Industrial Distribution articles from December 2005

Industrial Distribution archives from December 2005

Family businesses are still thriving.(Editorial)
December 1, 2005... DURING interviews for our special report on family business this month (p. 26), a distributor told an ID editor that he wouldn't recommend a career in distribution for his children. In a way, you can understand his comment. [ILLUSTRATION...

Secretary of tools?(AROUND and ABOUT)
December 1, 2005... IT'S NO SURPRISE that former Secretary of State Colin Powell has varied interests, but would you guess he's a tool buff? The military hero-turned-foreign policy expert revealed a bit of his lighter side at the recent Specialty Tools & Fasteners...

Company news.(Vertex Fasteners new name is Vertex Distribution)(Evergreen Marketing Group fund for disaster)(Independent Distributors Inc started 25th year)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Vertex Fasteners changed its name to Vertex Distribution. The company sells corrosion-resistant standard-inch and metric fasteners and is headquartered in Pawtucket, R.I.... Distributor alliance IDC-USA added Novelty Machine & Supply Co. to...

Mergers & acquisitions.(AROUND and ABOUT)
December 1, 2005... Distributor Tencarva Machinery Co. acquired the UniGuard Machine Guard line of products as a result of its purchase of the assets of Computer Cut, Inc. of New Bern, N.C... Parker Hannifin acquired Sterling Hydraulics, which designs custom...

Awards & honors.(AROUND and ABOUT)
December 1, 2005... Independent distributor alliance Network Services Co. was named to C/O magazine's Bold 100, which recognizes organizations for excellence in information technology... BoschTools.com was named to BtoB magazine's 10 Great Web Sites list......

Ferguson on the acquisition trail: shifting focus from plumbing and heating to fasteners, Ferguson expands its reach with the purchase of Endries International.(NEWS)
December 1, 2005... Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., one of the country's largest wholesale distributors of plumbing and heating products, expanded its reach in the MRO world this fall with the purchase of Endries International, a vendor-managed inventory, MRO...

Minnesota distributors enter China.(Dygert Patton Seal and Fastener Ware Shanghai Co., Ltd.)
December 1, 2005... Rather than complain about losing business to China, two Minnesota distributors are doing something about it by forming a joint venture to supply U.S. companies that have opened branches there. In November, the Dygert Patton Seal and...

Record turnout for STAFDA.(NEWS)
December 1, 2005... The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Assn. held its largest convention ever last month, with nearly 4,800 people turning out for the group's 29th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Baltimore. Held Sunday through Tuesday, Nov. 6-8, the...

PTDA records strong attendance.(Power Transmission Distributors Association)
December 1, 2005... The Power Transmission Distributors Assn, saw a strong turnout at its Industry Summit, held in Las Vegas in mid-October. A total of 831 members turned out for the annual meeting, a 23 percent increase over last year. Particularly significant...

Etheridge wins PTDA award.(Girard G. "Jerry" Etheridge)(Power Transmission Distributors Association)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Girard G. "Jerry" Etheridge, Jr. is the 16th recipient of the Warren Pike Award for lifetime achievement in the power transmission/motion control industry. The award is given by the Power Transmission Distributors Assn. Etheridge received...

FPDA rocks Pittsburgh.(Fluid Power Distributors Association)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Fluid Power Distributors Assn. and the National Fluid Power Assn. practiced what they preach in their Fall Conferences and Joint Conference Day in Pittsburgh in October, gathering together under the banner, "The Power of Teamwork." But each...

Don Knowles to retire from idi.(Independent Distributors Inc)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Don Knowles, a veteran of distribution throughout Canada, will retire at the end of 2005 from his position as president of idi Independent Distributors Inc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Knowles has been with idi since 1991 and has overseen...

DSC to hold standards summit in January.(Distribution Solutions Council)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Distribution Solutions Council--an industry roundtable that promotes distribution-centric software and discussion of industry-related topics--will hold a Standards Summit Jan. 9-10 in Dallas. Many industry experts focused on standards...

Distributors.(ORS Nasco appointed Alan D. Kilian as director of marketing )(MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc promoted David K. Sandler as chief executive officer )(Grainger appointed Stuart L. Levenick as board of director)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ORS Nasco hired Alan D. Kilian as director of marketing for power tools, power tool accessories and abrasives... MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. promoted David K. Sandler to president and chief executive officer... Grainger appointed Stuart...

Manufacturers.(Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc promoted its senior staffs)(Ansell Healthcare appointed Tom Draskovics as director of marketing)(Spir Star Lrd. promoted Jacob Noack as sales manager )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. promoted Vincent K. Petrella and George D. Blankenship to senior vice president and Richard J. Seif to senior vice president of The Lincoln Electric Co.... Ansell Healthcare named Tom Draskovics director of...

Supporting your sales force: show how much you value your salespeople by taking the time to train and develop them.
December 1, 2005... CAN SALES BE TAUGHT, or are good salespeople born? It depends on your view of professional selling. There are some people that are naturals--phenoms. There is another group of successful salespeople--fundamentalists. These salespeople work...

Combating too much information: distributors might consider price management software to manage their customer data.
December 1, 2005... DISTRIBUTORS LIVE in a complex world, managing tens of thousands of products and customers, and often millions of transactions each year, with each one of these transactions producing a tremendous volume of customer data. Dealing with this...

PDFs pop in 3D.(portable document format )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... KAON INTERACTIVE, a provider of interactive Web-enabled applications to improve marketing and sales, announced the introduction of Kaon 3D PDF, a solution that brings 3D interactivity to sales and marketing documents in Adobe Portable Document...

RFID in 30 days.(radio frequency identification device )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... SAMSys Technologies, Inc., a provider of radio frequency identification hardware solutions, announced the availability of the Gen 2 RFID Pilot Express program, which includes a turnkey RFID hardware and software package that makes it possible...

Going end-to-end.(Xenos terminalone)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Xenos Group, Inc., a provider of high-performance data, document and delivery solutions, announced the availability of Xenos terminalONE, an adaptable, end-to-end e-transaction solution that securely enables and expedites business over the...

Liking the odds.(ODS Software)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ODS Software introduced a Web services version of its supply chain management solutions suite built on the Microsoft .NET framework. Specifically built for wholesale distributors in the building materials industry, the ODS suite is designed to...

All in the family: family-owned distributorships continue to make up the majority of businesses in the industry.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2005... My dad owned his distributorship, and my three brothers worked with him. It wasn't an industrial distributorship, instead it was medical supplies, but I believe that the dynamic behind the family-owned distributorship is probably the same as...

From index cards to PDFs: two companies have increased their success by listening to the next generation's technology advice.(Matis Inc.)(Century Tools and Machinery Ltd)
December 1, 2005... It's part of human nature, perhaps, to resist change--especially if a change seems contrary to what has been working well all along. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Successful business owners who might frequently change their model of car or...

A tough, but rewarding, job: long-term planning and resolving conflict are big issues at family firms, along with employee development and creating a sense of security.(experiences working in their family's business)
December 1, 2005... As part of this special report on family business, INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION asked four industry professionals to talk about their experiences working in their family's business. The four individuals each bring a different perspective to the...

The keys to estate planning: here are some tips for making sure you have a proper estate plan.
December 1, 2005... There are four documents that are essential for creating a successful estate plan: a last will and testament, a living will, a health care power of attorney, and a property power of attorney. Each one operates independently of the other, yet...

Passing the torch: Precision Industries' 60 years of success is rooted in strong family ties and dogged persistence.(Precision Industries)(Company Profile)
December 1, 2005... Keeping America's largest cereal plant up and running is no easy task for Jerry Dailey, who is expected to do just that as maintenance manager for Kellogg Co.'s 1 million-square-foot Omaha, Neb., plant. For the last four years, Dailey has been...

Hose guidelines benefit industry: NAHAD volunteer Sam Foti talks about the association's 12-year effort to introduce hose assembly guidelines to makers, distributors and buyers of industrial hose.(PERSPECTIVE)
December 1, 2005... Hose Master Inc., a Cleveland-based manufacturer of corrugated and stripwound metal hose, was founded in 1982 by my father, Sam J. Foti, a specialty machine builder with more than 30 years of experience in the field of flexible metal hose....

Too much demand? Hose and accessories distributors occasionally face a nice problem.(hose and accessories industry)
December 1, 2005... BUSINESS, AND LIFE in general, is pretty good these days for the hose and accessories industry. For starters, many customers are doing well, which means, of course, that hose and accessory distributors are also doing well. [ILLUSTRATION...

A tiger with real bite: Walter's Tiger-tec cutting grades have a PVD coating.(Walter USA)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... WALTER is the first precision tool manufacturer to create a PVD coating for its Tiger-tec cutting grades by applying aluminum oxide to its inserts, according to the company. Until now, aluminum oxide could only be used with CVD coatings. ...

Hands-free flashlight.(Head-Lite)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Lite & Motion is a hands-free G2 LED flashlight ideal for low-light and night-time activities; utilizes bright white LED technology; features an integrated secondary optical lens system for maximum light quality and controlled projection; and...

Fluoroplastic tubing.(TexLoc, Ltd)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... This precision fluoroplastic tubing is extruded from Texfluor PTFE, FEP, PFA, ETFE and ECTFE in sizes ranging from 1/8 in. to 4 in. I.D. as capillary, convoluted and corrugated styles; and is suitable for a wide range of fluid handling...

Gearmotor.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The type-HG is a built-to-order "U-shaped" gearmotor for OEM applications; utilizes 3 stages of gearing, providing gear ratios from 6:1 to 110:1; and produces up to 1,000 lb.-in. continuous torque, and outputs from 3 to 23 RPM. ...

Dispensing system.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Hydro Taskmisers automate chemical dispensing with easy-to-use systems; have a color/number-coded selector valve, allowing for a variety of products or dilution levels; and feature labels written in English, French and Spanish. ...

Scrubbers.(Tornado Industries)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The XR model auto-scrubbers are ideal for large industrial cleaning situations; feature a 26-gal. capacity and a steel unibody; are available in 28- or 32-in. models; are easy to use and maneuver; and assure low maintenance. [ILLUSTRATION...

Air nozzle.(The best new products for your customers)(Exair Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The 1/2 NPT Super Air Nozzle delivers 3.3 lbs. of strong blowing force when mounted 12 in. away from the target; and is ideal for blowing heavy materials, or for applications where the air nozzle can't be mounted close to the surface to be...

Generator/welder.(The best new products for your customers)
December 1, 2005... The Power Arc 5500 generator/welder generates 5,500 watts of surge AC generator power and 125 amps of AC welding amperage in a package that weighs 75 lbs. less than the competition. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lincoln Electric >>...

Metric casters.(The best new products for your customers)
December 1, 2005... The Blickle Hot metric casters with heat-resistant tires come with swivel or fixed brackets made of stamped steel; feature a bolted zinc-plated wheel axle, with heat-resistant grease and adjusted bearing play; and offer long service life. ...

Rivets.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... These snap rivets are designed for assemblies requiring fast and economical fasteners installed without tools; come assembled and ready for use; are molded in high dielectric black nylon 6/6; and are available to fit .083-in. through .248-in....

On the cutting edge: the changing nature of distribution leaves a lasting impression on students.(FEATURING TOMORROW'S DISTRIBUTION LEADERS)
December 1, 2005... Q: Why did you choose industrial distribution as a major, and what skills do you think you'll bring to an entry-level job? LINDSAY TACK > ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY and industry have increased the demand for efficient distribution practices....