Distributor News

CFE INDUSTRIES COMPLETES REVERSE TAKEOVER OF COMMERCIAL BEARING SERVICE

CFE Industries Inc. has successfully closed a reverse takeover of Commercial Bearing Service (1966) Ltd. Both firms are based in Edmonton, Alta. As a result of the transaction, CFE has changed its name to Commercial Solutions Inc.

The former principals of Commercial, James Barker, Ronald Gibbon and Lynne Gibbon, now own, directly or indirectly, 65.4 per cent of the post-consolidated common shares of the new company.

The agreement, signed on Oct. 1, 2002, sees CFE acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares and related party loans of Commercial for $14,303,714. The total purchase price consisted of $4,303,714 in cash and $10,000,000 in common shares.

“We are extremely pleased to expand our national presence with a company of the calibre of Commercial Bearing Service,” said Don Caron, former chief executive officer of CFE. “Commercial is one of Canada’s premier private companies and our association with them is in keeping with our strategic objective of consolidating diversified distribution companies that can be immediately integrated into our national infrastructure.”

The company’s new chairman is James Barker. Ronald Gibbon will now act as president and chief executive officer. Donald Caron will continue to act as secretary, and Eric Sauze will continue to act as chief financial officer.

Commercial Solutions becomes a national distributor in Canada of bearing and power transmission supplies, industrial safety products and resource management equipment. With 24 service centres located across the country, it is able to offer technical support, customized inventory controls and materials management services, employee and customer training and 24-hour on-call service to its customers.

The acquisition and name change are subject to final regulatory approval.

APPLIED ACQUIRES INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT IN WESTERN CANADA

Applied Industrial Technologies Ltd. of Saskatoon, Sask., has completed the acquisition of the distribution business of Industrial Equipment Co. Ltd. (IECO), a privately held distributor based in Vancouver, B.C.

IECO distributes a full range of industrial products, including bearings, power transmission components, seals, hose, filtration products and fluid power products. The acquisition includes 16 facilities throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Together in 2001, these facilities generated sales of more than C$35million.

“The addition of IECO significantly enhances our ability to serve the needs of customers in the western Canadian marketplace,” said Todd A. Barlett, Applied’s vice-president, global business development. “IECO’s reputation for high quality products and service, and its expertise in serving the forest products, oil and gas, and mining industries, will allow us to maximize the value we bring to Canadian customers.”

Applied, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cleveland, Ohio-based Applied Industrial Technologies, already operates 36 service centres and one distribution centre throughout five provinces. These locations also were obtained through an earlier acquistion. The company operates under the names Bearing & Transmission, B & T Rubber and HyPOWER Systems. Applied employs more than 340 people in Canada.

STUDY LISTS ‘GOLDEN RULES’ OF PT RELATIONSHIPS

The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) has compiled a comprehensive list of Distributor-Manufacturer Relationship Best Practices. Developed by the PTDA Industry Relations Committee, best practices were identified as a first step to creating tools to improve the levels of planning, communication and trust in working relationships in the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry.

Research conducted in late 2001 by the PTDA Educational & Scholastic Foundation found that overall lack of commitment, co-operation and communication in PT/MC distributor-manufacturer working relationships hindered both parties’ sales performance and profitability. Addressing these root problems is a prerequisite if distributors and manufacturers are to overcome long-held beliefs and mistrust and collaborate more closely to benefit customers.

Still a work in process, version 1.1 of the best practices list draws on the foundation’s research and on tools previously created by PTDA to lay out the “golden rules” of distributor-manufacturer relationships.

For more information about the best practices initiative, contact PTDA at 312-876-9461 or by e-mail at ptda@ptda.org.