MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE: MSM), a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States, announced that it will enter the Canadian market with the acquisition of Barnes Distribution North America (BDNA), the North American distribution business of the Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B).

In addition to gaining access to the Canadian market, with this acquisition MSC will double the size of its sales force and expand its portfolio of inventory management solutions and other metalworking and MRO products and services.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, BDNA is a leading distributor of fasteners and other high margin, low cost consumables with a broad distribution footprint throughout the United States and Canada.

In addition to its three Canadian distribution centers in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick, BDNA maintains seven facilities throughout the United States. From this state-of-the-art distribution and logistic network, nearly 1,400 associates provide on-site service in virtually every zip and postal code, and have 24/7 live access to pricing and product availability.

BDNA serves roughly 31,000customers across Canada and the United States, and offers more than 55,000 SKU’s of products.
The company has a strong presence with customers across manufacturing, government, transportation and natural resources end-markets, which will allow MSC to broaden its reach to these segments. Upon completion of the acquisition, which is expected during MSC’s fiscal third quarter, customers across North America will have access to over 900,000 metalworking and MRO products from top brands, new inventory management solutions, guaranteed same day shipping and next-day delivery, and enhanced application support and expertise. 

“MSC’s acquisition of BDNA reflects our continued commitment to provide our customers with the best, most accessible metalworking and MRO solutions. Now, customers across both the United States and Canada will benefit from unparalleled inventory management solutions, an expanded product portfolio and an enhanced ability to help their businesses succeed,” said, Erik Gershwind, president and CEO of MSC. “From a business perspective, this transaction, along with our expected long-term organic growth, will help us to achieve our goal of $4 billion in revenues by 2016.

A replay of the MSC management conference call addressing the acquisition and details of the transaction can be accessed at www.mscdirect.com.