Distributor alliance IBC added ATS Industrial Supply, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah, to its distributor network. IBC also added Cincinnati Belting & Transmission of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Purvis Bearing Service of Dallas to its group of bearing and power transmission distributors known as BearingSupplyPlus.

Electrical distributor GE Supply moved its National Sales Center operation to new facilities in Woodland Corporate Centre One, Indianapolis, Ind. The NSC serves as a national inside sales resource for small- and medium-sized accounts for GE Supply's branch offices across the United States.

Canadian distributor alliance IDI Independent Distributors Inc. welcomed the following companies as new members: Gilco Bearing & Supply of Saint John, New Brunswick; Kendall's Auto Electric Co. Ltd., Estevan, Saskatchewan; Ottawa Fastener Supply Ltd., Nepean, Ontario; Ranson Industrial & Safety, Sarnia, Ontario; Schooner Industrial Limited of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

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Lista U.S. Holding, the parent company of storage and workspace systems manufacturer Lista International Corp., purchased Arbell Inc., a Canadian company serving the electronics assembly and repair industry …Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. acquired Hyundai Welding Ltd. for approximately $143 million …Manufacturer Lexair, Inc. purchased Production Dynamics, a Valparaiso, Ind.-based manufacturer of collet chuck systems for CNC lathe applications …Newell Rubbermaid announced in late November an agreement to purchase hand and power tool manufacturer American Saw & Mfg. Co. (see story p. 20) …Minarik Corp. purchased Northwest Power Products of Eagan, Minn.

NYF Corp. is the 2002 Silver Winner of the New Jersey Governor's Award for Performance Excellence …Graybar was named one of the "50 Best Companies To Sell For" by Selling Power magazine for the second consecutive year …Motion Industries was named the Owens Corning MRO National Supplier of the Year 2002 … Procter & Gamble named Kaman Industrial Technologies 2002 Majority Supplier of the Year.

Send Update information to managing editor Victoria Fraza, 275 Washington St., Newton, Mass., 02458; call (617) 558-4791; fax to (617) 558-4327; or e-mail vfraza@reedbusiness.com.

Customer service took center stage at some industry conventions recently, as trade associations tried to help members get a better hold on what end-users want from distributors. At the I.D.A./ISMA meeting in November, sales consultant Dave Kahle said customers demand these five things of distributor salespeople: don't waste my time; know my business; be empowered to solve problems now; help me grow my business; we want to buy more from fewer people. Kahle pointed to this during his workshop on "The Future of the Distributor Salesforce." The key message? There will be fewer and better distributor salespeople in the years ahead, according to Kahle.

The deadline for the American Eagle Awards is fast approaching. Sponsored by the Industrial Supply Manufacturers Assn., the awards recognize members of ISMA and I.D.A. (Industrial Distribution Assn.) who have demonstrated excellence in support of employees, communities, educational institutions and the environment. The deadline to enter is January 31^st. Winners will be announced at the ISMA/I.D.A. Spring Convention in May. For an entry form, call ISMA at 216-241-7333 or visit ismaonline.org.