Sarah Palin to address STAFDA Conference in November 2010

Sarah Palin to headline 2010 STAFDA convention


Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee will deliver the keynote address at STAFDA's 34th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Phoenix

Industrial Distribution Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 11/17/2009 4:17:05 PM

Sarah Palin will deliver the keynote address at the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Assn.'s 34th Annual Convention & Trade Show, Nov. 8-10, 2010, in Phoenix.



STAFDA wrapped up its 33rd annual convention and trade show, which drew a crowd of more than 3,500, in Atlanta last week.



Palin will address STAFDA members during the group's General Session on Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. According to STAFDA officials, she will speak about her vision for energy independence, health care, fiscal responsibility, small government and national security.

"She encourages her audiences to look to the future, and challenges leaders to do more to support our military, rein in spending and shrink government while creating fiscally responsible health care that benefits all Americans," STAFDA said in a press release announcing the event.



Palin's appearance on the STAFDA stage will come one week after the November 2010 elections. And she is not the first major political figure to address STAFDA members. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered the keynote address in 2005, and former U.S. Senator and 1996 Republican Presidential candidate Bob Dole addressed the crowd in 1999.

Grainger acquires Alliance Energy Solutions

MRO distributor makes its first service-based acquisition, focused on energy-efficient lighting retrofits


Victoria Fraza Kickham -- Industrial Distribution, 11/18/2009 1:10:52 PM

Broad-line MRO distributor W.W. Grainger said it signed and closed an all-cash acquisition of Alliance Energy Solutions, a service company that provides turn-key energy-efficient lighting retrofits.
Grainger said it expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings in 2010 by approximately one cent to two cents per share. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.


"This transaction is the first service-based acquisition we're adding to our U.S. customer offering and we anticipate it will help us accelerate our strategy to become our customers' indispensable partner in helping them keep their facilities safe, efficient and functional," Grainger's chairman, president and CEO Jim Ryan said in a statement announcing the deal.

"Our customers told us they had a need for a service to complement our deep product line around lighting products and we listened," said Mike Pulick, president of Grainger's U.S. business. "The Alliance Energy Solutions team is dedicated to helping customers through offering value-added services that help them drive energy efficiency and productivity, with particular expertise in the area of lighting retrofits. We are delighted to have them join the U.S. team."
Alliance Energy Solutions is based in Oxford, Conn., and had sales of $20 million in 2008.