Sales: $100 million
CEO: Hal Uhrman
Headquarters: Cleveland, Ohio
Locations: 7
Employees: 800
www.stateindustrial.com

State Industrial Products makes its Big 50 debut this year. The company sells chemicals, cutting tools, electrical products, fasteners, hose and fittings, safety products and welding supplies to customers in the , and Puerto Rico. Chemicals represent 60 percent of the company’s business. Director of marketing Robert Heintz says acquisition is a key part of State Industrial’s growth strategy, which is concentrated in North America. On the economic front, he says 2007 is shaping up nicely. “We’re starting with a little over 10 percent growth through the first quarter,” Heintz says. “We’re very excited with the way the year has started for us.”

49. Machinery Systems Inc.

Sales: $108 million
President: Ronald Mager
Headquarters: Schaumburg, Ill.
Locations: 2
Employees: 63
www.machsys.com

With the exception of the automotive market, manufacturing (especially in the aerospace, mining and medical markets) is coming back strong, says Ron Mager, president of Machinery Systems, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2007. Thanks to these bright spots, the company looks to end the year up 5 percent in machine tool sales. “We’re doing better at leveraging relationships across our five different business units, something we historically have been bad at,” he says. The company is also doing more marketing with its catalog, to make sure the “customer sees us before [they see] the competition.”

48. Ohio Transmission & Pump

Sales: $112 million
President: Phil Derrow
Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
Locations: 15
Employees: 312
www.otpnet.com

OTP, which is celebrating its 44th year in business, had a 12 percent sales increase in 2006. President Phil Derrow says he expects double-digit growth in 2007, as well. Although the economy was generally good in the six-state region his company serves, Derrow says OTP’s top-notch employees were keys to the company’s growth. He says sales were strong in the automotive market, food and beverage industries and the energy sector. Derrow hired nearly 20 employees in 2006, and says the company focused on creating an environment in which people can excel.

47. Mahar Tool Supply

Sales: $114 million
President and CEO:
Barbara Mahar Lincoln
Headquarters: Saginaw, Mich.
Locations: 6
Employees: 142
www.mahartool.com

Mahar Tool Supply had a solid year in 2006. CEO Barbara Mahar Lincoln credited their employees and cited some revisions to the company’s general business approach as among the reasons. “We’ve made a concerted effort over the past several years to diversify our business,” she says. “These efforts are yielding returns by helping to minimize exposure to any one industry.” Mahar Tool has begun phase 1 of its improved corporate Web site. Scheduled for completion later in 2007, the site will include more technical support, product inquiry and company and service information, she says. Mahar tool sells cutting tools, abrasives and other MRO supplies.

46. Tencarva Machinery Co. 

Sales: $124 million
President: Rodney Lee
Headquarters: Greensboro, N.C.
Locations: 22
Employees: 250
www.tencarva.com

“Last year was excellent, as our base business grew significantly, excluding acquisitions,” says president Rod Lee. The distributor of pumps, compressors and accessories acquired Emory Wilson Co., which expanded its presence in the municipal market, and Engineering Equipment Co., which added product lines, including submersible pumps. The recovery of the phosphate industry in Florida is a bright spot, and the compressed air business continues to grow, Lee says. The company, which maintains several Web sites due to acquisitions, is now working toward consistency among the sites. “We don’t want to lose the market value of our

45. Indoff Inc.

Sales: $126 million
President: Jim Malkus
Headquarters: St. Louis
Locations: 400
Employees: 450
 www.indoff.com

Last year was “steady but not spectacular,” says Indoff president Jim Malkus. “People are doing things, but it’s not a gung-ho economy.” He says he doesn’t anticipate any acquisitions. “We grow by hiring additional salespeople. We don’t acquire companies or anything of that nature,” he says. The materials handling and office products distributor will be focusing on certain lines in 2007. “One is lighting solutions for warehouses,” Malkus says. “We’re trying to take advantage of the green movement, and saving on utility costs. Another line is shredders—ranging from the one in your office to those as large as the industrial shredders.”

44. Carlson Systems LLC

Sales: $130 million
President & CEO: Gary Gettle
Headquarters: Omaha, Neb.
Locations: 41
Employees: Approx. 300
www.csystems.com

Residential construction slowed substantially in 2006, but business remained strong, says president-CEO Gary Gettle, who expects residential housing to bounce back later this year. “In ’07, we are very positive about seeing an upswing in the third and fourth quarters,” he says. While residential was slowing down, Carlson sold more commercial construction products and emphasized industrial fastening and its packaging business. “About 40 percent of our business now is in packaging: stretch wrappers, shrink wrappers and all the consumables that flow through that,” Gettle says. Packaging has always been big for Carlson, but Gettle says it represents a growth opportunity today.

43. FCx Performance Inc.

Sales: $132 million
President: Charlie Simon
Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
Locations: 20
Employees: 210
www.fcxperformance.com

FCx had some “nice organic growth” last year, says COO/CIO Russ Frazee. The company, which sells instrumentation, gauges, fittings and related products, added product lines in new regions and invested in training for new sales staff. An instrumentation company was a “good tuck-in acquisition,” he says. Last year’s e-business rollout has meant easier ordering for customers and faster invoicing for FCx staff, though Frazee says Web transactions are not a huge part of the way the company does business. Thanks to markets for ethanol and power coming on strong, and the price of natural gas dropping, the company looks for a healthy 2007.

42. Hydradyne Hydraulics

Sales: $134 million
President: Ed Strickland
Headquarters: Harvey, La.
Locations: 18
Employees: 310
www.hydra-dyne.com

Hydradyne Hydraulics didn’t just have a good year in 2006—it had a fantastic year, according to vice president Gale Helton. “Business just couldn’t have been better,” he says, noting that sales increased 30 percent. The oil field and drilling businesses were booming, and the transportation sector was strong, as well.  The company sells products in nine states, and although business was good in nearly all of them, it was exceptionally strong in Texas and Oklahoma. The company is projecting a 13 percent sales increase this year. “We’ve seen a little slowdown but we’ll make our plan,” Helton says.

41. IBT Inc.

Sales: $136 million
President: Stephen Cloud
Headquarters: Merriam, Kansas
Locations: 50
Employees: 430
www.ibtinc.com

IBT saw its sales rise by $11 million over 2005 for an increase in gross profit of 14.5 percent, says IBT president Stephen Cloud.  “Our traditional branch sales were up $7 million and our integrated services group, while continuing to gain momentum, contributed the other $4 million in growth,” Cloud says. “We continue to see expansion in our core markets of energy (including ethanol), food processing, aerospace, and aggregates. We are anticipating a continued growth rate of over 6 percent during the remainder of 2007.” Earlier this year, Cloud succeeded Mike Nemechek as IBT’s president. Nemechek had been president since 2004.

40. Dillon Supply Co.

Sales: $144 million
President: Dean Wagoner
Headquarters: Raleigh, N.C.
Locations: 25
Employees: 360
www.dillonsupply.com

Steel products proved to be the key reason 2006 was a “pretty good year, overall,” says Dillon Supply president Dean Wagoner. “Steel [profits] were up 14 percent for us, which was about 25 percent of our sales,” Wagoner adds. Dillon has continued to focus on smaller customers. “We’ll continue to focus not just on the large accounts, but the smaller and medium-sized ones,” Wagoner says. The company is now in the early stages of rolling out a new Web catalog, and will be carefully gauging customer feedback. “We see that as being important to us in the future,” Wagoner explains.

39. Canadian Bearings Inc.

Sales: $148 million
President: Don Latham
Headquarters: Mississauga, Ontario
Locations: 38
Employees: 400
www.canadianbearings.com

Though 2006 was a good year for Canadian Bearings, president Don Latham calls it “a slow growth” year, as much of the economy in Eastern Canada was “flat or declining.” Customers in the forestry industry, for example, have been hit hard as demand has slowed for pulp, paper and lumber, Latham explains. More of Canadian Bearings’ customers are ordering online; 20 percent to 25 percent of its transactions in 2006 were made via the Internet, Latham says. “Each year, the percentage of our transactions that come via e-commerce increases and I would expect that will continue,” he says.

38. Ewie Group

Sales: $149 million
President: Dilip Mullick
Headquarters: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Locations: 6
Employees: 196
www.ewie.com

Ewie welcomed recognition this year when it was cited as a valuable supplier by Ford Motor Co. and General Motors. “The American auto industry is not promising, but I strongly believe that will change and we will restore its glory,” says president Dilip Mullick. The cutting tools and abrasives distributor opened two companies last year to handle crib management needs. The service side is growing fast, Mullick says, noting that he expects to add 100 employees by year’s end. “Production manufacturing requires well-trained people,” Mullick says. “While other markets, such as aerospace, look good, we want controlled growth, where we concentrate in the areas where we have expertise.”

37. SupplyCore Inc.

Sales: Approx. $150 million
President and CEO:
Peter Provenzano
Headquarters: Rockford, Ill.
Locations: 2
Employees: 110
www.supplycore.com

SupplyCore has 17 master categories with more than 350,000 products, including material handling equipment and building materials. As a member of the TruServ cooperative distribution network, SupplyCore has access to 11 distribution centers across the country. “It runs the gamut. We buy from roughly 5,000 different suppliers,” says president and CEO Peter Provenzano. SupplyCore deals directly with military bases as their customers, Provenzano explains. The company has a large warehouse in and recently was awarded a contract to manage an interceptor body armor warehouse there.

36. Harrington Industrial Plastics

Sales: $150 million
CEO: James Swanson
Headquarters: Chino, Calif.
Locations: 37
Employees: 375
www.hipco.com

Harrington had a strong year in 2006, and ’07 has continued on that path, CEO James Swanson says. To keep the momentum, Swanson says acquisitions are on the company’s radar. “We will be in pursuit of acquisitions and growth, not only green-fielding [domestically] but moving outside of the ,” he says. In addition, Harrington is considering moves into other industries such as bio-pharm, pharmaceutical, waste-water and safety, Swanson adds, calling those markets “expansion areas.” Driving more buyers to the company Web site is also a goal, he says, because “There are more people around the world. How do you get to them?”