Distributors and manufacturers alike are increasingly looking to expand their footprints overseas, as demonstrated by a rash of recent foreign acquisitions.

As usual, Wolseley leads the charge. The British building materials distribution giant made 10 acquisitions for $353.6 million so far this fiscal year.

Of the company's five most recent buyouts, on which it spent $174.7 million, four were in the United States: Wolseley's Stock Building Supply subsidiary bought commercial door manufacturer/distributor Architectural Building Supply Co. of Salt Lake City and Jacobi Hardware Co. of Wilmington, N.C., and KBC Construction, a turn-key framer and wall panel manufacturer based in Albuquerque; its Ferguson Enterprises plumbing supplies subsidiary snapped up the inventory of J.D.'s Wholesale Plumbing & Supply, a Pagosa Springs, Colo.-based plumbing distributor.

Just across the English Channel from its home base, Wolseley France acquired roof truss manufacturer Sofiparts SAS.

Another European leviathan, Dutch electrical distributor Hagemeyer, expanded in Latvia with a pair of purchases: SIA Energo and SIA Kolorits, both acquired through its Finnish subsidiary, Elektroskandia Oy.

Not to be outdone, French competitor Rexel (which made headlines with its bid for Hagemeyer—see p. 14) looked even further afield, acquiring Australian electrical distributor EIW Holdings in its seventh bolt-on buy this year.

American distributors also got in on the act, led by West Chester, Pa.-based lab supplies distributor VWR International, which acquired Dutch competitor Omnilabo International.

Detroit-based electrical controls distributor McNaughton-McKay Electric Co. entered the German market with its pickup of S+S GmbH and S&D GmbH, Rockwell Automation's distributor in that country.

And Avnet Inc., the Phoenix-based electronic components distributor, acquired ChannelWorx Pty. Ltd., an Australian network and security products distributor.

American manufacturers also increased their overseas footprints, with 3M Corp. agreeing to acquire Unifam, a Polish abrasives manufacturer.

Paoli, Pa.-based electric motors and instruments manufacturer Ametek Inc. got into the British distribution market with a $74 million buyout of Umeco R&O, the MRO division of British distributor Umeco plc. That helped Ametek enter the French market as well—Umeco R&O has a location in Toulouse.

Regal Beloit Corp. paid cash—though the Beloit, Wis.-based power transmission products manufacturer was coy about how much—for an Alstrom Corp. business that makes industrial motors and fans in India.

Glenview, Ill.-based Illinois Tool Works looked to Denmark for its latest foreign adventure, acquiring Densit, a manufacturer of cement-based special-purpose materials.

And Emerson Electric's climate technologies division spent $35.5 million building a 410,000-square-foot compressor plant in the Czech Republic, part of the St. Louis-based manufacturer's plan to expand its reach into the European semi-hermetic products market.

Cleveland-based Eaton Corp. stayed closer to home with its acquisitions of Babco Electric Group, a Canadian switchgear manufacturer, and Arrow Hose & Tubing Inc., an Ontario-based hose and tubing maker.

China was the name of the game for Cooper Industries. The Houston-based electrical manufacturer began a joint venture with China's Nature Science and Technology Co., a switchgear maker.

And finally, Swedish compressor manufacturer Atlas Copco also saw opportunity in the Far East, acquiring the remaining 75 percent stake in one of its joint venture partners, Shenyang Ruifeng Machinery.