Rob Saltiel 

CORE & MAIN ACQUIRES

PACIFIC PIPE CO.

Core & Main announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pacific Pipe Co., based in Hawaii. The acquisition would mark Core & Main’s 14th transaction since becoming an independent company in August 2017.

“Pacific Pipe is a significant player in modernizing and expanding water infrastructure in Hawaii. Upon closing this transaction, Core & Main will expand its geographic footprint to a new state and learn from a team that has an outstanding reputation for quality products and excellent customer service,” said Steve LeClair, chief executive officer of Core & Main. “This acquisition aligns with our core principles, where team members are family and our job is to help the communities thrive.”

Pacific Pipe has been in operation since 2011, serving municipalities and contractors with a broad waterworks product offering. Pacific Pipe operates three locations, spanning the islands of Hawaii, Maui and Oahu. The company distributes materials for construction projects in the agriculture, golf, irrigation and municipal waterworks industries throughout Hawaii.

“We are excited to join the Core & Main family because both companies are guided by the same principles, with a focus on collaborative teamwork and passionately supporting customer success,” said Ken Ota, president of Pacific Pipe. “While we had other interested buyers, the Core & Main team distinguished itself from the beginning, giving us the comfort that our people would be in good hands with even greater opportunity for career development, training, and opportunities for personal and professional growth. We look forward to continuing to support our customers with an even broader product and service offering as part of Core & Main.”

Rob Saltiel 

AD HOSTS VIRTUAL FINANCE,

HR AND IT SUMMIT

The AD buying and marketing group hosted its virtual Finance, HR & IT Summit from June 7-8, welcoming a record 310 attendees from 133 member companies across all of AD’s 13 divisions in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

This summit is one of two cross-divisional and functional summits held annually, along with the eCommerce Summit, designed to extend the value of AD networking and best-practice sharing to additional disciplines within our member companies, AD explained.

During the two-day summit, attendees participated in a keynote and breakout sessions that covered key areas such as real estate, CARES Act and supply chain strategy in the finance track; diversity, equity and inclusion, the future of leadership and talent management trends in the HR track; and mobile technology, machine learning and cybersecurity in the IT track. Participants also had opportunities to network with their peers and best-in-class service providers.

The IT track was a new addition to the summit, allowing IT leaders at member companies the opportunity to come together and participate in IT-specific sessions that are affecting independent distributor businesses today, AD noted. Dan Koch, AD VP of IT, said the addition of an IT track was a natural extension of the summit.

“The summit’s value is directly connected to the learning that takes place during the sessions, the networking that occurs between members, and the ability to meet with service providers,” Koch said. “With an increase in digital applications and the rise of cybersecurity threats, IT and cybersecurity are top of mind. Adding an IT track to the summit highlights the importance of a technology strategy and enables us to partner with our members through these exciting opportunities and challenges. We were thrilled to welcome more than 44 IT leaders from member companies to their first summit.”

With three topic tracks in the summit’s agenda, Drew Moyer, AD CFO, shared one of the unique features is the ability to customize programming based on each attendee’s needs.

“Business leaders are often involved in or oversee multiple departments, making it challenging to have to attend more than one summit to get all the information that’s needed,” Moyer shared. “With three distinct tracks, attendees have the flexibility to mix and match sessions, curating the agenda to meet their goals, and ensuring they return to their businesses with tangible ideas and action items they can readily implement.”

AD Senior Vice President of Human Resources Neil Cohen added the team was excited to receive overwhelmingly positive survey results.

“While the virtual format didn’t perfectly replicate the networking experience of our in-person meetings, feedback indicates to us this year’s summit was extremely well-received,” he said. “We use survey feedback to make sure we’re continuously adding value to our members and service providers, and we’re already thinking about the slate of tracks and speakers for next year’s in-person summit scheduled for June 6-8, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona.”

Rob Saltiel 

Winsupply completes purchase of simon's supply

Winsupply has completed the purchase of Simon’s Supply Co. Simon’s Supply is one of the oldest and most established plumbing and heating distributors in southeastern Massachusetts and adjacent Rhode Island. The company serves customers from five locations in Fall River, New Bedford, Plymouth and West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

“Simon’s Supply gives Winsupply a strong market presence in southeastern Massachusetts including the South Coast, Cape Cod and Rhode Island,” said Monte Salsman, president of Winsupply Acquisitions Group. “The previous co-owners, Lloyd and Fred Felder, leave behind a strong group of people committed to serving their customers and a legacy of expertise dating back to 1933.”

Terms of the purchase of substantially all the assets of the company were not disclosed.

Compiled by Mike Miazga miazgam@bnpmeda.com