Eric Smith

Houston Wire & Cable Co. (Nasdaq: HWCC), Houston, Texas, on Monday announced that it completed the sale of its Southwest Wire Rope business in an asset transaction for $5 million. The sale excluded approximately $2.9 million of trade accounts receivable, which HWCC retained. HWCC used the net sales proceeds of approximately $3.4 million to further […]

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Seattle, Washington, on Friday announced plans to open a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Amarillo, Texas. The new operations facility, which is expected to create more than 500 new, full-time jobs, will open in early 2022. “We look forward to becoming part of the fabric of the Amarillo community and are thrilled […]

Dakota Supply Group (DSG), Plymouth, Minnesota, on Friday announced plans to open a new branch in Watertown, South Dakota, in April 2021. It will be DSG’s seventh location in South Dakota and its 36th across five states. The distributor has been serving customers in the Watertown area from its other South Dakota locations, but the […]

MRO distributor Motion Industries Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday announced the promotion of two employees to executive vice president. Motion named James Howe as EVP – eCommerce, sales excellence, strategic pricing and corporate accounts. And it named Joe Limbaugh as EVP – supply chain, operations support, marketing and enterprise excellence, effective April 1. “With their […]

Electrical, communications and data networking products distributor Graybar, St. Louis, Missouri, reported 2020 sales of $7.3 billion, a 3.4% decrease compared to the previous year. Net income of $121.8 million marked a 15.7% decrease compared to 2019, primarily due to a non-cash pension settlement charge of $27.7 million that the company recognized in 2020. “I […]

Wholesale trade improved in January compared to the same month a year ago and with December, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. January 2020 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading day differences but not for price changes, were $531.7 billion, […]

Indian River Consulting Group’s (IRCG) weekly Pandemic Revenue Index for the work week of March 1-5 increased 9.1%. This is the final PRI that IRCG will release. The sample size for the week’s Index was 13 firms. Seven companies reported increases and six reported declines. IRCG started the Pandemic Revenue Index (PRI) in March 2020 […]

To continue reading this article you must be a paid subscriber. Subscribe to MDM Already Subscribed? Click here to log-in | Forgot your password? 2021 M&A activity is just starting to heat up. At MDM’s recent M&A Virtual Summit, members of Baird’s distribution team mapped out the current landscape and what distributors should keep an […]

Pipes, valves and fittings distributor MRC Global Inc. (NYSE: MRC), Houston, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Rob Saltiel as president and CEO. He succeeds Andrew Lane, who previously announced his retirement plans. The appointment of Saltiel, who also will become a member of the company’s board of directors, is effective March 15. “We are excited to have Rob […]

MRO and industrial distributor DXP Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: DXPE), Houston, reported sales for 2020 of $1 billion, down 20.7% from 2019. DXP reported a loss of $28.8 million, compared with a profit of $35.9 million a year ago. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of $232.7 million, down 21.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. The […]

U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $322.5 million in January, a 12% increase from the same month a year ago, according to the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report published Monday by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. It marked the third straight month of year-over-year gains, a trend not seen since late 2018. But new […]

Grainger (NYSE: GWW), Chicago, on Monday announced that it has appointed Julie Myerholtz as vice president, chief information security officer (CISO). She will be responsible for the company’s cybersecurity vision and strategy, and collaborating with customers, suppliers, Grainger leadership and the board of directors on information security-related matters. “We are thrilled to welcome Julie to the […]

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday announced that the goods and services deficit was $68.2 billion in January, up $1.2 billion from $67 billion in December, revised. January exports were $191.9 billion, $1.8 billion more than December exports. January imports were $260.2 billion, $3.1 billion more than December imports. The […]

Indian River Consulting Group’s (IRCG) weekly Pandemic Revenue Index for the work week of Feb. 22 to Feb. 26 increased 13% as the PRI nears its one-year anniversary and, therefore, its conclusion. The sample size for the week’s Index was 13 firms. Seven respondents reported increases with three greater than 50% while six companies saw […]

Winsupply Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has opened Winsupply of Rio Grande Valley, in Mission, Texas. The new company serves heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas. Ernesto “Ernie” Pena is the president of the new branch. Pena has been in the HVAC industry for more than 10 years. […]

Winsupply Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has opened Winsupply of Rio Grande Valley, in Mission, Texas. The new company serves heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas. Ernesto “Ernie” Pena is the president of the new location. Pena has been in the HVAC industry for more than 10 years. […]

Swedish industrial manufacturer Atlas Copco on Tuesday announced it has acquired Cooper Freer Ltd., a British distributor that serves industrial, water treatment and service companies in the Midlands region. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Cooper Freer, which is privately owned and has 18 employees, is based in Leicester. The company will become part […]

The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) for February was 66.1, up from 57.7, in January, according to the latest analysis from Baird, FCH Sourcing Network and the Institute for Supply Management. Said Dave Manthey of Baird, “Key themes among respondents included: customer inventory levels which are increasingly stretched thin, very extended supplier lead times/continued […]

Fastenal Co. (Nasdaq: FAST), Winona, Minnesota, reported February sales of $437.7 million, up 1.5% from the same month a year ago. The company reported daily sales of $21.9 million, also up 1.5% versus a year ago. By region, U.S. sales dipped 0.2%, Canada/Mexico sales grew 6.7% and “rest of world” sales grew 30.1%. By end market, […]

BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC), Marietta, Georgia, reported sales for 2020 of $3.1 billion, up 17% from 2019. BlueLinx reported a profit of $81 million, compared with a loss of $18 million a year ago. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of $865 million, an increase of 41% year-over-year. The company reported a profit of $20 […]