THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996                TAG: 9607040575
SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, Staff writer 
                                            LENGTH:   41 lines

112-YEAR-OLD HENRY WALKE CO. SOLD TO RICHMOND-BASED FIRM FOUR WORKERS ARE LIKELY TO LOSE JOBS IN SALE OF NORFOLK-BASED INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY BUSINESS.

Founded in the late 1800s, Norfolk's Henry Walke Co. never ascribed to the ``bigger is better'' mantra of doing business.

Walke had managed to survive and even expand a little in the industrial-supply business by setting up branches in Greensboro and Charlotte - even in the face of competition several times larger than the Norfolk outfit.

But this week, Walke decided that bigger is necessary. Walke was acquired by Richmond-based Industrial Supply Corp. for an undisclosed price.

Douglas A. Sims Jr., executive vice president of Industrial Supply, said the consolidation of the two companies will make purchasing and warehousing more efficient. They've thought about it for 10 years.

Tony Hupp, branch manager of Walke's Norfolk office, said four employees in Walke's accounting department will likely lose theirjobs as a result of the sale. But Industrial Supply is working with those four to help them find other jobs, he said.

Walke has a total of 70 employees.

Industrial Supply and Walke have been working together for 45 years, Hupp said. Although they are in the same business, they served different markets.

``The owners of both companies have really worked together,'' Hupp said. ``They weren't in direct competition with us.''

The two companies will have combined sales of about $50 million, he said. They sell industrial supplies, everything from abrasive sandpaper to power transmission equipment to woodworking machinery.

Industrial Supply's purchase of Walke fills a gap in the Richmond company's coverage of the state. Industrial Supply has offices in Covington, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Waynesboro, Richmond and now Walke's Norfolk branch.

The Walke name will remain in this market, as The Henry Walke Co., a division of Industrial Supply.

``That name's been here in this area for 112 years now,'' Hupp said. ``The new owner certainly paid for that, so they're going to use it.'' by CNB