Suppliers news: Wolseley Industrial shakes things up

Wolseley Industrial Canada (WIC) has had a busy summer, announcing in July that it has acquired QIP Equipment and sold a business division to Emco.

QIP was founded in Montreal and has operated since 1976 as a wholesale distributor of manual and actuated valves, fittings, control and instrumentation products.

The firm’s 29 employees and operations in New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec will become part of WIC.

“QIP strengthens our business in three key provinces, adding products, capabilities and an experienced team,” vice-president of WIC Bryn Murray said.

Three days after picking up QIP the company announced that it has sold its Engineered Pipe Group (EPG) to London, Ont.-based industrial supply wholesaler Emco. EPG includes the high-density polyethylene  (HDPE) pipe, fittings and flanges, and fabricated vessel products.

“Given the long-term goals of each company and Emco’s desire to grow its HDPE business, the transaction is beneficial for both parties and for EPG employees,” WIC’s Murray said.

“We welcome the new teammates to our family and look forward to building on their proud history and co-inventing an exciting future in growing our HDPE business in Canada together,” vice-president and general manager of Emco’s industrial division Kevin O’Reilly said.

WIC is a Burlington, Ont.-based subsidiary of plumbing and heating supply giant Wolseley (LSE: WOS), which employs 40,000 people at 2,900 branches, in 10 countries. In 2014 the Swiss-headquartered parent company generated £12.8 billion in revenue, £778 million of which came from its Canadian operations.