Content area
Full text
Once again, Industrial Distribution is proud to present our list of the Top 100 industrial distributors in North America. This special report ranks the industry's largest players by sales volume.
Last year was a great year for many of the companies listed in the following pages. The majority of firms posted healthy sales gains, the bulk of which came from market penetration, as consolidation has slowed in the last couple of years. Looking ahead, however, most firms are predicting modest growth in 2001 due to the slowing industrial economy.
"This year is quite cruel; a very, very weak year," says Pete Cross, president of Cross Co., a fluid power distributor based in Greensboro, N.C., and No. 59 on this year's list.
Robert McPherson, president of British Columbia-based BC Bearing Group, No. 58, agrees. "2001 is pretty iffy," he says. "We're doing well in Canada, but the U.S. is down."
The most negative reports come from those serving sectors like auto, steel and heavy equipment manufacturing. "The jury's still out on heavy industry. I don't see anything turning them...