The majority of distribution industry companies spent 2022 enjoying a tidal wave of business as the economy rebounded on post-pandemic pent-up demand.
For many, double-digit growth was the inevitable result of high volumes and the price increases that followed inflationary pressures. Fast forward one year, and the 2023 numbers are in: did distributors fare as well?
WATCH OUR BIG 50 COUNTDOWN VIDEOS: Part 1: 50-31, Part 2: 30-11, Part 3: 10-1
It’s clear that the Big 50 List this year, in which we rank industrial distributors based on their 2023 performances, is a bit more varied. Many maneuvered through uneven end markets: costs continued to rise, while customers reached a breaking point on price increases.
The escalator may have stopped, but there was still a set of stairs to climb. We saw many companies incrementally grow, with a few who actually blew 2022 out of the water. Perhaps most importantly, we saw just a handful of them go backwards.
Tellingly, the companies on our Big 50 List are moving forward despite any short-term roadblocks they may have encountered last year. Instead of retreating with the soft categories that supported them, we heard from many a story of growth: heavy acquisition activity, product line expansions, new branches, executive hires – all the things that change the tenor to create the exact right kind of “humming along” for each business.
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 2024 Industrial Distribution Big 50:
The 2024 Industrial Distribution Big 50 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
# |
Company |
Headquarters |
2022 Sales |
Top Executive |
Locations |
Employees |
|
1 |
Lake Forest, IL |
$16.5 billion |
D.G. Macpherson |
431 |
26,000 |
|
|
2 |
Birmingham, AL | $8.8 billion | James Howe | 753 | 9,400 |
|
|
3 |
Radnor, PA | $7.8 billion | Marcelo Fioranelli | 1,400 | 18,000 |
|
|
4 |
Winona, MN | $7.3 billion | Daniel Florness | 3,419 | 23,201 | |
5 |
Moraine, OH | $7 billion | Jeff Dice | 655 | 8,533 | |
6 |
St. Louis, MO | $6.7 billion | Steve LeClair | 350 | 5,500 |
|
|
7 |
Atlanta, GA | $6.1 billion | Alan Sollenberger | 450 | 10,000 | |
|
8 |
Cleveland, OH | $4.4 billion | Neil Schrimsher | 580 | 6,200 | |
9 |
Melville, NY | $4 billion | Erik Gerschwind | 58 | 7,000 | |
10 |
Houston, TX | $3.4 billion | Rob Saltiel | 219 | 2,800 |
|
|
11 |
Wesco (Industrial) | Pittsburgh, PA | $3.1 billion | John Engel |
800 | 22,000 |
12 |
Greenwood, IN | N/A | Larry Stevens | 69 | 2,374 | |
13 |
Belmont, NC | N/A | Chuck Delph |
400 | 5,000 | |
14 |
Houston, TX | $2.32 billion | David Cherechinsky | 165 | 2,475 | |
15 |
Bedford, MA | $2.27 billion | Jeff Pope | 107 | 3,210 | |
16 |
Graybar (Industrial) | St. Louis, MO | $2 billion | Kathleen Mazzarella |
345 | 9,500 |
17 |
Houston, TX | $1.7 billion | David Little | 169 | 2,837 |
|
|
18 |
Fort Worth, TX | $1.6 billion | J. Bryan King | N/A | 3,700 | |
19 |
Novi, MI | N/A | Mitch Bair | N/A | N/A | |
20 |
Port Washington, NY | $1.3 billion | Richard Leeds | 8 | 1,870 |
|
|
21 |
Cleveland, OH | $1 billion | Carl James | 181 | 1,423 |
|
|
22 |
Fargo, ND | $954 million | Jason Seger | 132 | 3,508 | |
23 |
Clark, NJ | N/A | Jayne Millard | 17 | 1,042 |
|
|
24 |
Wood Dale, IL | $694 million | Daniel Harms | 29 | 1,600 |
|
|
25 |
Tulsa, OK | N/A | John Mark | 55 | 1,260 |
|
|
26 |
Atlanta, GA | N/A | Glenn Pennycook | 26 | 700 |
|
|
27 |
Ann Arbor, MI | $585 million | Manoj Sachdeva | 24 | 1,275 |
|
|
28 |
Raleigh, NC | $530 million | Philippe Legris |
80 | 1,100 |
|
|
29 |
Columbus, OH | N/A | Pat McCurdy | 5 | 2,425 |
|
|
30 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $515 million | William Matthews |
50 | 750 |
|
|
31 | Brillion, WI | $496 million | Michael Knight | 85 | 1,100 |
|
|
32 | Wajax (Industrial) |
Toronto, ON | $444 million | Iggy Domagalski | 120 | 3,000 |
|
33 | Zelienople, PA | $397 million | Charles Hale | 58 | 800 |
|
|
34 | Greensboro, NC |
$377 million | Ed Pearce | 34 | 531 |
|
|
35 |
Cedar Falls, IA | N/A | David Jones | 81 | 2,900 | |
36 |
Pittsburgh, PA | N/A | Jeffrey T. Crane | 72 | 1,000 |
|
|
37 |
Littleton, CO | $292 million | Ross Surratt | 59 | 664 |
|
|
38 | Fort Worth, TX | N/A | Lon Jennings | 35 | 474 |
|
|
39 |
Jacksonville, FL | $283 million | Tom Henry | 49 | 710 | |
40 | Vernon Hills, IL | $279 million | Jeff Waller | N/A | N/A |
|
|
41 |
Florence, AL | $270 million | David Ruggles, Douglas Ruggles | 20 | 430 |
|
|
42 |
Cincinnati, OH |
$268 million | James E. Stahl III | 5 | 285 |
|
|
43 |
Greenville, SC |
N/A | Kip Miller | 19 | 400 |
|
|
44 |
Longview, WA | $251 million | Tim Loy | 40 | 620 |
|
|
45 |
Danvers, MA | $236 million | Bud Richard | 15 | 150 |
|
|
46 |
Flint, MI | $190 million | Chris Clarambeau | 14 | 500 |
|
|
47 |
Annapolis Junction, MD | $181 million | Doug Ardinger | 12 | 285 |
|
|
48 |
Dallas, TX | $166 million | Bryan Gauger | 10 | 170 |
|
|
49 |
Liverpool, NY | N/A | Bob Hund |
14 |
400 | |
|
50 |
San Jose, CA |
$127 million | Joseph Nettemeyer |
12 |
169 | |
Read more in the September-October issue of Industrial Distribution magazine. Subscribe to our daily e-newsletter here.
See previous Big 50 lists:
