TW Metals has come a long way. Founder Harry Williams started Williams & Co. in 1907 as a boiler tubing supplier, cutting pipe to length and delivering it by wagon or trolley—or sometimes even on foot.

One hundred years later, the Exton, Pa.-based specialty metals distributor has more than 30 facilities around the world, supplying extrusions, fittings, pipe, tube, rod and bar, sheet and plate products in a variety of metals—items that can be found in products ranging from lawn mowers to space shuttles.

“When you look back at the companies that were in existence in 1907, not many of them have survived through the years,” president and CEO Jack Elrod said. “We have not only survived, but continue to have record-breaking years as we prepare ourselves for the next 100 years. Our real success is the adaptability of our people to meet whatever challenge the market may throw at us.”

Manheim, Pa.-based manufacturer Harrington Hoists Inc. is celebrating is 140^th year in business. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kito Corp., Harrington was founded in 1867 by machinist and inventor Edward Harrington in Philadelphia. In the 1880s and 1890s, Harrington obtained several patents, including an improved worm-gear driven chain hoist. In 1895, the company manufactured the country's, if not the world's, first electric hoist... Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp. is offering a free, online tool for calculating the cost of owning forklifts at www.lift-truck-cost-tool.com...Ferguson Enterprises sponsored the construction of the 100th house built by Habitat for Humanity in James City County, Va., and Simpson Strong-Tie pledged to donate $1 million in cash and products to the charity's North American operations…Praxair Inc. is giving $250,000 to the University of Buffalo to establish the Praxair Professor in Operations Research chair at the university's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and pledged $25,000 for the university's annual Business Partners Day…Danaher Motion debuted its “Linear Motioneering” Web site, a free sizing and selection tool to help OEM and factory automation users optimize machine design and operation, at www.danahermotion.com/linearmotioneering...Kimberly-Clark Professional donated thousands of health and hygiene products to residents and businesses in Winona, Minn., home base for one of its distributors, Fastenal Co., to help the community recover from extensive damage caused by recent flooding…Distributor co-operative IDC-USA named Habasit Belting as a Preferred Supplier Partner…

MRO distributor Fairmont Supply acquired Elko, Nev.-based automotive and filtration product distributor Brite Stars Sales...Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. acquired the instrument sales business of Davis Inotek Instruments LLC, which it plans to integrate into its Cole-Parmer brand…Edgen Murray Corp. acquired Equipment Valve & Supply Inc., a Houston-based PVF distributor...Airgas Inc. acquired Dantack Corp., a safety products distributor based in Grand Prairie, Texas…Hagemeyer bought Bryant Electric Supply, a Charlotte-based electrical products distributor...Praxair Inc. sold its stake in Israel-based Maxima Air Separation Center Ltd....Motion Industries acquired Washington state's Gerrish Bearing Co....French building products manufacturer/distributor Saint-Gobain acquired Swedish industrial mortar maker Maxit for $2.93 billion…

The 3M Corp.'s Columbia, Mo., operation was named to the “star” level in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Program for excellence in safety and health management...Emerson Process Management named Pepperl Fuchs GmbH “Supplier of the Year” for 2006...Modine Manufacturing Co. awarded its 2007 Arthur B. Modine Scholarships to Matthew Bauer, Emily Kaestner, Mandy Long, Katlyn Potts, Katherine Simson, Nicholas Szczech and Elizabeth Thayer. The scholarships, named after the company's founder, are available to children of full-time Modine employees...Brown Aviation Tool Supply Co. ranked No. 2,896 on Inc. magazine's “Inc. 5,000” list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States…Salem Distributing Co. was named “Company of the Year” by the Carolinas Chapter of the National Employee Stock Ownership Plan Assn....L&W Supply, a subsidiary of USG Corp., was named a “Partner of Choice” by David Weekley Homes.