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are in Western Canada, although there are six important dealership in Ontario and one in Nova Scotia. Allroc and Winroc are typical gypsum supply dealers (GSD), specializing in products for wall and ceiling sub trades: drywall, drywall tools and finishing products, steel studs, stucco, ceiling tiles, insulation and fasteners. The construction products division contributed about 11 per cent of Superior Plus’s EBITDA in 2010, or $24 million, up from $22.8 million in 2009. According to the Superior Plus 2010 Annual Report, “2010 was focused on adjusting our business for the impacts of the recession and integrating the significant growth initiatives undertaken in 2009 and early 2010.” Those growth initiatives included the acquisition, in September 2009, of Pennsylvania-based Specialty Products and Insulation, a distributor of insulation and architectural products for the commercial and industrial markets with 70 outlets in 28 states. In spite of the full year contribution to revenue from the Specialty Products purchase, however, the Superior Plus construction products division still struggled in 2010, mostly due to the continued weakness in the North American housing and commercial construction markets. The 2010 Annual Report summed up the year quite plainly: “The full impact of the recession hit in 2010, with a more challenging business environment than in 2009.” The company managed to offset the weak construction products market in 2010 through “aggressive cost reduction programs” and the acquisition of B.C.-based Burnaby Insulation, an insulation distributor serving Western Canada and the oil sands region of northern Alberta. —KL
11. DELROC INDUSTRIES Langley, B.C.
2010 Retail Sales: $610-million Points of Sale: 117 Anyone looking to find out the latest news about the Langley, B.C.based buying group Delroc Industries can skip the “News” section on the group’s website. The one and only item available for viewing there refers to Delroc’s entry, as of January 1, 2009, into the Independent Lumber Dealers Cooperative (ILDC). On that date, Delroc, along with Federated Co-operatives, La Coop Federee and The Sexton Group Ltd. joined forces with the ILDC to form a buying entity with more than 1,000 points of sale throughout Canada and generating in excess of $4-billion in annual purchases. While Delroc and Sexton joined ILDC as full members, Federated Co-ops and Coop Federee were only involved in lumber and building materials purchases, opting to remain aligned with Spancan for hardlines. Founded by Bruno Mauro of Dryco Building Supplies in 1974, Delroc has remained a privately-owned buying group
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specializing primarily in drywall, ceiling and other GSD-related products. Along with Dryco, the longest tenured members of Delroc include large regional building supply dealers like Windsor Building Supplies of Surrey, B.C.; Northern Building Supplies of Vancouver; and Peace River Building Products of Fort St. John, B.C. At the end of 2010, Delroc claimed 117 members. Like most suppliers that are closely linked to the new housing market, Delroc and its members felt the full impact of the recession in 2009, and its negative effects lingered throughout 2010. According to the group, cumulative sales for Delroc members dropped from $645-million in 2008 to $620-million in 2009, then down again in 2010 to $610-million. Delroc’s largest single member, Windsor Plywood, which operates 62 points of sale, reported sales of $218-million in 2010, up just slightly from sales of $215-million in 2009. —KL
12. TRUSERV CANADA Winnipeg
2010 Retail Sales: $600-million Points of Sale: 650 In the years leading up to the recession, it seemed like the prevailing business strategy among regional retail chains and buying groups was to just keep turning a profit long enough to get bought out by RONA. But as RONA’s bottom line diminished so did its appetite for acquisitions, and the industry was beginning to wonder when, if ever, the Quebec retail giant would get back in the buy-out game. That question was answered in resounding fashion on October 1, 2010, when RONA announced the acquisition of the Winnipeg-based hardlines distributor TruServ Canada. Through the deal, RONA took control of TruServ’s 400,000-sq.ft. distribution centre in Winnipeg and a 25,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Kitchener, Ont., but those assets were far from the motivation for the purchase. What RONA also grabbed through the deal was a new hardlines distribution relationship with the more than 650 independent dealers supplied by TruServ, some 250 of which fly the True Value, V&S and Country Depot banners. According to TruServ, its members posted retail sales of some $600 million in 2010, generating purchases through the group of some $400 million. Since the deal RONA has continued to operate TruServ as an independent division under the supervision of long-time president Bill Morrison. Speaking with Hardware Merchandising shortly after the deal was completed, RONA president Robert Dutton suggested that the product mix offered by the two companies complimented each other. “True Value is more of a hardware store, a July/August 2011
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