Turtle & Hughes, Linden, N.J., has acquired Franklin & Smith Inc., West Paterson, N.J., another automation-oriented distributor.

Through the acquisition, Turtle & Hughes will expand its Allen-Bradley Area of Primary Responsibility (APR), continuing a trend of consolidation among Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley distributorships.

Turtle & Hughes, with seven locations, will be closing Franklin & Smith's only location and consolidating the operation into Turtle & Hughes' Whippany, N.J., branch.

Currently, Turtle & Hughes has Allen-Bradley's APR in Staten Island in New York, and Somerset, Middlesex, Morris, Union and Sussex counties in New Jersey. With the acquisition of Franklin & Smith, the company now gains the APR for Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties in New Jersey.

Millard said that the Franklin & Smith acquisition would give Turtle & Hughes some leverage in certain territory.

“We haven't had that strong a position in the northern counties of New Jersey, and this gives that to us. We view it as a very positive opportunity,” Millard said.

Franklin & Smith, which did around $10 million in sales last year, will retain its management personnel — including Charles Smith — and most of its sales staff, according to Millard. Randy Roessle, current Turtle & Hughes' branch manager at the Whippany, N.J., location will continue to be in charge of the consolidated operations.

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