CLEVELAND - Applied Industrial Technologies and Hall Holdings, Inc. formed a minority-owned joint venture to distribute regulated chemicals and materials that require special handling and shipping. The company, iSource Performance Materials, will be an exclusive distributor of regulated products like adhesives, lubricants, greases, cleaners, degreasers, epoxies and paints sold through Applied's 240 service centers in the eastern U.S. The firm opened in February with 17 employees and is managed by CEO Brian E. Hall.

Because these products contain ingredients, such as alcohol, that are regulated by the Department of Transportation, they require special handling, shipping instructions and documentation.

"Bringing HHI and Applied together to form iSource was a logical fit," Hall said. "Applied needed to centralize its shipping and handling of these materials from three different sites, and we had the experience, facility and state-of-the-art systems for it."

"We offer an attractive solution for those Applied customers who strive to purchase increased levels of goods and services from minority-owned businesses," he added. Those customers include Michelin, Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Goodyear, Miller Brewing, Pillsbury and Philip Morris.

Applied chairman and CEO David Pugh said iSource is "truly a win-win for Applied and for HHI. The capabilities Brian's team offers in regulated material shipping and distribution fills a critical need for Applied. With iSource, we are providing improved and valuable regulated materials support for customers through proper labeling, proper packaging and MSDS information."

"Additionally, we are both committed to the advancement of minority employment and minority business development. iSource represents a deepening of Applied's commitment to economic opportunity in Cleveland," Pugh said. He noted that the firm's investment in the city's Midtown neighborhood began when Applied built new corporate headquarters there in 1997.

iSource is a specialty chemical distributor and expert in the shipping and handling of industrial products containing regulated materials, offering more than 2,300 products from 10 manufacturers. In addition to iSource, Cleveland-based HHI also owns Industrial Transport, Inc.