Privately held Hajoca enters the state of Michigan with this acquisition. Richards Plumbing CEO Tom Evert will serve as a consultant with the company for at least a year. His sons will remain with the company. Steve Evert will continue as manager of Richards’ 20,000-sq.-ft. store in Kalamazoo, and Randy Evert as manager of the 40,000-sq.-ft. Grand Rapids location, according to the Grand Rapids Press. Richards also has a 15,000-sq.-ft. store in Holland.
The company decided to sell to ensure its continuity in a market faced with growing competition, the newspaper said.
Wolseley announced that it acquired Cal-Steam Supply and its affiliated corporations on Dec. 29 from Stuart D. Corvin, Dana A. Corvin and Adele K. Corvin. Cal-Steam is a distributor of plumbing products with 11 locations, primarily in the San Francisco Bay area. This acquisition will benefit from Wolseley’s new Stockton, CA, distribution center due to be completed later this year, Wolseley said in a statement. Cal-Steam had sales of $148.6 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, Wolseley reported.
In a statement to customers on its Web site, Cal-Steam said it will operate as part of Wolseley’s North American division under the name Cal-Steam, a Wolseley company, and Jim Bresnahan will serve as its president.
Stuart Corvin said in the statement that he will continue to take a lead role in strategic planning, the financial integration of Cal-Steam and Wolseley, as well as customer and employee relations. Dana Corvin will continue her role in the human resources area. The rest of the Cal-Steam management team and associates will remain in place.