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Carolina Wholesale Buys Arlington Industries

October 1, 2003

Carolina Wholesale Office Machine Co., one of the largest wholesale office machine distributors in the country, has purchased the assets of Arlington Industries, one of the largest copier, printer and fax consumable supplies wholesale distributors, from defunct Daisytek International. The purchase price was $18 million.

Arlington will continue to operate independently at its current headquarters in Libertyville, Ill., and branch locations in California and Georgia. Customers will see a “significant improvement in inventory levels and availability due to a significant capital infusion by Carolina Wholesale,” the company said in a press release.

"Daisytek was one of the three largest distributors in the market," said Robert L. Pinion, vice president, Carolina Wholesale Office Machine Co., Inc. "Their demise and potential void in the marketplace emphasizes the importance of a strong middle tier distributor like Arlington Industries, especially for customers who prefer a high level of customer service and competitive pricing. It is very difficult for the mega distributors with their automated systems to match the levels of customer service (i.e. personal attention and commitment) and emphasis on hard-to-find items and compatibles that a focused distributor like Arlington can provide."

Arlington distributes a broad line of toners and inkjet cartridges for inkjet and laser printers, photocopiers and fax machines. The company markets and sells branded, original equipment for Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, Xerox, Canon, Sony, Brother, Sharp and Panasonic. Arlington employs a wholesale distribution model, selling to resellers such as computer-supply specialists, retailers, contract stationers, office product dealers and value-added resellers.

According to the company, Arlington’s business model complements Carolina Wholesale's “very nicely.” Arlington is 100 percent focused on imaging supplies, while 80 percent of Carolina Wholesale’s business is focused on business machines that need the supplies offered by Arlington.

"Carolina Wholesale's acquisition of Arlington is a win-win for customers and vendors alike," Pinion said. "Arlington will continue to operate as an independent company but with the strong financial backing of Carolina Wholesale. If one of the other major players had acquired Arlington, the Arlington name and operations would have probably disappeared from the marketplace. Arlington now has the opportunity to continue providing the marketplace with excellent products and service. At the recent Recharger show we were overwhelmed by the positive comments from our customers and vendors. The market is excited that Arlington will continue to be a healthy and active vendor."

Established in 1973, Arlington was acquired by Daisytek in October 1999. Daisytek’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on June 3, 2003, forced the sale of its subsidiaries, including Arlington Industries.

Contact Carolina Wholesale at (800) 521-4600. To learn more about Daisytek and Arlington Industries, visit www.arli.com.