Eric Smith

Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Connecticut, this week announced the appointments of Russell Bartlett as COO and Kristen Samson as CMO. Both were hired after stints at Textron Inc. Prior to joining Kaman, Bartlett served as president and CEO of Textron Airborne Solutions, a division of Textron. And Samson joins Kaman from Textron, where she served as […]

Walter Surface Technologies, Montreal, Quebec, on Tuesday announced the acquisition of two companies: Drillco, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based maker of cutting tools, and Triumph Twist Drill, a Chisolm, Minnesota-based manufacturer of tooling and drilling solutions. Financial terms of the deals weren’t disclosed. “We are very excited to welcome both Drillco and Triumph to the Walter […]

SiteOne Landscape Supply Inc. (NYSE: SITE), Roswell, Georgia, this week announced that it has acquired Dirt and Rock LLC, which is based in Lake Oconee, Georgia, just east of the Atlanta metro area. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The company operates out of a single location and is focused on the distribution of […]

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT), Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday announced it has acquired Gibson Engineering Company Inc. (“Gibson”), a Norwood, Massachusetts-based provider of automation products, services and engineered solutions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “We are pleased to announce the addition of Gibson Engineering and the continued expansion of our next generation […]

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector improved in December, and the overall economy grew for the eighth consecutive month — after it had dipped significantly in the early stages of the coronavirus — according to the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The December Manufacturing PMI registered 60.7%, up 3.2% […]

The frenetic pace to close an otherwise tumultuous year was fitting based on the trends that MDM outlined in our recent look back at the year in M&A. In the final month of 2020, distribution M&A continued its “return with a vengeance” theme that emerged in the latter half of the year, especially the fourth […]

Specialty building materials distributor US LBM Holdings LLC, Buffalo Grove, Illinois, on Monday said it has acquired Gilcrest/Jewett Lumber Co., a building products dealer and manufacturer with five locations in Iowa. Gilcrest/Jewett serves the Des Moines, Iowa City and Cedar Rapids metropolitan areas. The company offers specialty building products — including windows, doors, cabinetry, countertops, […]

Wayne, Pennsylvania-based buying group AD on Monday announced it has completed mergers with SafetyNetwork and Delta Distributors. The deals mark the group’s 11th and 12th mergers since it started in 1981, and its fourth and fifth in the last two years. Both mergers were effective Jan. 1. “We’re grateful to welcome to our community the […]

Construction spending during November 2020 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,459.4 billion, 3.8% above the November 2019 estimate of $1,405.5 billion and 0.9% above the revised October estimate of $1,446.9 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. During the first 11 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $1,314.1 billion, […]

Ferguson PLC on Monday said it has agreed to sell Wolseley UK — its UK-based heating and plumbing distribution business — to the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for £308 million (US$417.5 million). In the year ended July 31, 2020 Wolseley UK generated revenue of $1.9 billion and underlying trading profit of $8 […]

DXP Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: DXPE), Houston, Texas, on Monday announced that it has completed three acquisitions — Total Equipment Co., APO Pumps & Compressors (including Corporate Equipment Co.) and Pumping Solutions Inc. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed. DXP funded the acquisitions with cash from the balance sheet. “We are pleased to announce these […]

Builders FirstSource Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDR), Dallas, Texas, and BMC Stock Holdings Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, on Monday announced the completion of their all-stock merger. The close of the merger creates a supplier of building materials and services with combined sales of $11.7 billion and 550 distribution and manufacturing locations in 40 states. The combined company […]

Carlisle Cos. Inc. (NYSE:CSL), Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday announced the promotion if Lori Snyder to vice president, human resources, effective immediately. In conjunction with this move, Amelia Murillo will move to a new senior finance position. “I am extremely pleased to announce these management changes,” said Chris Koch, chairman, president and CEO. “Lori has delivered outstanding […]

Hillenbrand Inc. (NYSE: HI), Batesville, Indiana, on Monday announced that it has completed the sale of its Red Valve business to DeZURIK Inc. for $63 million. The sale follows Hillenbrand’s previously announced intent to exit the business. Hillenbrand entered into a stock purchase agreement with DeZURIK in which DeZURIK acquired Red Valve on Dec. 31, […]

Canadian industrial distributor Wajax Corp. (TSX: WJX) on Wednesday announced it has agreed to acquire Calgary, Alberta-based distributor Tundra Process Solutions Ltd. for C$99.1 million (US$77.7 million). Founded in 1999, Tundra provides maintenance and technical services to customers in the western Canadian midstream oil and gas, oil sands, petrochemical, mining, forestry and municipal sectors. Tundra […]

With buyers moving online at a rapid pace, it’s no wonder that the topic of e-commerce dominated MDM’s most-read blogs in December. Three of the top five blogs last month involved e-commerce and digital, while the tenuous economic situation and plumbing distributor Ferguson’s 2021 forecast also grabbed readers’ attention. Click the headlines below for more on […]

The U.S. Census Bureau this week released advance indicators showing that the international trade deficit increased while and wholesale inventories decreased in November. The international trade deficit was $84.8 billion in November, up $4.4 billion, or 5.5%, from $80.4 billion in October. Exports of goods for November were $127.2 billion, $1.1 billion more than October […]

While the pandemic was the single most important news topic of the past year, the most-read individual news items on mdm.com during 2020 were related to executive appointments and mergers and acquisitions — especially among the companies on MDM’s Top Distributors list. Here are the news items that generated the most clicks on our website […]

Indian River Consulting Group’s (IRCG) weekly Pandemic Revenue Index for the work week of Dec. 21-25 increased 18.2%, in part because of a favorable comparison with last year’s Christmas week in which the holiday fell on a Wednesday (as opposed to a Friday this year). “As expected, the week ending on December 25 saw a […]

The Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Atlanta, has completed the acquisition of HD Supply Holdings Inc. for $8 billion. The agreement to acquire HD Supply was announced on Nov. 16. “We’re thrilled to welcome HD Supply associates to The Home Depot,” said Craig Menear, chairman and CEO of The Home Depot. “The combination of the two […]