Distribution Industry News

Southern Hardware's Millerd retires

Bill Millerd, general manager of Bostwick-Braun's Southern Hardware division based in West Helena, Arkansas, has retired after a 47-year career.

OTC changes name to OTC Industrial Technologies

Ohio Transmission Corporation has been renamed OTC Industrial Technologies as part of a rebranding initiative.

NEFCO opens Maine location

NEFCO has opened a new location in Westbrook, Maine, to serve professional contractor trades throughout the state.

Epicor acquires WMS provider JMO Business Systems

Epicor has acquired JMO Business Systems Ltd., a  provider of warehouse management systems (WMS), enterprise mobility solutions and related services for automotive aftermarket and original equipment (OE) parts distributors.

Fastenal 2021 sales up by 6.4 percent

Fastenal Company reported that its 2021 annual sales of $6.0 billion increased 6.4 percent from $5.6 billion the previous year.

Wilcox named president of Walter USA

Walter Surface Technologies announced that Mark Wilcox of Drillco Cutting Tools has been appointed president of Walter USA.

Lawless Group East adds two job specialists

Lawless Group East has added two new jobsite specialists to serve the southeast territory.

Rexel names chief digital officer

Rexel USA has appointed John Pehler as chief digital officer.

Stellar Industrial Supply acquires JLM Industrial Supply

Stellar Industrial Supply has acquired JLM Industrial Supply of Sparks, Nevada, an industrial distribution and integrated supply firm.

Bear Grylls to keynote STAFDA convention

Adventurer and wilderness survivalist Bear Grylls has been announced as the keynote speaker for STAFDA's 46th Annual Convention & Trade Show.

PTDA welcomes two new members

The Power Transmission Distributors Association welcomed two new member companies, Connexus of Langley, British Columbia, and mayr of Mahwah, New Jersey.

BlackHawk Industrial acquires Pinnacle Tool & Supply

BlackHawk Industrial announced the acquisition of Pinnacle Tool & Supply, based in Toledo, Ohio.

November cutting tool orders up 11.4% from last year

November 2021 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $160.7 million, down 10.5 percent from October's $179.6 million and up 11.4 percent when compared with the $144.3 million reported for November 2020.

PTDA leadership begins 2022 terms

The recently-elected 2022 board of directors and manufacturer council of the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) have begun their leadership terms.

DXP Enterprises names COO and CM&TO

DXP Enterprises has appointed Nick Little as the new chief operating officer (COO), and Paz Maestas as chief marketing & technology officer (CM&TO).

Holland Pump acquires Pump Service & Supply

Holland Pump Company, an independent specialty pump rental and dewatering solutions provider, has completed the acquisition of Pump Service & Supply of Troy, based in Troy, New York.

Nov. manufacturing technology orders surpass $650 million

Orders of manufacturing technology surpassed $650 million in November 2021, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

NEFCO acquires Russell Supply

NEFCO has acquired Russell Supply, a South Burlington, Vermont, contractor supply company serving Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire.

Lumax sold to Hopkins Manufacturing

Hopkins Manufacturing Corporation has acquired Charlotte, North Carolina-based Lumax LLC.

Walter Surface Technologies acquires Allegro Industries

Walter Surface Technologies has acquired Allegro Industries, a manufacturer of safety equipment, respirators, air sources and ventilation equipment.

Fastener Distributor Index declined in December

The December seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) was 56.2, a decline from 57.6 when compared with November, according to the monthly survey conducted by the FCH Sourcing Network and Baird.

JGB Enterprises acquires All-Serv Industrial

JGB Enterprises, backed by HCI Equity Partners, announced it acquired All-Serv Industrial.

Factory and construction jobs improved in December

The nation's factories and construction sites added jobs during December, as total nonfarm employment rose by 199,000.

Manufactured goods orders increased in November

New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.6 percent in November to $531.8 billion.

MCE acquires RSA Inc.

Motion & Control Enterprises has acquired RSA Inc. and Global Controls Inc.

Enable partners with IDEA on rebate program

Enable, a B2B rebate management sottware as a service (SaaS) provider, has entered into an exclusive partnership with the Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA).

Manufacturing growth slowed in December

The pace of growth in manufacturing slowed somewhat in December according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

ISA names Breen president

The Industrial Supply Association has named Brendan Breen to be its president, assuming the role effective immediately.

NetPlus Alliance names new marketing manager

NetPlus Alliance has added Sebastian Habermehl to its team as marketing manager.

Singer Equities acquires OB&E Rubber

Singer Equities has acquired OB&E Rubber Company, headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Motion completes acquisition of Kaman Distribution Group

Motion Industries completed the purchase of Kaman Distribution Group for approximately $1.3 billion in cash, effective Jan. 3, 2022.

Belt Power acquires Accurate Industrial Products

Belt Power, a distributor and fabricator of belting and components for lightweight conveyor systems, has acquired Accurate Industrial Products.

Borrhello retires from Sphere 1

Sphere 1 announced that Bob Borrhello, the cooperative's founding board chairman for 16 years and trusted advisor for an additional six years, is retiring from Sphere 1’s leadership.

Master Magnetics promotes three senior managers

Master Magnetics the promotions of three team members to key positions on the senior management team.

Platinum Equity completes Pelican Products acquisition

Platinum Equity announced that the acquisition of Pelican Products has been completed.

Construction spending rose in November

Construction spending during November 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,625.9 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised October estimate of $1,618.8 billion.

Allied Motion Technologies acquires Spectrum Controls

Allied Motion Technologies has acquired Spectrum Controls Inc., a manufacturer of a wide variety of Industrial I/O and universal communications gateway products.

SupplyOne acquires Romanow Container

SupplyOne has acquired Romanow Container, a privately-held manufacturer of corrugated products and protective packaging, and distributor of industrial packaging supplies.

Lawson Products to merge with TestEquity and Gexpro Services

Lawson Products and LKCM Headwater Investments have agreed to merge Lawson with two of LKCM Headwater’s portfolio companies, TestEquity and Gexpro Services.