Issue 2  Volume 2 September 28, 2006

No Brag, Just Fact

With the acquisition of McKesson's medical-surgical business, Owens & Minor has quietly grown its hospital supply business into a $6 billion business.

by Peter Galuszka

For a Fortune 500 company, Owens & Minor has been unusually low key and self-effacing. Long-time leader G. Gilmer Minor III, former CEO and now chairman, shuns the limelight. Favoring performance over hype, he has built the medical and surgical supply business by offering superior service and supply chain management expertise.

alongside Cardinal Health, McKesson Medical-Surgical and some 16 regional players. But the company, under the leadership of CEO Craig R. Smith since 2005, is taking a big step that will strengthen its leadership in the acute care segment, and will expand the role of the Greater Richmond region as an important logistics center. This quarter, the company is expected to close a deal to buy McKesson’s medical-surgical business for about $170 million.

The transaction will boost annual Owens & Minor sales by $800 million to nearly $6 billion, beating out medical supply giant Cardinal Health in market share. “It’s a very big deal for Owens & Minor, "says Charlie Colpo, senior vice president for operations for the company. "It gives us access to a loyal customer base and access to a good sales force."

Wall Street analysts are cheering the move. “We view the deal as a win-win scenario. McKesson is shedding a business where it lacked the scale to be competitive, while Owens & Minor is adding scale to an existing efficient infrastructure in a synergistic fashion,” said Bank of America’s health care industry analyst, Robert M. Willoughby. More.

Plugged into Freight

Directors at Stephens Inc.'s branch carve niche in transportation

by Chip Jones

A recent news item caught Alexander Brand's eye: Richmond-area gas station owners were cleaning out fuel tanks to prepare for the switch to ethanol as a gasoline additive.

Most people likely pictured paying higher gas prices at the pump. But Brand started thinking about barges.

Barges?

Brand, a managing director at Stephens Inc. brokerage's local office, gets paid for his expert analysis of -- among other things -- barge companies. He knew companies such as American Commercial Lines and Kirby Corp. regularly haul liquid petroleum and gasoline from Gulf Coast refineries up the Mississippi River into America 's corn belt.

"Usually when they go up the Mississippi, there's not a lot to bring back down," Brand said. More.

This article has been republished with permission from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Open for Business

With a local economic impact exceeding $200 million annually, Defense Supply Center Richmond seeks small business partnerships.

by Tonya Johnson

RDML Mark Heinrich, Defense Supply Center Richmond’s commander, was the guest speaker at the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon April 12. More than 100 local business people attended the event, which was held at the Cultural Center of India in Chesterfield.

Read Mark Heinrich's full remarks.

NEWS

Estes Air Expands Staff. Seizing an opportunity to expand its customer service capacity, Estes Air has hired more than half the sales staff laid off when Con-Way Forwarding closed its doors in June. The strategic development significantly accelerates Estes Air's growth plans and makes it one of the fastest-growing freight forwarding groups in the nation. Estes will ramp up operations to handle the additional business and has taken steps to increase the group's call center capacity by over 50 percent. (June 27, 2006) More.

Jungheinrich Phasing Out Multiton Brand. Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corporation is phasing out its Multiton brand as the German company fully integrates Multiton operations – which make high-lift hand trucks, electric walkie pallet trucks and stackers – into its core product lines. This phase-out represents the final strategic stage of the January 1, 2005 corporate merger between Jungheinrich Lift Truck and the Multiton MIC Corporation. More. 

Agility Installs RFID Solution at St. Francis. Agility Healthcare Solutions has completed an installation of its RFID-enabled resource and workflow- management solution at the St. Francis Medical Center, a new hospital in Midlothian operated by the Bon Secours Richmond Health System. (May 17, 2006) More.