Newton, Mass.— While some of the industry's most active consolidators have dropped off the radar screen, those with a "slow and steady" approach continue to make headlines.

Cameron & Barkley's announcement this summer that it would acquire Briggs-Weaver is perhaps the biggest consolidation news in recent history. The marriage of the two 100-plus year-old companies brings CamBar's parent, Hagemeyer North America, closer to its goal to become a premier North American industrial distribution services company.

"The alliance of Briggs-Weaver and Hagemeyer has great potential," David Gundling, president and CEO of Hagemeyer North America, said in an August press release announcing the deal.

Others agree. With a presence in 26 states, Canada and Mexico, and annual sales over $1.5 billion, Hagemeyer NA is one of the industry's largest players. The CamBar/Briggs-Weaver match increases coverage in the Southwest and Mexico and steps up the company's focus on integrated supply.

In a sense, the merger also returns Briggs-Weaver to the industrial distribution community. The Texas-based firm was acquired in 1952 by Sammons Enterprises, a holding company with diverse interests at the time. Sammons announced plans to sell its distribution unit earlier this year, saying it didn't fit with the company's future plans. Now, some say Briggs-Weaver is in a better position to grow as part of a company focused solely on industrial distribution.

"Overall, I'd say it was a positive move for the Briggs-Weaver community," said Tom Reid, Briggs-Weaver's former president, who retired from the company in 1997. Reid now works for industrial giant Airgas, Inc. "It's positive for Briggs-Weaver, moving forward, that they are part of this distribution conglomerate that [Hagemeyer is] building."

Hagemeyer has made a handful of major acquisitions since 1999 — Tristate Electrical & Electronics Supply, Vallen Corp., Cameron & Barkley and now Briggs-Weaver. That's fewer per year than some of the other consolidators who were making headlines in the late 1990s. But that may be an advantage.

"Companies that are pursuing a slow and steady consolidation model are not as exciting as the hyper-growth consolidators, but are much better positioned for the long haul," said Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, a consulting firm specializing in distribution channels.

Fein explained that many industry consolidators are now facing what he calls "roll-up realities."

"Number one, the stock prices of most consolidators ... have dropped by 90 percent or more," he said. "Two, consolidators over-emphasized acquisitions at the expense of building an integrated business with a strong operating vision and the discipline to impose that vision."

That's an important factor going forward, Fein said. His firm recently completed research for the Facing the Forces of Change report, published every three years by the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors. Among the findings of that report is that customers will continue to reduce their distributor base and look for national account agreements.

"Companies that can take advantage of those trends by building larger, more integrated organizations will benefit," said Fein.