Anixter International Inc. is a company based in
Glenview, Illinois
Glenview is an incorporated village located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, approximately 15 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. Per the 2020 census, the population was 48,705. The current Village President is Michael Jenny.
Geography ...
, United States and founded in 1957. The company supplies goods and services for communications, security, networking, audio-visual, and industrial control applications.
The company operates with three major divisions: Network & Security Solutions, Electrical and Electronic Solutions, and Utility Power Solutions. Aerospace Hardware, once considered the fourth division, was sold by Anixter in 2011 to
Greenbriar Equity, which formed
Align Aerospace.
In 2002 Anixter was named as a Forbes "Platinum 400" company.
On January 13, 2020, Anixter agreed to be acquired by
WESCO International
WESCO International, Inc. is an American publicly traded Fortune 500 holding company for WESCO Distribution, a multinational electrical distribution and services company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
WESCO International, Inc. is a provid ...
for $4.5 billion in cash and WESCO stock. Anixter's shares ceased trading as of June 22, 2020.
Early history
Anixter was started in 1956 by brothers Alan and Bill Anixter. Known originally as Anixter Brothers, the two opened Anixter as a wholesale distribution company that resold cable. The two brothers received a $20,000 loan from their mother to get the business started, and within 10 years grew revenue to $10 million.
In 1969, Anixter moved its headquarters to Skokie. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Alan Anixter said he carried a list of acquisitions in his pocket, and by the end of the 1960s, Anixter acquired 19 companies.
Anixter went public on the American Stock Exchange in 1967 and expanded to the U.K. in 1972. In 1975, Anixter gained a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, and by the end of the 1970s it had $268 million in sales and 38 warehouses in the U.S., nine in Canada, three in the U.K. and one in the Netherlands.
Telecommunications Era
With the breakup of AT&T in early 1984, Anixter went about hiring executives from phone companies and suppliers and invested heavily in its telecommunications business.
Until this time, regional telephone companies had to buy their equipment directly from AT&T's Western Electric Company; however, this ruling allowed a business like Anixter's to sell direct to regional telephone companies. By the mid 1980s, telecommunications sales made up 60 to 70 percent of Anixter's business.
In 1987, the holding company bought Anixter, which had moved into the data communications business. Itel was led by
Samuel Zell
Samuel Zell (born Shmuel Zielonka, September 28, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. A former lawyer, Zell is the founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm, founded in 1968. He ha ...
, who had become chairman in 1985.
In the late 1980s, Anixter created a program called Levels to compare one brand of cable to the other. By the 1990s, the Levels program became industry standard, and in 2003, Anixter sold the Levels program to Underwriters Laboratories. In 1989, Anixter crossed the $1 billion mark in sales.
By the 1990s, Itel made Anixter its core operation,
and in 1995, Itel changed its name to Anixter.
In the 1990s, Anixter continued to expand into different markets. It entered the Mexico market in 1991, Australia in 1992, and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific in 1993. Anixter entered the South American market in 1995. In the later 1990s and 2000s, Anixter purchased Pacer Electronics, Pentacon, Walters Hexagon, DDI, Infast Group, MFU, Eurofast, Total Supply Solutions, Quality Screw & Nut and Quality Screw de Mexico, World Class Wire & Cable, Sofrasar, CamilleGergen, CLARK Security Products and Jorvex.
References
External links
Anixter International SEC Filings{{Illinois Corporations
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Business services companies established in 1957
Companies based in Glenview, Illinois
Fastening tool manufacturers
Distribution companies of the United States
1957 establishments in Illinois
1960s initial public offerings
2020 mergers and acquisitions