Jason Sandefur

“Our goal is to continue to build the Anixter Fasteners name into a world class brand that is recognized by customers and suppliers as being the best,” CEO Robert Grubbs stated in 2005.
To that end, Anixter pushed its annual fastener division revenue toward the $750 million mark by acquiring UK-based fastener distributor Infast Group for $71.4 million in cash plus assumption of $27.2 million in debt.
Infast operated 25 distribution centers in Britain and five in the U.S. and employed about 900 people in July 2005.
“The addition of the Infast operations to our existing OEM supply business is another significant step in positioning ourselves as a leader in the supply of fasteners,” noted Grubbs.
Months before the deal, Infast, which had sales of $287 million in 2004, sold the last of its manufacturing operations, Philidas Ltd., for about $1.3 million in move that completed a restructuring program.
During 2005 fastener revenue boosted sales growth at Anixter International during 2005. Infast contributed $126.4 million in sales during the second half of the year, with an additional $36.7 million coming from DDI.
Anixter is in the midst of integrating Infast into Anixter Fasteners, a program that it expects to complete in the first half of 2006. Anixter Fasteners is now comprised of Infast; Anixter Pentacon; UK-based Walters Hexagon, acquired in September 2003 for $43.9 million; and Distribution Dymanics Inc., which Anixter bought for $32.9 million in June 2004.
Anixter Fasteners” 2,000 employees provide more than 185,000 products from 75 facilities in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France and Italy.
Anixter bought Pentacon in September 2002 for $111.4 million, transforming the fastener distributor into Anixter Pentacon. Pentacon was near bankruptcy due to $100 million in debt, much of it from acquisitions, when Anixter acquired it.
Overall Anixter sales rose 17.4% to $3.85 billion in 2005, producing a 37% jump in operating income to $189.4 million. Annual profit climbed 22% to $90 million.
Geographically, Anixter sales in North America grew 14.3% to $2.85 billion, while sales in Europe gained 31% to $726.1 million. Combined sales in Asia and Latin America, the company”s emerging markets, increased 19.5% to $270.5 million.
Anixter expects to spend $28.5 million in capital expenditures during 2006 for facility consolidations, computer system upgrades and new software.
Chicago billionaire Sam Zell owns about 14% of Anixter.
Worldwide, Anixter operates 132 warehouses in the U.S., 17 in Canada, 45 in the UK, 25 in Europe, 15 in Latin America, 16 in Asia and 4 in Australia/ New Zealand.
Anixter is a global distributor of wiring systems and networking products that sells 325,000 items from more than 4,000 suppliers to 95,000 customers.
Corporate Office: 2301 Patriot Blvd., Glenview, IL 60026. Tel: 224 521-8000 or 800 ANI-XTER Fax 224 521-8555
Web: anixter.com
NYSE Symbol: AXE
CEO: Robert Grubbs Jr., 49
Investor Relations: Dennis Letham, 54
Founded: 1957Employees: 6,800 \ �2006 FastenerNews.com