Around the Industry

April 5, 2012
Hite buys Emerson Supply; Platt opens DC in SLC; Hoffman becomes part of Tyco; Sonepar and Grainger buy Brazilian distributors; and more.

The Hite Co. acquires Emerson Electric Supply Co.

The Hite Co., Altoona, Pa., has purchased Emerson Electric Supply Co. Inc., Farrell, Pa., a 52-year-old family-owned distributor servicing industrial and residential markets in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

The Hite Co.’s president, T. Scott Lawhead, said in a press release on the acquisition, “Emerson Electric Supply is a strategic fit for The Hite Co.’s current regional distribution model and has a strong presence in the recovering industrial market. Additionally, their lighting showroom, The Lighting Gallery, a division of Emerson Electric Supply, will allow The Hite Co. to expand its residential business into the Pittsburgh and Ohio markets.”

Phil Piccioto, Emerson Electric Supply Co.’s owner, will join The Hite Co., effective May 1, and Emerson Electric Supply will be known as Emerson Electric Supply, a division of The Hite Co.

Platt opens regional distribution center in Salt Lake City

Platt Electric Supply’s New Intermountain Regional Distribution Center is now open. The facility has up to 150,000 square feet of high cube space and will provide overnight everyday support for the Intermountain market, covering Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado and the Dakotas.

Hoffman Enclosures now part of Tyco after Pentair merger

Pentair Inc., Minneapolis, the parent company of Hoffman Enclosures, Anoka, Minn., has merged with the Tyco Flow Control business unit of Tyco International Inc., Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The new company, which will maintain the Pentair name, is expected to have $7.7 billion in combined revenues.

A news release announcing the merger said Pentair and Tyco will combine Tyco’s Flow Control business with Pentair in a tax-free, all-stock merger. The transaction values Tyco Flow at approximately $4.9 billion, including assumed net debt and minority interest. Upon completion of the transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, Tyco shareholders will own approximately 52.5% of the combined company and Pentair shareholders will own approximately 47.5%.

Sonepar buys large Brazilian electrical distributor

Sonepar’s recent announcement that it had acquired Rosa Leal, reportedly the fourth biggest name in the Brazilian market with 12 operating companies, 700 employees and 16 branches, is the third acquisition of a Brazilian electrical distributor this year.

As previously reported in EM, Rexel International acquired Brazil’s Delamano and Etil in February, adding €100 million ($130.7 million) in sales. Rexel had also previously acquired Nortel Suprimentos Industriais, a large industrial distributor that does approximately €120 million ($156.9 million) sales.

Rosa Lisa had 2011 sales of €85 million (US $113.269 million) and will be adding to Sonepar’s growing business in Brazil, where it has been operating since 2001. According to the press release announcing the acquisition, “The acquisition of Rosa Leal represents a logical step in Sonepar’s strategy of focusing investment on high-growth countries. We are confident that the teams of Rosa Leal, under the leadership of Pompeu Rosa and Miguel Leal, the two founders of the company, will bring a major contribution to our profitable overall growth in Brazil.”

The press release also said that in 10 Brazilian states that account for 80 percent of the country’s economic activity, Sonepar is now present through 12 operating companies: Centelha, Dimensional, DW, Eletronor, Emel, Petrocam, Proelt, Proex, Rosa Leal Painéis, Sandler, Tecnosisa and Walter Schmidt.

Army said to shift away from LEED certifications

A post on the Green Building Law Update reports that the U.S. Army has said it will no longer pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its buildings, but instead will develop its own building code modeled on the ASHRAE 189.1 standard.

For several years, all new construction by the Department of Defense has been required to qualify for LEED Silver certification. A recent DoD reauthorization bill prohibited the department from pursuing LEED Gold or Platinum status for its buildings. The armed services have been among LEED’s biggest proponents since the certification program was launched 12 years ago.

The blog, published by the law offices of Christopher W. Cheatham LLP, says the move to ASHRAE 189.1 has been underway for awhile now, and draws some interesting conclusions on the impact this move will have on the U.S. Green Building Council, which created and administers LEED, and on suppliers and service providers who have used LEED AP credentials to boost their credibility with the federal government.

Avtron LoadBank to join Emerson

Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson Florham Park, N.J., says the recently acquired Avtron Loadbank will integrate into its ASCO Power Technologies business. Avtron Loadbank is a designer and manufacturer of high-quality load banks and other testing systems for the standby power generation, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and other power equipment industries. With more than 50 years of experience, Avtron Loadbank, through its Avtron and Froment brands, offers a complete solution to testing power supply systems, including advanced data acquisition, control, and monitoring systems.

Grainger acquires MRO distributor in Brazil

In yet another distributor acquisition in Brazil, W.W. Grainger Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., acquired 100 percent of the shares of AnFreixo S.A., a Brazilian distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies. The company had been a subsidiary in the Votorantim Group, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Latin America with 2011 revenues in excess of US$20 billion. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

AnFreixo serves more than 2,000 customers from its distribution center in Sao Paulo. In a press release announcing the acquisition, Mike Pulick, senior V.P and president, Grainger International, said, “The acquisition of AnFreixo provides Grainger with a solid entry point for physical operations in Brazil, the largest MRO market in Latin America.”

Acuity and BlueScope sign exclusive agreement

Acuity Brands, Inc., Atlanta, announced an exclusive agreement with BlueScope Buildings North America to provide a daylighting solution for standing-seam metal roofing systems. The solution is a patent pending curbless metal building attachment system incorporating Acuity’s Sunoptics high-performance prismatic skylights.

Avnet enters aftermarket

Electronics distribution giant Avnet, Inc., Phoenix, made an interesting move this week when it launched Avnet Integrated Resources, a subsidiary to handle aftermarket services for the technology supply chain. Avnet Integrated Resources is set up to deliver end-to-end aftermarket services for electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers, making it easier and faster for them to manage the lifecycle of their technology investments, the company said.

Avnet has built a suite of aftermarket services through a series of acquisitions to offer repair, refurbishing and disposal of electronic products and consumer electronics. Services include onsite technical field services; board-level repair and refurbishment of electronic products; extended warranty, spares management and repair parts programs; disposition of electronic products to maximize asset value at the end of service life and recycling for recovery of base material value.

IDEA partners with Unilog Content Solutions

IDEA, Arlington, Va., announced a strategic partnership with Unilog Content Solutions, best known in the electrical industry for their data cleansing and data quality consulting work. Through this partnership, IDEA will become the exclusive provider of Unilog’s robust web storefront solution to electrical distributors, “iCIMM2” (catalog information material management). This solution enables distributors to manage their catalog content, publish multiple versions of the content to one or more mediums, and provide robust search engine capabilities to their customers.

IDEA will help customers populate the content management piece of the solution with the manufacturer-owned and validated product information available via the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW). iCIMM2 also integrates with most enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and logistic and payment companies.