victoria.kickham@reedbusiness.com

Former Barnes Distribution president Keith Drewett officially retired on March 1, and his colleagues at the Cleveland-based company sent him off in style with a party in late January. Industrial Distribution was there in spirit, appearing on the cake that served as the centerpiece of the celebration.

Barnes employees asked a local bakery to decorate the cake with our June 2001 cover, which featured Drewett and Barnes as part of our annual Top 100 Distributors report. The cover was reprinted with permission from ID, of course, and we wish Drewett the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Fire and safety equipment distributor W.A. Vorpahl, Inc. changed its name to Vorpahl Fire and Safety, Inc... Ridge Tool Co. completed its 125,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Cambridge, Ohio. The center is 50 percent larger than the company's previous facility...Columbus-based hardware and MRO distributor Kimball Midwest achieved record sales of $79.5 million in 2005—a 19 percent increase over 2004...

Stock Building Supply, a subsidiary of Wolseley plc, acquired Universal Supply Co., a maker of construction-related products and materials such as roofing, windows, siding, doors, exterior millwork and lumber... Emerson announced plans to acquire Artesyn Technologies, which makes advanced power conversion equipment as well as hardware and software subsystems for communication applications. The deal is for $11 a share in cash. Artesyn will become part of Emerson Network Power... Welding, gases, and safety supplies distributor Airgas, Inc. acquired West Point Supply Co., Inc. and its related companies, Polar Ice Co., West Point Ice Co., Inc., and West Point Cryogenics, Inc. The West Point companies are based in Souderton, Pa...W.W. Grainger subsidiary Lab Safety Supply acquired Rand Materials Handling Equipment Co., a catalog distributor of warehouse, storage and packaging supplies based in Pawtucket, R.I...Danaher Corp. announced plans to acquire First Technology plc, a United Kingdom—based company that makes gas sensing, automotive, and safety and analysis products...

Motion Industries received a "When People Make Quality Happen" award from General Motors Spring Hill manufacturing facility... Enterprise management software firm VAI won the 2006 IBM Beacon Award for Most Innovative "Built on IBM Express Portfolio" Solution... Bearing maker SKF has been certified to the health and safety management standard OHSAS 18001 by Det Norske Veritas. OHSAS 18001 is an international standard for heath and safety management. SKF is the first of the major bearing manufacturers to achieve the certification... Distributor Hy-Tek Material Handling, Inc. won the 2005 Business First Fast 50 award in central Ohio and the 2005 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100, a national recognition.

March may well mark the official start of convention season, as three industry shows get underway this month: National Manufacturing Week, March 20–23 in Rosemont, Ill.; the Independent Sealing Distributors & Gasket Fabricators Assn.'s Gasketing/Converting Expo '06, March 29–31 in Orlando, Fla.; and the National Fastener Distributors Assn. Annual Meeting, March 29–April 2, in Napa Valley, Calif.

Next month is even bigger for industry events, as the following groups all meet for their annual conventions: NAHAD—The Assn. for Hose & Accessories Distribution; The American Machine Tool Distributors Assn.; The Assn. for High Technology Distribution; The Bearing Specialists Assn.; The National Assn. of Electrical Distributors; The Materials Handling Equipment Distributors Assn.; and the Fluid Power Distributors Assn.

For more information on these events, visit www.inddist.com and click on the "Calendar" button.