14

Wolseley

Charlie Banks wants to build a €30 billion-a-year global business in heating and plumbing supplies such as chrome faucets and radiators. That's double the revenue his company, Wolseley PLC, now takes in. Does he have a screw loose? Banks says not. "We've doubled our business every five to seven years," notes Wolseley's soft-spoken, American-born CEO. "In 10 years we will more than double what we are today."

Wolseley is already the world's No.1 distributor of heating and plumbing supplies, with 3,750 stores across Europe and North America, all selling to the professional market. The company now takes in almost €15 billion; profits for the 12-month period ended May 31 soared 33%, to €580 million. Analysts note that the company's biggest rival, Florida's Hughes Supply Inc., is only two-thirds the size of Wolseley's American subsidiary, Ferguson Enterprises Inc.

Wolseley's size and broad geographic reach allows it to benefit from vast economies of scale--and lower retail prices. As a result, Chief Exec Banks has plenty of cash to carry out takeovers. "Our yearend is July 31, and we have to date announced 18 bolt-on acquisitions," Banks said in May. "In 2004, we carried out 15." At the rate Wolseley is growing, ubs estimates it could hit its €30 billion goal by 2011. This big company's yearning to get bigger is no pipe dream.