victoria.kickham@reedbusiness.com

Regional MRO distributor Turner Supply Co. is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Founded in December 2005, Turner Supply is a family-owned company that has had just three presidents in its first century of service: company founder W. Marshall Turner, (1905–1929); his nephew Howard M. Schramm, Sr., (1929–1975); and Howard M. Schramm, Jr. (1975 to present).

"Although much has changed since Turner Supply's beginnings, when we delivered products to our railway and sawmill customers via mule-drawn carts, two consistent tenets in the company's philosophy have allowed us to persevere and grow throughout our first century of business," said Schramm, Jr., president and CEO. "From day one, we have delivered only the highest quality products from the best manufacturers with cost efficiency, and we have kept a keen eye on the development of industry in order to seamlessly adapt our product offering to our customers' needs."

Turner Supply is headquartered in Mobile, Ala., and covers the Southeast from offices throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

An anniversary celebration was held in late March for Turner's employees, vendors and customers. The two-day event included a trade show featuring more than 40 of the company's top manufacturers.

The Lincoln Electric Co. is building a regional headquarters and training facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to support sales and customer service throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The 5,500 sq.-ft. facility is expected to open in May...Radiac Abrasives announced that WestView Capital Partners, a Boston private equity firm, along with the company's current management, have acquired 100 percent of the company's capital stock...Distributor alliance IBC announced that New Orleans-based janitorial wholesale company Lagasse-Sweet is now a service provider to its Industrial-SupplyPlus division...Plastic tubing and hose manufacturer NewAge Industries announced that it started an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The company has sold 30 percent of the firm to its employees as part of their retirement benefits...

Manufacturer Whitney Blake Co. acquired Adirondack Wire & Cable, a division of ASC Industries. AWC is a manufacturer of cable and cable assemblies for telecom, voice and data communications...Stock Building Supply acquired K&A Lumber Co. of Homestead, Fla., for an undisclosed price. K&A had annual sales of $128 million in 2005. Based in Raleigh, N.C., Stock is a subsidiary of Wolseley plc...3M announced plans to acquire General Industrial Diamond Co., Inc., a manufacturer of super-abrasive grinding wheels, dressing tools, and machines used to dimension and finish hard-to-grind materials in industrial and commercial markets...

W.W. Grainger awarded the following companies with its Partner in Performance Supplier Award for 2005: 3M Mexico S.A. de C.V.; Advance Transformer Co.; Aearo Technology; Akro-Mils; Albion Industries, LLC; Arrow Pneumatics, Inc.; Brady Corp.; Bradley Corp.; E.R. Wagner Manufacturing Co.; Elkay Sales, Inc.; Enerpac; Grane Transportation Lines, Ltd.; Halsey Taylor; ITW Red Head; Justrite Manufacturing Co., LLC; Lift-All Co., Inc.; Loctite Industrial Group; Mi-T-M Corp.; Motorola, Inc.; Norgren, Inc.; Nupla Corp.; Reelcraft Industries, Inc.; Schneider Electric; Spectrum Brands, Inc.; The M.K. Morse Co.; Weiler Corp.; Wells Lamont Industry Group; Wiremold Legrand.

Bearings maker The Timken Co. is marking the 50^th anniversary of its distributor training program with a "Train for Daytona" promotion. Open to past, present and future students, the contest will award one winner a NASCAR weekend at the 2007 Daytona 500 next February.

The prize package includes three nights' accommodations, two tickets for both the NASCAR Busch Series race and the Daytona 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race, admission to a hospitality area, and pit credentials.

To register, students must log on to www.timken.com/distributortrainingschool to share their favorite memories and tell how their Timken training has contributed to their professional success. The best entry will be chosen by the school's staff on Dec. 1.