Lawson Products Inc.'s chairman and CEO Robert Washlow retired in April.

The Des Plaines, Ill.-based company named president and COO Thomas Neri to replace Washlow as CEO effective April 13, and added Ronald Port as non-executive board chairman and James Errant as Washlow's replacement on its board. Port and Errant are relatives of Lawson founder Sidney Port.

“I have enjoyed my years at Lawson immensely and have reached a point where I would like to spend more time with my family, focus on personal business activities, long on hold, and increase my involvement in community activities. I am confident that the team we have built will continue to take our family of businesses forward in the years to come,” said Washlow, 62, who started at Lawson in 1998 and was named chairman and CEO the next year.

Lawson distributes MRO products and manufactures and distributes specialized component parts to the OEM market. The company ranked 21st on INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION's 2006 Big 50 list of distributors, and had revenues of $518.2 million last year.