Airgas Urges Rejection of Air Products' Takeover Bid

By NATHAN BECKER
Airgas Inc.'s board has recommended its shareholders reject Air Products & Chemicals Inc.'s $5.1 billion takeover effort, again contending its larger rival "is trying to obtain the future value of Airgas at a bargain-basement price." Two weeks ago Airgas's board had rejected the $60 a share bid. Days later, Air Products said it would take the offer directly to shareholders.

"The Air Products offer significantly undervalues Airgas and fails to reflect the value of our industry leading position and future growth prospects," Airgas Chairman and Chief Executive Peter McCausland said Monday. An Air Products spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. A merger would create the largest industrial-gas maker in North America by revenue. Air Products has annual sales of $8.3 billion and sells gases such as argon, hydrogen and oxygen to industrial plants. It previously tried to buy the smaller rival, which serves a different market segment and has a retail customer base, by offering cash and stock with an "implied" value of $62 a share in December.  Some analysts believe Airgas has significant defenses to ward off a hostile takeover.


Kevin L. Brown  http://www.stardustspillproducts.com/

The Fight for Airgas

By Jack Keough

February 15, 2010


Air Products takes its acquisition proposal straight to Airgas' shareholders.

The battle is on for Radnor, PA-based Airgas (NYSE: ARG), one of the largest welding, gas, safety, and industrial supply companies in the country.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD), which was rebuffed last Tuesday in its attempt to purchase Airgas, its smaller rival, for about $5 billion in cash, plus assumption of $1.9 billion of debt says it will now take its fight for Airgas directly to its shareholders. The all-cash offer was for $60 per share. Airgas' board of directors is reviewing the offer and said it intended to advise stockholders of its formal position within 10 business days. The offer is basically the one that Air Products made earlier and Airgas rejected. The board called the initial offer too low and said it should be considered a “bargain basement price.”

Three years ago, Airgas enacted a "poison pill" intended to ward off such hostile takeovers when a bidder acquires more than 15 percent of outstanding common stock. In a prepared statement, Air Products claimed their offer would be in the best interests of Airgas shareholders: “We respect Peter McCausland and greatly admire the company he founded and matured, but we fundamentally disagree with him on achievable standalone value and do not believe his approach is in the best interests of the owners of the other approximately 90% of Airgas shares,” the company said. “We urge the independent directors of Airgas to form a Special Committee that will objectively evaluate our offer and sit down with us to discuss it.

“Airgas’ repeated claim that its shares have outperformed Air Products’ shares is neither accurate nor relevant to Airgas shareholders’ consideration of a $60.00 per share all-cash offer. What is relevant is whether Airgas can create more value on a standalone basis. Airgas contends its recent share price is an anomaly and shareholders will receive value greater than $60.00 per share ‘simply with the passage of time’ - but this is hardly reassuring given that Airgas has provided no new information on its prospects and has just missed its quarterly earnings and lowered financial guidance for fiscal 2010. Even if shareholders believe Airgas can achieve its highly optimistic projections for fiscal 2013/2014, they are clearly better off with the certainty of cash at a 38% premium in the near term."

McCausland, who founded Airgas in 1982, is the company’s chairman and CEO. Since that time, Airgas has grown significantly, primarily though more than 400 acquisitions of small and regional distributors. In its largest transaction of 2009, Airgas acquired Tri-Tech, an independent distributor with 16 locations throughout Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, which generated $31 million in annual revenues. Airgas also improved its presence in Oklahoma and West Texas just a few months ago with its purchase of $10 million Lawton, OK-based Fitch Industrial & Welding Supply.

During an earnings call report with financial analysts last month McCausland indicated that the economy was starting to turn and pointed to a number of plants under construction throughout the country. He said that a recovery seemed underway in most of Airgas’ customer segments. “We were pleased to see a sequential increase in sales to our industrial manufacturing customers. Utilities and petrochemical along with our always-steady medical business posted the strongest sequential growth on a daily sales basis,” he said according to a transcript of the call provided by www.seekingalpha.com.

He noted the company would continue focusing on acquisitions in the highly fragmented market in the U.S. but was also looking “hard” at three opportunities for international expansion.
View all Airgas news at www.mdm.com/airgas.

Grainger's daily sales increased 6% for January.

Grainger January Sales Up 3% from 2009


By MDM Staff

February 11, 2010

In U.S. Grainger's daily sales increased 6% for January.

Chicago, IL-based Grainger (NYSE: GWW) reported daily sales increased 12% in January 2010 compared with January 2009. Results for the month included a 5 percentage point positive contribution from acquisitions, a 2 percentage point benefit from the timing of the New Years' holiday and a 2 percentage point contribution from foreign exchange. Excluding acquisitions, holiday timing and foreign exchange, daily sales for the company increased 3%.
In the U.S. daily sales increased 6%, in Canada sales in local currency were up 4%, and Other Businesses sales were up 283% thanks to acquisitions. W.W. Grainger, Inc. had 2009 sales of $6.2 billion.

Grainger Adds 85,000 Products to Catalog

February 12, 2010

Grainger catalog now has more than 300,000 products; online, Grainger features 500,000.

Chicago, IL-based Grainger (NYSE: GWW), distributor of facilities maintenance supplies, has released its 2010 catalog, with more than 300,000 maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, the company’s largest offering yet. A Grainger spokesman said that some of the products the company added to its catalog were previously featured on its Web site, www.grainger.com.

Grainger added 85,000 new items to the catalog across product categories such as cutting tools, shelving and storage, and fleet maintenance products.

“Our customers have told us they want access to the broadest product offering with high inventory availability,” said D.G. Macpherson, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain. “We’re continually adding to our product line and investing in our supply chain network so that when our customers have a need, we are poised and ready to address it quickly and accurately with a product solution."

Beyond the product expansion to the catalog, the company added products to its Web site, which now lists 500,000 products. As of last February, Grainger had 240,000 products in its catalog and 300,000 online.

Airgas Outlines Why It Is Rejecting Air Products' Acquisition Proposal

By MDM Staff
February 10, 2010

More about: Airgas, Gases/Welding Equipment, Mergers/Acquisitions

Last week, Airgas Inc., Radnor, PA, (NYSE: ARG) received an unsolicited proposal from Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) to acquire the company in an all-cash deal for $60 a share. In a written response to Air Products CEO John McGlade, Airgas said: "… Air Products' proposal grossly undervalues Airgas. Therefore, the Board is not interested in pursuing your company’s proposal and continues to believe that there is no reason to meet."

Airgas also received a cash and stock proposal from Air Products in December worth $62 a share. In October, Airgas received an all-stock proposal worth $60 a share. According to an Air Products news release, the value of the transaction is $7 billion, including $5.1 billion of equity and $1.9 billion of assumed debt. Air Products said the combined company would be the "largest industrial gas company in North America and one of the largest in the world, with distinctive strengths across all geographies and in all three distribution channels: packaged gases, liquid bulk and tonnage."

Air Products' McGlade said: “While we are disappointed that Airgas has thus far prevented its shareholders from receiving a substantial premium and immediate liquidity, we have repeatedly communicated to the Airgas Board our willingness to improve our offer to reflect any incremental value they can demonstrate. While it remains our strong desire to reach an agreement with Airgas on a friendly basis, we are fully committed to pursuing this transaction and are prepared to take all necessary steps to complete it, including making an offer directly to Airgas shareholders.”

In a presentation Airgas outlines why it is rejecting the proposal. Among those reasons, Airgas says the proposal does not "reflect value of Airgas' industry-leading position and unrivaled platform" nor does it "reflect Airgas' significant leverage to economic recovery."

Airgas called Air Products' proposals "opportunistic," reflecting current market conditions and not long-term growth potential nor historical performance. Airgas also quotes analysts in its presentation that say that Air Products sold its packaged gas business to Airgas less than 10 years ago.

Air Products bids for Airgas

By JEFFREY MCCRACKEN


Industrial-gas company Air Products & Chemicals Inc. made an unsolicited offer to acquire smaller rival Airgas Inc. for about $5.1 billion in cash late Thursday.

In a letter to Airgas's chief executive and board, Air Products offered to pay Airgas shareholders $60 a share in cash, a nearly 38% premium to Airgas shares' closing price Thursday of $43.53. The large premium is intended to ward off rival bids.

Air Products could launch a tender offer directly to shareholders in the coming weeks if the Airgas board does not reach a merger agreement, said people familiar with the matter. An Airgas spokeswoman declined to comment. A merger would create the largest industrial-gas maker in North America by revenue. Allentown, Pa.-based Air Products has annual sales of around $8.3 billion, selling gasses such as argon, hydrogen, and oxygen for industrial and manufacturing uses. It employs 18,900 workers and has a market capitalization about $16 billion

Airgas, based in Radnor, Pa., is in a different market segment—working with retailers who deliver propane to hardware stores and oxygen to hospitals. It employs 14,000, and has a market capitalization around $3.6 billion on sales of about $3.8 billion. Hoping to add this smaller, retail client base, Air Products has been pursuing Airgas for several months.

The chief executives of both companies met in mid-October. At that time, Air Products Chief Executive John McGlade proposed buying the company for $60 a share in stock, according to people familiar with the matter. Air Products also agreed to assume roughly $1.9 billion in Airgas debt.

Airgas Chief Executive Peter McCausland and his board turned down that offer and rejected a subsequent half cash, half stock bid in December. That second offer valued the company at $62 a share plus the assumption of debt, said these people. Its board unanimously rejected both offers, believing they undervalued the faster-growing company, said another person familiar with the talks.

Mr. McCausland, 59 years old, founded the company in the early 1980s. He owns about 9.5% of its shares, which dipped last week after the company posted weak fiscal third-quarter earnings. The latest proposal, which is expected to be made public on Friday, is fully financed by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The bank is serving as merger adviser on the transaction along with law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Goldman Sachs Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are advising Airgas
Like any such offer, Air Products's bid could draw out other suitors, which might include France's Air Liquide SA or Germany's Linde AG.

Air Products estimates that combining the two gas suppliers would produce some $250 million in annual savings. In its letter to Airgas, it expressed a willingness to sell assets to clear regulatory hurdles and to raise its offer if Airgas can demonstrate what it called any other "incremental value."

Grainger Total MRO Solutions event draws 4,000 MRO buyers

Industrial distributor provides training, networking opportunities at customer event

Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 1/21/2010 11:12:15 AM

"Tough doesn't begin to describe the challenges you're facing" Jim Ryan, chairman, president and CEO at Grainger, said in his opening remarks to the MRO buyers attending the industrial distributor's Total MRO Solutions National Customer event this week in Orlando. The next two days, he said, "are about learning and networking with people who can help you get your business up and running" as the economy comes out of recession.
More than 2,000 of the distributor's commercial customers attended the event Jan. 17-19, which also consists of a trade show with more than 400 of its manufacturer suppliers. Grainger is repeating the event again on Jan. 20-22 for a second set of customers.
Attendees, many of whom are purchasing professionals who source MRO goods and services, heard about the economic recovery from Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, and the state of the distribution industry from David Manthey, senior analyst with Robert W. Baird. The two each gave an address following Ryan's opening remarks.
Gault said that the economic recovery, which started in the fourth quarter of 2009, won't be "gangbusters" because the current business cycle is not normal. While the economy got a boost from businesses restocking inventory and fiscal and monetary policy, high unemployment and lingering effects of the financial crisis will be a drag on growth in 2010, he said.
Along that same theme, Manthey said that the recovery would be "subdued" for companies in the distribution industry. Results of a survey of industrial distributors he conducted last year show revenues starting to pick up in the fourth quarter of 2009 and climbing just 2.4% in 2010. Beyond that, he said, the industry will continue to see consolidation.
The event began on Sunday, with a Solutions Under the Sun networking session that provided opportunities for attendees to meet with industry experts, Grainger executives and their peers in an informal setting. Grainger execs were positioned in tents set up for the event that focused on some of the company's key markets: contractors and facility maintenance; manufacturing-facility and plant maintenance; transportation, warehousing and distribution; healthcare and hospitality and retail. A reception and dinner followed the networking.
Eric Sandford, director of supply management, at OmniSource Southeast, took part in the networking session, sharing experiences of his team with his peers. Sandford is expanding the structured MRO sourcing program he set up, using his company's relationship with Grainger as a benchmark. Sandford and his team keep an eye on MRO inventory using the distributor's KeepStock (or vendor managed) inventory program.
Of the growth in the event compared with last year, Mike Pulick, president, Grainger U.S., told Purchasing.com, "We take continuous improvement seriously." There were more manufacturer suppliers at the trade show, more networking opportunities and more customers attending at the 2010 event. In fact, the industrial distributor held the gathering twice during the week for two separate groups of customers. In total, more than 4,000 purchasing and maintenance professionals took part.
Speaking to the current business climate, Pulick said, "Our customers are starting to increase production, but are doing it with the same resources. So, they have to be more productive. We see this as an opportunity to show our customers how to be more efficient at purchasing MRO items."

To that end, the distributor offered at its event educational training session on topics that concern its customers. These are: inventory management, safety, sustainability and business continuity.

At the training session on inventory management, Kevin Heath, vice president of strategic sourcing at Georgia Pacific, told attendees that he views MRO as opportunity for continuous improvement. Georgia Pacific spends $80 million annually on general mill supplies. The category is the first that Heath and his team selected in an effort to consolidate the company's purchasing and supply base.

For Georgia Pacific, consolidating the category has helped to lower inventory levels by 20%, increase productivity and improve equipment reliability, he said.

On the trade show floor, Sam Kim, vice president, e-commerce, provided customers with an overview of Grainger's online buying activities. In the past year, the company refined the search capability (by product attributes) of its website and added a merchandizing feature that suggests related products. It also introduced functionality embedded within grainger.com that allows users to customize some products such as hard hats, safety signs and mats.

Tom Blue, vice president of sales at Milwaukee Tools in Milwaukee, one of Grainger's manufacturer suppliers with a booth on the show floor, uses the event to demonstrate new products to Grainger customers, including new test and measurement tools. He told Purchasing.com that his company continued to introduce new products in 2009 viewing the economic downturn as an opportunity for the company to grow its business and take market share from competitors.

Mark Lindstrom, vice president of sales at Ergodyne in St. Paul, Minn., another supplier exhibitor, said that he likes having access to both Grainger sellers and end users. "This is one of the more productive distributor shows we attend," he said

Grainger Reports Year End Results

Grainger Reports Sales of $6.2 Billion and Earnings Per Share of $5.62 for the Year Ended December 31, 2009


--Highlights --

4Q09 sales of $1.6 billion, up 3 percent

4Q09 EPS of $1.27, down 7 percent, including the following items:

$0.07 in asset impairment charges

$0.05 in severance charges

$732 million in operating cash flow for the year

$507 million returned to shareholders in dividends & share repurchases in 2009

Pretax ROIC* of 24.9 percent versus 29.8 percent in 2008

Visit www.grainger.com/investor to access a podcast describing Grainger's performance in more detail.

CHICAGO, Jan 26, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Grainger (NYSE: GWW) today reported sales, earnings and earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2009. Sales of $6.2 billion were down 9 percent versus 2008. Net earnings of $430 million decreased 9 percent versus $475 million in 2008. Earnings per share of $5.62 decreased 6 percent versus $5.97** in 2008.

"I am very proud of our employees and how they have successfully navigated this company through one of the most difficult economic times in our history," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan. "The actions we took in 2009 to keep service levels and customer relationships strong are paying off. I am excited about the opportunity we have going forward to gain additional market share and create value for our shareholders by serving as the indispensable MRO partner to businesses and institutions."
*The GAAP financial statements are the source for all amounts used in the Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) calculation. ROIC is calculated using annualized operating earnings based on year-to-date operating earnings divided by a 13 point average for net working assets. Net working assets are working assets minus working liabilities defined as follows: working assets equal total assets less cash equivalents (non operating cash), deferred taxes, and investments in unconsolidated entities, plus the LIFO reserve. Working liabilities are the sum of trade payables, accrued compensation and benefits, accrued contributions to employees' profit sharing plans, and accrued expenses.

** Reported 2008 EPS were $6.04, which was restated after adopting FSP 03-6-1 on January 1, 2009, resulting in a 7 cent reduction in EPS in 2008 and 6 cents in 2009. (See page K-41 of the company's 2008 10-K for additional information).

Ryan added, "We are seeing some initial signs of improvement in the overall economy, although job growth is expected to lag the recovery. Stronger sales growth in December and January give us greater confidence to raise our 2010 sales growth guidance to a range of 6 to 10 percent and our earnings per share guidance to the new range of $5.40 to $5.90. We remain cautiously optimistic about the economy and are executing on the things we can control like our customer service and high product availability. As a result, we are well positioned for continued share gain, particularly as many competitors have been forced to reduce inventories." The company had previously issued 2010 guidance of 4 to 9 percent sales growth and earnings per share of $5.30 to $5.80.

For the 2009 fourth quarter, sales of $1.6 billion increased 3 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2008. There were 64 sales days in both the 2009 and 2008 fourth quarters. Daily sales decreased 3 percent in October, increased 2 percent in November and increased 11 percent in December. The 3 percent increase for the quarter included a 4 percentage point contribution from acquisitions, a 2 percentage point benefit from foreign exchange and a 2 percentage point lift from price increases, partially offset by a 5 percentage point decline in volume. Net earnings of $97 million decreased 10 percent versus $108 million in 2008. Earnings per share of $1.27 decreased 7 percent versus $1.37 in 2008. The effect of adopting FSP 03-6-1 was a 1 cent per share reduction in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 2 cents in the 2008 quarter.

During the quarter, the company continued to lower its cost structure by closing branches and reducing headcount. In total, 12 branches, including 6 Will Call Express locations, were closed. These closures, along with other asset write-downs, resulted in asset impairment charges of $9 million or 7 cents per share. In addition, the company reduced headcount by another 200 positions in the 2009 fourth quarter, incurring $7.5 million or 5 cents per share in severance cost. For the full year 2009, the company eliminated approximately 600positions and incurred $18 million in severance or 11 cents per share.

Effective with the first quarter of 2009, the company has two reportable business segments, the United States and Canada, which represent approximately 98 percent of full year company sales. This reporting structure reflects the integration of Lab Safety Supply with Grainger's U.S. branch-based business. The remaining operating units (Japan, Mexico, India, Puerto Rico, China and Panama) are included in other businesses and are not considered a segment. The company acquired Asia Pacific Brands India Private Limited in June 2009 resulting in the inclusion of the India operations in other businesses in the third quarter. The company also acquired a majority ownership of MonotaRO in September 2009, consolidated this Japanese entity in its balance sheet as of the end of the third quarter and began consolidating its income statement in the fourth quarter.

United States
Sales for the United States segment decreased 2 percent in the 2009 fourth quarter, with daily sales down 7 percent in October, down 3 percent in November and up 5 percent in December. Acquisitions and the timing of the Christmas holiday accounted for 3 percentage points of the sales growth in December.

Grainger serves a diverse set of customer end-markets in the United States. During the quarter, sales to government and commercial customers increased versus the 2008 fourth quarter, while sales to resellers, contractors, manufacturing and retail customers declined.

Throughout 2009, Grainger added products to its already broad offering that will result in having approximately 307,000 in-stock products in the 2010 catalog. Product line expansion contributed $260 million in sales for the fourth quarter versus $185 million in the 2008 fourth quarter. Products added over the last four years resulted in $934 million in sales in 2009.

Also contributing to segment performance in the quarter was ongoing work to integrate Lab Safety Supply with Grainger Industrial Supply. The company still expects this combination to deliver $70-$100 million in incremental revenue and $20-$30 million in cost savings by mid-2010. Through the end of 2009, the integration has generated $44 million of the additional revenue and $22 million of the cost savings.

Operating earnings for the quarter were down 6 percent in the United States, the result of operating expenses declining at a slower rate than sales. The decline in operating expenses was primarily the result of lower payroll-related expenses, reduced commissions and no bonus accruals, partially offset by higher severance and asset impairment charges particularly related to the branch closings. Gross profit margins for the quarter were flat with the prior year.

Canada
Sales for the Acklands-Grainger business in the quarter were up 11 percent versus the 2008 fourth quarter in U.S. dollars. In local currency, sales were down 3 percent for the quarter and on a daily basis were down 7 percent in October, down 8 percent in November and up 7 percent in December. Sales performance in December benefited from some large customer orders and the incremental sales from an acquisition. From a customer sector standpoint, the 3 percent sales decline for the quarter was attributable to continued weakness among heavy manufacturing, contractor and forestry, partially offset by growth among utilities, government and agriculture and mining.

Operating earnings in Canada increased 59 percent in the 2009 fourth quarter and were up 38 percent in local currency. This improvement resulted from the sales increase, a 0.9 percentage point improvement in gross profit margins, and operating expenses which increased at a slower rate than sales. The improvement in gross margins was driven by a year-end inventory pick up primarily attributable to lower than forecasted transportation and product costs. Product costs were lower than expected due in part to favorable foreign exchange. The 2008 fourth quarter included a charge for the bankruptcy of a provider of freight payment services. Excluding these items, operating earnings were up 6 percent in U.S. dollars, and down 7 percent in local currency, versus 2008.

MSC's sales down 11%

Distributor points to strong cash generation, sequential sales growth as evidence of solid performance in first quarter


Victoria Fraza Kickham -- Industrial Distribution, 1/8/2010 1:33:04 PM

Industrial MRO products distributor MSC called its first-quarter results "solid" despite the ongoing difficult business climate. The Melville, N.Y.-based company reported lower sales and earnings compared to the first quarter of 2009, but pointed to strong cash generation performance and sequential average daily sales growth as positive achievements in a challenging market.
MSC's sales fell 11 percent for the quarter to $384.8 million, compared with $433 million a year ago. The distributor's operating income for the quarter was $51 million, compared with $74.4 million a year ago, while net income was $31.4 million compared with $45.1 million in the prior-year period. Earnings per share fell 31 percent to 50 cents, compared to 72 cents a share in the first quarter of 2009.
"The fiscal first quarter produced solid results for MSC," president and CEO David Sandler said in a statement announcing the results. "Despite operating in a business environment that remained difficult, we generated results in line with our expectations and continued to take market share. ..."
MSC posted sequential average daily sales growth of 12 percent from fiscal fourth-quarter levels, and generated $41.7 million in free cash during the period. Looking ahead, MSC said it expects second-quarter earnings per share to be between 43 cents and 47 cents on net sales of between $384 million and $396 million.

Bunzl PLC (BNZL.LN) Announces Results

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl PLC (BNZL.LN) Monday said full-year trading is in line with expectations, enabling it to take advantage of opportunities to develop further.

The company said full-year revenue rose 11% on the year, buoyed by positive currency exchange. At constant exchange rates, underlying revenue in the second half is some 1% below the 2008 figure but this is a slight improvement in the growth rate compared to the first half of 2009.
Bunzl said its operating margin has also improved compared to the first half, largely due to cost cutting and a reduced negative transaction impact from foreign exchange, particularly in the U.K. & Ireland and Australasia. Revenue growth in North America in the second half is slightly stronger than the 2% growth recorded in the first half, due to new customer wins and additional business with existing accounts, but revenue in the U.K. & Ireland continued to be below last year's - hit by the weak economy.

Bunzl, based in London, provides outsourcing solutions and service-oriented distribution, supplying a broad range of non-food consumable products. Its main customer markets include grocery, food service, cleaning and safety, non-food retail and health care.

Bunzl shares closed Friday at 657 pence, giving the company a market valuation of GBP2.16 billion. They've risen 11.4% since the start of the year.



-By Anita Likus, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 20 7842 9407; anita.likus@dowjones.com

WW Grainger Sales Show Further Improvement In November

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES-December 10, 2009: 08:52 AM ET




W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) reported a 3% drop in November daily sales in the U.S. as year-over-year comparisons for the industrial-supply company continue to ease. The figure is the best for the company this year, and including acquisitions and other impacts, Grainger's total global sales rose 2%. That compares with a 3% drop in October and double-digit declines earlier in 2009. November had one additional selling day from the prior-year period.

Grainger, considered a bellwether of the U.S. economy because of the breadth of its types of products, also reported a 7% increase in November daily sales in Canada, though they were down 8% excluding currency changes. Sales more than tripled at its other regions, aided by acquisitions in Japan and India. The company, whose products range from lighting to mechanical to janitorial, in October said it expected fourth-quarter comparisons to improve compared with a year earlier, when sales tumbled as the economy worsened.



Shares closed Wednesday at $97.73 and didn't trade premarket.

ISA launches Industrial Supply Guide

Online tool helps manufacturers, distributors and end users find MRO products and services quickly and easily

Victoria Fraza Kickham -- Industrial Distribution, 12/11/2009 10:27:50 AM

The Industrial Supply Assn., a trade group representing distributors and manufacturers of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, has launched an online Industrial Supply Guide to help members and others find industrial products and services quickly and easily on the Web.
Located on ISA's Web site, www.isapartners.org, the guide features a wide range of products and services exclusively for the MRO industry and designed to assist ISA members and others in their purchasing decisions.The industry-specific guide allows users to perform keyword- and category-driven searches, ISA said, and also has Request for Information (RFI) functionality. The RFI feature allows users to contact participating suppliers with a click of their mouse.
Participating manufacturers and distributors can purchase a company listing, direct Web site link and email generation capacity, and can also add videos to their listing. ISA partnered with electronic buyer and supplier guide publisher MultiView Inc. to produce the guide.
"For the first time, MRO professionals and customers will have access to specialized products and services through the industry's leading resource," said MultiView president Dan Maitland. "Cutting through the clutter of multiple search engines and finding exactly what you are looking for, all at the same time, is a wonderful benefit to each and every channel member."