Industrial Distribution articles from July 2008

Industrial Distribution archives from July 2008

Around and About.(competition of Badger State schools for development of material handling systems)(Mayer Electric Supply named one of the Top 10 Best Places to work )(Georgia-Pacific Commercial winning the Partner in Performance, Sales Dedication and 2007 Supplier of the Year awards )
July 1, 2008... Edited by Brad Perriello, brad.perriello@reedbusiness.com The Fluid Power Challenge Brad Perriello Think you could come up with a successful fluid-powered material handling system? If so, you've got competition from some middle...

Associations.(Bearing Specialists Association)(Power Transmission Distributors Association)(American Supply Association)
July 1, 2008... Edited by Joe Nowlan, jnowlan@reedbusiness.com BSA elects 2008-09 board of directors The Bearing Specialists Assn. elected its 2008-2009 officers and board of directors at its annual convention at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson,...

Calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2008... Edited by Joe Nowlan, jnowlan@reedbusiness.com September 8-11 ISSA/INTERCLEAN Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nev. www.issa.com September 17-20 NIBA Convention Marriott Starr Pass Resort ...

JJ Phelan / TriFactor Distribution Solutions.(Interview)
July 1, 2008... Staff Describe TriFactor's business. TriFactor is one of only a handful of material handling systems integrators in the country that can offer the entire range of material handling solutions, starting with front-end design work to...

Talkin' 'bout a new generation.(Conference news)
July 1, 2008... Jack Keough, Editor/Associate Publisher During his address earlier this year at the annual convention of NAHAD-the Assn. for Hose and Accessories Distribution, President Joe Lark made a comment that resonated throughout the audience. Joe...

A process of evaluation.
July 1, 2008... By Joe Nowlan, Associate Editor Technological tools, field sales input and gut feelings are a few ways to weigh the worth of your customer base What is the best way to evaluate your customer base? What are the essential criteria? ...

Serving world markets.
July 1, 2008... By Victoria Fraza Kickham, Managing Editor For some distributors, selling internationally means more than just forming a new division or department; it's an all-encompassing business strategy Birmingham, Ala.-based Perry Supply Co. has...

Consequences from Congress' failure to act.
July 1, 2008... By Jade West Both Houses have yet to enact legislation addressing oil shortages, health care and tax cuts Congress returned to session in June facing a long legislative "to do" list and a hostile electorate. By all accounts, the...

Nearly 1,700 turn out for ISA Trade Fair.(Industrial Supply Conference)(Conference news)
July 1, 2008... By Jack Keough, Editor and Victoria Fraza Kickham, Managing Editor A new convention format and a new industrial markets research report highlighted ISA's 2008 Industrial Supply Conference & Trade Fair Attendance was strong at this...

NAM publishes 2008 Redbook.(National Associations of Manufacturers)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Staff The National Assn. of Manufacturers issued the 2008 edition of its "Competitiveness Redbook." The Redbook provides rankings of the 50 state economies according to 51 business and economic indices. The book also contains updated...

Veyance Technologies to buy conveyor installer, raise prices.(Company overview)
July 1, 2008... Staff Veyance Technologies Inc. agreed to acquire conveyor belt installation, splice and repair service provider National Belt Service for an undisclosed amount. Bessemer, Ala.-based NBS employs about 75 workers and has annual sales...

Compressor manufacturers make inroads into distribution.(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Staff A pair of compressor manufacturers expanded their footprints in the distribution arena, acquiring three distributors in the United States. EnPro Industries Inc. bought Dixon, Calif.-based Air Perfection Inc., which distributes,...

Wolseley makes cuts in Ireland.(Wolseley plc to lay off 150 workers in its Irish division)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Staff Wolseley plc plans to lay off 150 workers in its Irish division, the Irish newspaper Athlone Advertiser reported. The British building materials distributor, which ranked first on Industrial Distribution's 2008 Big 50 list of...

Former ID sales rep, Richard "Dick" Daniels, dies.(Richard W. "Dick" Daniels)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Staff Richard W. "Dick" Daniels, the sharp-dressed, sharp-witted sales and marketing expert who sold advertising space in Industrial Distribution magazine for nearly 40 years, died June 14 after a short bout with cancer. He was 86. ...

Former chairman of Fernley & Fernley dies.(Robert C. Fernley)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Staff Robert C. Fernley, former chairman of Fernley & Fernley, died May 8. He was 85. Fernley & Fernley, founded by Fernley's grandfather in 1886, specializes in operational and management services to trade associations in various...

FPDA reinvents itself with new name.(Fluid Power Distributors Assn. changing its nameto : The FPDA Motion & Control Network)
July 1, 2008... Staff The Fluid Power Distributors Assn. has a new name: The FPDA Motion & Control Network. The announcement was made at FPDA's annual meeting, held recently in Tampa. The change is part of the association's "Forward Motion Plan," in...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
July 1, 2008... Staff In our June issue, we incorrectly identified Huttig Building Products Inc. CEO Jon Vrabely. INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION regrets the error. Also in our June issue, our Big 50 report did not account for all of Precision Industries'...

Record turnout for IDC's annual meeting.
July 1, 2008... Staff A record number of shareholders attended this year's meeting of the IDC-USA distributor co-operative May 4-6 in Indianapolis. "This is the highest-attended meeting in the company's history," IDC president Jack Bailey said in his...

Airgas buys safety equipment rental firm.
July 1, 2008... Staff Airgas Inc. agreed to acquire safety equipment rental company Energy Safety Services Inc., doing business as Oilind Safety, for an undisclosed amount. Phoenix, Ariz.-based Oilind rents fall protection, breathing air and gas...

IBM goes green with new software.(International Business Machines Corp.)
July 1, 2008... Staff The green movement in business is moving beyond recycling paper, water bottles and soda cans. Companies such as IBM are starting to capitalize on the "greening" of the supply chain, especially when it comes to controlling carbon...

Singer Equities Sold.(LLR Partners Inc. to acquire Singer Equities Inc)
July 1, 2008... Staff LLR Partners Inc. of Philadelphia, a private equity firm, is partnering with the senior management team of Singer Equities Inc. to acquire the business from Paul Singer and his family. Singer Equities consists of a group of five...

Acklands-Grainger buys Excel Industriel.
July 1, 2008... Staff W.W. Grainger Inc.'s Canadian subsidiary, Acklands-Grainger, acquired Excel Industriel, a broad-line MRO distributor based in Granby, Quebec, for an undisclosed amount. Grainger, which ranked fourth on Industrial Distribution's...

Players.
July 1, 2008... Staff DISTRIBUTORS Bearing Headquarters Co. appointed new officers: Jim Timble is now chairman of the board; Rich Harting is president and CEO; Bob Wallace is vice president and member of the board of directors; Jim Kuebler is vice...

Pay for performance.(compensation of industrial distributor employees)
July 1, 2008... By Phillip M. Perry, Contributing Editor New compensation practices motivate workers, fatten profits Employers are taking a new look at the old way of compensating workers. Familiar reward mechanisms, such as the annual seniority-based...

TIG welder.
July 1, 2008... Staff Featured product is Lincoln Electric's Invertec TIG welder The Lincoln Invertec V310-T AC/DC TIG welder is a lightweight, compact welding solution for construction, advanced motorsports, ship building and construction. It...

Generator running gear.
July 1, 2008... Staff The new running gear for the Bobcat and Trailblazer welding generators features an extended wheelbase, extra-heavy-duty front casters and 1-in.-diameter axles. The optional Never-Flat tires eliminate a potential source of costly job...

Metal-cored wires.
July 1, 2008... Staff The Metalloy Vantage and Metalloy Vantage Ni1 wires produce weld bead toe lines almost completely free of silicon deposits. Ideal for single- or multi-pass welding on carbon steel applications in the automotive, heavy equipment...

Miniature flap wheels.
July 1, 2008... Staff Mini flap wheels range from 3/8-13/16 in. and feature 6 aluminum oxide grit grades ranging from 60-320. Pferd Inc. www.pferdusa.com

Mass flowmeter.
July 1, 2008... Staff The FlowStream OFM mass flowmeter series is designed for fast and accurate measurement of shielding gases during arc welding. The meter can be programmed to select a variety of clean, dry, non-aggressive gases including air, argon,...

Rechargeable battery welder.
July 1, 2008... Staff The BDW180MC rechargeable battery welder is a 180A welder powered by 5 12V rechargeable batteries that delivers true DC power for smoother welds and recharges itself during operation. The welder can be run using the battery pack or...

Grinding kit.
July 1, 2008... Staff The grinding kit for the Triad tungsten grinder features a tungsten cutting holder, a double-decker kit and protective cover. The cutting holder easily and safely cuts 0.040 in., 1/16 in. and 3/32 in. diameter tungsten to fixed...

Diesel welding generator.
July 1, 2008... Staff The PRO 300 diesel welding generator provides 20-410A of welding power, 12,000W of peak generator power and features a low-fuel shutdown function and a maintenance alert meter indicating the number of hours between oil change...

Grouting system.
July 1, 2008... Staff The Groutzilla Placement System is a Power-Take-Off (PTO)-driven unit for placing grout in blocks, walls, forms and foundations. The system handles 20 cu. ft. of material and is used with a telehandler or forklift for courses...

Knowledge is power.
July 1, 2008... By Tom Reilly Know so much about your solution that customers can't afford not to do business with you Salespeople are knowledge brokers. They take what they know about the customer's needs, process that information with what they know...

Distribution solutions.
July 1, 2008... By Brad Perriello From wireless bar code scanners to RFP "scoring" solutions to Web-based ERP systems, a host of products aim to help distributors improve their operations LXE Inc.'s 8650 Bluetooth Ring Scanner is designed to link any...

Your system can be the solution.
July 1, 2008... By Kevin Murphy A more systematic approach to sales management can produce more sales leads for distributors Let me start with a dose of humility: I will never know as much about selling as you do. You're not reading INDUSTRIAL...

Winning model.(impact of business models on business enterprises)
July 1, 2008... By Brad Perriello, Associate Editor By giving local branch managers some "skin in the game," WinWholesale looks to combine the benefits of a large-scale operation with in-depth knowledge of local markets Steve Lyon spent 25 years at...