These days you can find Tim Forbes working in IBT Inc.'s fluid power division, but not too long ago he was otherwise occupied, busy driving Humvees and manning checkpoints in a portion of Afghanistan as a Sergeant 1st Class, temporarily attached to the Missouri National Guard's Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion 129th Field Artillery.

Forbes told Industrial Distribution that his unit was responsible for “force protection,” or escorting military convoys safely through the area around Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city. Bravo Battery was also a quick reaction force for the Kabul area, charged with responding to violent incidents such as the Jan. 14 bombing of a luxury hotel in that city that killed six people and injured six others.

“This was my fourth deployment in the last seven-and-a-half years. I don't know what the future's going to hold,” Forbes told ID, explaining that he is still an active member of his Kansas City, Mo.-based unit. “I'm still playing weekend warrior right now.”

There's no telling when or where duty may call Forbes in the future—Delta Battery, his permanent assignment, was also dispatched to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina three years ago, and he told ID he did a stint as a military policeman in the pacific Northwest.

Forbes says he spent about six months training for his most recent deployment to Afghanistan, where he spent a full year on the ground.

IBC added Evolution Sorbent Products as a preferred supplier to its IndustrialSupplyPlus division...Evergreen Marketing Group hosted more than 400 distributors and manufacturers at its 2008 Partnership Conference at its new headquarters and training facility and elected a new slate of directors...supplyFORCE added Horizon Distribution Inc. to its Industrial Supply division and Cincinnati Belting & Transmission to its Electrical Supply division...Affiliated Distributors added the AMAROK Drywall Cooperative as a new A-D division, the buying co-op's fifth expansion via merger...Pro-Link added Brown Supply as its newest member...NetPlus Alliance added Simpson Strong-Tie as a preferred supplier...Independent Distributors Inc. added SPI Sécurité Inc., Northern Metalic Sales (FSJ) Ltd. and Northern Industrial Sales Ltd. as new members...Graybar redesigned its Web site, www.graybar.com, featuring self-service enhancements including pricing and availability, quotes and order placement...Sonepar USA celebrated its 10th anniversary in Philadelphia...Applied Industrial Technologies released its latest catalog, featuring nearly 4,000 new products...Hagemeyer debuted its 448-page marine products catalog...KJ Electric became the first exclusive stocking distributor of Dutchi Metric, IEC, and ATEX motors in the United States and Canada...Kaman Industrial Technologies received a 5-year contract from the federal General Services Administration Center for Facilities Maintenance & Hardware...

W.W. Grainger Inc. purchased a 49.9 percent stake in Asia Pacific Brands Ltd., one of India's largest industrial and electrical wholesale distributors...Private equity firm Advent International agreed to acquire an unspecified majority stake in Bradco Supply Corp....Niantic Seal Inc. acquired Northeast Rubber Products Inc....Milwaukee Gear Co. and Treat All Metals Inc. were acquired by High Road Capital Partners and Charter Oak Equity...Bosch Rexroth plans to acquire Swedish hydraulics manufacturer Hägglunds Drives AB and a majority stake in Chinese pneumatics manufacturer Zhejiang Easun Pneumatic Technology Co. Ltd....Linde Canada acquired P&B Industrial Sales Inc....The 3M Corp. agreed to acquire French adhesives and sealants manufacturers EMFI SA and SAPO SA...Wetmore Tooland Engineering acquired Sterling Carbide Inc....

Drago Supply Co. awarded its Philip Drago Sr. Vendor Achievement Award to MSA and named MSA's South Texas construction site manager Todd Menefee as the 2007 Vendor Representative of the Year...Motion Industries president and CEO Bill Stevens won the 2008 Crystal Award for Executive of the Year from the South Regions Minority Business Council...Airgas Inc. presented senior vice president of distribution operations Mike Rohde with its eighth annual Scott Melman Award, named for the late Scott Melman, former CFO, who died in 2001...GHX Industrial LLC received an Excellent Supplier Award from PPG Industries...Colonial Supply Inc. received a Platinum Distributor Award from FMC Technologies...Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. was named one of Chicago's 101 Best and Brightest Companies by the National Assn. for Business Resources...Drives LLC won the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Enhancement.