Zach Snider of Charlottesville, Va., won the Irwin Industrial Tools “Ultimate Tradesman Challenge Eastern Regional Championship,” meaning he will advance to the national championship in Phoenix this fall.

The tool maker's quest for the top tradesmen in the United States has taken it to 14 states, where several thousand tradesmen have competed for a spot in the Eastern Regional Championship.

The winner gets the keys to a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck customized by the Roush Performance racing team and a dream barbeque at their home with Jamie McMurray and the #26 Irwin race team. The winner will also get a crack at a $1.26 million cash prize.

Snider won the Eastern Regional Championship by measuring, marking and drilling a piece of lumber in 20.67 seconds, the fastest time among his 10 competitors. In addition to advancing to the national championship in November, Snider took home $10,000, an Irwin Racing pit crew jersey and a tool bag filled with professional-grade products.

PUMP-FLO Solutions' Web site, PUMP-FLO.com, surpassed the 100,000 registered user mark. The site offers information on the pump industry, research articles, training and software opportunities and downloadable pump catalogs from more than 65 manufacturers…Emerson Electric Co. pledged $1 million to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri for the agency's move into new headquarters and the launch of its Urban Expansion Project…Cooper Industries Ltd. celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Crescent brand of hand tools…French electrical distributor Rexel announced lamp, ballast, and battery recycling services at its 325 locations in the United States in conjunction with Veolia Environmental Services…Applied Industrial Technologies plans to release its new catalog in July, combining its Applied Maintenance America and Fluid Power Connection catalogs and adding more than 10,000 new items…

Hardware distributor Austin Hardware and Supply Inc. acquired JPC Specialties, a Philadelphia-based fastener distributor…Activant Solutions Inc. bought Canadian distribution software maker Silk Systems Inc.…Allied Building Products Corp. acquired Spartan Supply Co.…Praxair Distribution Inc. bought Wilson Welding & Medical Gases…Lab Safety Supply Inc., a W.W. Grainger Inc. subsidiary, acquired McFeely's Square Drive Screws…Radiac Abrasives bought Bates Abrasives Inc.…

Motion Industries won the 2006 National Distributor of the Year Award from power transmission products maker Hub City Inc.; the 2006 Special Appreciation Award from Electrical South; Distributor of the Year from Hewitt-Robins Conveyor Components; and was honored for on-time delivery by Lyondell Equistar Co.…Kennametal Inc. president and CEO Carlos Cardoso was named one of the top five industrial and machinery company CEOs by Institutional Investor magazine…Actuant Corp. was named a Top 100 “Hot Growth Company” by Business Week magazine…Specialty chemicals maker and distributor E.T. Horn Co. won 3M Corp.'s 2006 Outstanding Sales Growth Award…MSC Industrial Direct won a Loss Control Safety Award from the Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. for improving workplace safety…Wilson Tool International was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI…Industrial, medical and specialty gases distributor AWESCO won the Excellence Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the New York Business Development Corp.…W.W. Grainger Inc. won the Henry P. Davison Award from the American Red Cross for its “Ready When the Time Comes” employee volunteer program…C.H. Briggs ranked 7th on Pennsylvania's Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry's “Greater Reading Top 50,” which ranks companies based on revenue growth.