared to the same period last year.

Kaman partners with reliability company
Kaman Industrial Technologies and Predictive Service LLC, a provider of predictive maintenance and engineering services, announced a collaboration between the two companies.

Safety clothing distributor changes name
The 70E Store, an industrial safety clothing distributor and federal defense contractor based in Medina, Ohio, is now Slate Rock Safety LLC.

Fastenal revenues rise 20 percent
Fastenal reported second-quarter net income of $69.2 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with $43.5 million, or 29 cents a share, a year ago.

WinWholesale opens PA and NJ locations
WinWholesale Inc. has opened Windustrial brand companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to provide contractors with a complete line of pipe, valves, fittings and fire protection equipment.

PT/MC product sales rose in May
Sales of power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) products by U.S. manufacturers rose 2.0% in May while sales by Canadian manufacturers dropped 13.1%.

YTD manufacturing technology consumption up
May U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $178.34 million, up 58.6% from May 2009.

DDI System offers interactive demo
Join distribution software provider DDI on July 14 at 11a.m. EST for a live interactive demonstration.

Appeals court upholds diamond sawblades ruling
In a significant victory for U.S. producers of diamond sawblades, an appeals court has upheld an anti-dumping ruling aimed at low-priced Chinese and Korean imports.

Graybar Canada buys AVAD Industrial Sales
Graybar Canada announced that it acquired the assets of AVAD Industrial Sales Inc.

Air Products raises Airgas offer
Air Products announced it has increased its offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Airgas Inc. to $63.50 per share in cash.

US LBM Holdings adds acquisition|
East Haven Builders Supply, a subsidiary of US LBM Holdings, has acquired Millwood Lumber of Winchester County, N.Y.

WD-40 sales up 20 percent
WD-40 Company reported Q3 net sales of $82.6 million, an increase of 20.0% from the third quarter last year.

BSA partners with ABMA to stop counterfeit bearings
The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) board of directors approved a motion embracing an anti-counterfeiting distributor partnership proposal from the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA).

PTDA Summit registration opens
Registrations are now being accepted for the Power Transmission Distributors Association's (PTDA) 50th Anniversary Industry Summit, "A Summit of Possibilities."

Cooper and Danaher complete joint venture
Cooper Industries plc and Danaher Corporation  today announced the completion of the joint venture combining Cooper's Tools business with certain tools businesses from Danaher Corporation's Tools and Components segment.

Atlas Copco buys Clayhill
Atlas Copco AB has purchased certain assets of St.Paul, Minn.-based distributor American Air Products Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

3M acquires protective clothing maker
3M has acquired Dailys Ltd., a supplier of non-woven disposable protective clothing, primarily chemical protective coveralls for industrial use.

Factory employment increases
Manufacturing employment provided a bright spot in an otherwise bleak employment report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hyde Group announces reorganization
The Hyde Group Inc., which owns Hyde Tools Inc. of Southbridge, Mass., announced that it is reorganizing into two separate family-owned businesses.

ProBuild expands in Maryland, Texas
ProBuild Company LLC has reached an agreement to purchase some of the assets of Chopp Lumber, a building materials supplier based in Waldorf, Md., and also announced the opening of a new millwork facility in San Antonio, Texas.

Stock completes Bison acquisition
Stock Building Supply Holdings completed its purchase of Bison Building Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries pursuant to Section 363 of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Construction spending fell in May
Construction spending edged lower by 0.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $841.9 billion, the Dept. of Commerce announced today.

MSC sales rise 28.5 percent
MSC Industrial Direct reported fiscal third-quarter net sales rose 28.5% to $450.4 million, compared with $350.5 million in the prior year period.

ISM: Manufacturing expanded in June
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 11th consecutive month according to the Institute for Supply Management.