The 2023 Industrial Distribution Big 50

Distributors are hungry to win — and it shows.

Sep 29, 2023

It’s been an exciting year for the distribution industry.

This year’s edition of the Industrial Distribution Big 50 is packed with companies who have largely shrugged off the pandemic and come out at an advantage. The average company on our list achieved year-over-year sales increases in the double digits.

WATCH OUR BIG 50 COUNTDOWN VIDEOS: Part 1: 50-31, Part 2: 30-11, Part 3: 10-1

Although many saw big years without major acquisitions, dozens of other distributors on this year’s list have also been active on the mergers and acquisitions front — with some exciting developments that will alter the shape of Big 50 lists to come.

Presenting the 2023 Big 50:

The 2023 Industrial Distribution Big 50
#	Company	Headquarters	2022 Sales	Top Executive	Locations	Employees
1	W.W. Grainger	Lake Forest, IL	$15.2 billion	DG Macpherson	425	26,000
2	Motion	Birmingham, AL	$8.4 billion	Randy Breaux	750+	9,100+
3	Airgas	Radnor, PA	$7.1 billion	Marcelo Fioranelli	1,400	18,000
4	Winsupply	Moraine, OH	$7 billion	Jeff Dice	661	7,815
5	Fastenal	Winona, MN	$6.98 billion	Daniel Florness	2,206	22,386
6	White Cap	Norcross, GA	N/A	John Stegeman	N/A	9,500+
7	Wesco (Industrial)	Pittsburgh, PA	N/A	John Engel	800	20,000+
8	Applied Industrial Technologies	Cleveland, OH	$3.8 billion	Neil Schrimsher	568	6,100
9	MSC	Melville, NY	$3.7 billion	Erik Gerschwind	N/A	N/A
10	MRC Global	Houston, TX	$3.36 billion	Rob Saltiel	N/A	N/A
11	Würth Industry North America	Greenwood, IN	$3.23 billion	Larry Stevens	80	2,500
12	Vallen Distribution	Belmont, NC	N/A	Chuck Delph	600	4,500
13	F.W. Webb	Bedford, MA	$2.18 billion	Jeff Pope	106	3,211
14	DistributionNOW	Houston, TX	$2.13 billion	David Cherechinsky	170	2,425
15	Graybar (Industrial)	St. Louis, MO	$1.8 billion	Kathleen Mazzarella	325+	9,400
16	Ferguson	Newport News, VA	N/A	Kevin Murphy	1,700	36,000
17	DXP	Houston, TX	$1.5 billion	David Little	N/A	N/A
18	Distribution Solutions Group	Chicago, IL	$1.27 billion	J. Bryan King	66	3,800
19	Global Industrial Company	Port Washington, NY	$1.16 billion	Barry Litwin	7	1,650
20	BDI	Cleveland, OH	$935 million	Carl James	187	1,347
21	Turtle	Clark, NJ	N/A	Jayne Millard	16	935
22	Border States	Fargo, ND	$684 million	David White	105	2,700
23	Optimas Solutions	Wood Dale, IL	$645 million	Daniel Harms	37	1,400
24	BlackHawk Industrial	Tulsa, OK	N/A	John Mark	50+	2,000
25	D&C North America	Raleigh, NC	$558 million	Philippe Legris	80	1,200
26	EIS Inc.	Atlanta, GA	N/A	Glenn Pennycook	30	943
27	EWIE Group	Ann Arbor, MI	$514 million	Manoj Sachdeva	12	1,016
28	Endries International	Brillion, WI	$513 million	Michael Knight	73	1,020
29	R.S. Hughes Co.	Sunnyvale, CA	$503 million	William Matthews	50	726
30	Kimball Midwest	Columbus, OH	$440 million	Pat McCurdy	5	2,400
31	Hisco	Houston, TX	$404 million	Bob Dill	N/A	N/A
32	Wajax (Industrial)	Mississauga, ON	$391 million	Iggy Domagalski	N/A	N/A
33	Bossard Inc.	Cedar Falls, IA	N/A	David Jones	82	2,879
34	Tencarva Machinery	Greensboro, NC	$304 million	Ed Pearce	32	444
35	ERIKS NA	Pittsburgh, PA	N/A	Jeffrey Crane	65	900
36	Motion & Flow Control Products Inc.	Littleton, CO	$272 million	Ross Surratt	56	654
37	Bridgestone HosePower	Orange Park, FL	$268 million	Tom Henry	45	682
38	CBT Company	Cincinnati, OH	$264 million	James Stahl III	3	284
39	DGI Supply	Vernon Hills, IL	$260 million	James Hobbs	27	480
40	Hydradyne LLC	Fort Worth, TX	$242 million	Lon Jennings	33	450
41	Mallory Safety & Supply	Portland, OR	$228 million	Tim Loy	35	590
42	Eastern Industrial Supplies	Greenville, SC	N/A	Kip Miller	18	350
43	Banner Industries of N.E.	Danvers, MA	$194 million	Bud Richard	13	110
44	Shively Bros. Inc.	Flint, MI	$193 million	Chris Clarambeau	14	500
45	Martin Supply	Florence, AL	$188 million	David Ruggles & Douglas Ruggles	19	430
46	IBT Industrial Solutions	Shawnee, KS	$178 million	Jeffrey Cloud	36	358
47	Cisco-Eagle	Dallas, TX	$165 million	Darein Gandall	7	150
48	Cummins-Wagner	Annapolis Junction, MD	$164 million	Doug Ardinger	11	275
49	GME Supply	Columbia, MO	$154 million	Caleb Messer	7	225
50*	Echelon Supply and Service	Liverpool, NY	$153 million	Matt DeKay	14	406
50*	Valin Corp.	San Jose, CA	$153 million	Joseph Nettemeyer	12	162