Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (Applied) is a distributor and solutions provider of industrial motion, power, control, and automation technologies.
Through the company’s comprehensive network of employee associates and facilities, including service center, fluid power, flow control, and automation operations, as well as repair shops and distribution centers, the company offers a selection of more than 9.2 million stock keeping units with a focus on industrial bearings, power transmission...
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (Applied) is a distributor and solutions provider of industrial motion, power, control, and automation technologies.
Through the company’s comprehensive network of employee associates and facilities, including service center, fluid power, flow control, and automation operations, as well as repair shops and distribution centers, the company offers a selection of more than 9.2 million stock keeping units with a focus on industrial bearings, power transmission products, fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control, and advanced factory automation solutions.
The company markets its products with a set of service solutions including inventory management, engineering, design, assembly, repair, and systems integration, as well as customized mechanical, fabricated rubber, and shop services. Customers use the company's products and services for both MRO (maintenance, repair, and operating), OEM (original equipment manufacturing), and new system installation applications across a variety of end markets primarily in North America, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
The company serves a segment of the industrial market that requires technical expertise and service given that the company’s products and solutions are directly tied to companies’ production process, efficiency initiatives, and most critical operating assets.
Strategic Growth and Operational Opportunities
The company’s strategies are. Exposure to Industrial Mega Trends; Service Center Initiatives; Leading Fluid Power and Flow Control Position; Automation Expansion Potential; Cross-Selling Opportunity; Margin Expansion Focus; Industry Consolidation and Acquisition Opportunities.
OPERATIONS
The company's distribution and sales network consists of approximately 430 facilities in its Service Center segment and approximately 170 facilities in its Engineered Solutions segment. This includes service centers, distribution centers, and facilities tied to its fluid power, flow control, and automation operations. The service centers resemble local inventory hubs located near customers and focus primarily on technical MRO-related fulfillment and service needs. The fluid power, flow control, and automation facilities support technical and shop-oriented services integral to the more specialized and integrated nature of the products and solutions provided.
Other operations and channels through which the company markets include inventory management services for indirect consumable supplies and digital solutions, including its Applied.com website, electronic data interchange (EDI), and other electronic interfaces with customers' technology platforms and plant maintenance systems.
The company distribution centers provide daily service to the service centers, helping replenish inventories and shipping products directly to customers where appropriate. An efficient supply chain and timely delivery of products are vital to the company's value proposition, particularly when customers require products for emergency repairs. The company utilizes dedicated third-party transportation providers and its own delivery vehicles, as well as surface and air common carrier and courier services. Customers may also pick up items at the service centers. The company maintains product inventory levels at each service center tailored to the local market, consisting of standard items as well as other items specific to local customer demand.
SUPPLIERS
Products distributed by the company are generally supplied by manufacturers for whom it serves as a non-exclusive distributor. The suppliers may also provide product training, as well as sales and marketing support. Authorizations to represent particular suppliers and product lines vary by geographic region, particularly for the company’s fluid power, flow control, and automation businesses.
The company's product suppliers typically confine their direct sales activities to large-volume transactions, mainly with large original equipment manufacturers. The suppliers generally do not sell maintenance and repair products directly to the customer but instead refer the customer to the company or another distributor.
MARKETS
The company purchases from thousands of product manufacturers and resells the products to thousands of customers in a wide variety of industries, including food processing, aggregates, chemicals and petrochemicals, fabricated metals, forest products, industrial machinery and equipment, life sciences, mining, oil and gas, primary metals, technology, transportation, and utilities, as well as to government entities. Customers range from very large businesses, with which the company may have multiple-location relationships, to small local businesses. The company is not significantly dependent on a single customer or group of customers, the loss of which would have a material adverse effect on its business, and no single customer accounts for more than 5% of its fiscal 2025 sales.
REPORTABLE SEGMENTS
The company reports results of operations in two segments: 1) Service Center (formerly Service Center Based Distribution), and 2) Engineered Solutions. The company changed the name of the Service Center Based Distribution reportable segment to Service Center in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. There was no change in the composition of either reportable segment. In fiscal 2025, the Service Center segment represented 66% of the company's total sales, while the Engineered Solutions segment represented 34% of its total sales.
Service Center: The company's Service Center segment includes its MRO-focused distribution operations across North America, Australia, and New Zealand. This business operates through local service centers and distribution centers with a focus on providing products and services addressing the maintenance and repair of production equipment and motion control infrastructure. Products primarily include industrial bearings, motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, linear motion products, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, and hoses, as well as other related supplies for the general operational needs of customers’ machinery and equipment.
Service center facilities are stocked with product inventory tailored to each local market and staffed with customer sales and service representatives, account managers, and product and industry specialists. Customer sales and service representatives receive, process, and expedite customer orders, provide product information, and assist account managers in serving customers. Account managers make onsite calls to customers to provide product information, identify customer requirements, make recommendations, and assist in implementing equipment maintenance and storeroom management programs. Industry specialists assist with product applications in their areas of expertise. Service centers market product offerings with a suite of services that create additional value for the customer. This includes onsite training, product fabrication and repair, and inventory management solutions. The company also provides analysis and measurement of productivity improvement and cost savings potential from these services through its Applied Documented Value-Added (DVA) reports.
The segment includes operations focused on certain end markets and indirect consumable supplies through vendor-managed inventory solutions, as well as regional fabricated rubber shops and service field crews, which install, modify, and repair conveyor belts and rubber linings, and make hose assemblies in accordance with customer requirements.
Engineered Solutions: The company's Engineered Solutions segment includes its operations that specialize in distributing, engineering, designing, integrating, and repairing hydraulic and pneumatic fluid power technologies, engineered flow control products and services, and automation technologies. Within the United States.
The company's fluid power operations offer products and services primarily used within industrial, mobile, and technology applications. Fluid power products include hydraulic and pneumatic technologies that use liquids and gases to transmit power, typically in smaller spaces than other forms of power transmission. Hydraulic products offer high power-to-weight ratios, high torque at low speeds, and power reliability, while pneumatic products are focused on lightweight applications that require speed and precision. The company's fluid power products and solutions are commonly used for off-highway mobile equipment, stationary industrial equipment and machines at factories, marine and offshore equipment, factory automation, food processing equipment, packaging operations, and downstream energy process systems. Operations are supported by a team of certified fluid power specialists, mechanics, technicians, and engineers who provide technical services ranging from system design and integration, electronic control integration, hydraulic assemblies, repair and rebuild, manifold design and assembly, cylinder rebuilds, hose assembly, customized filtration solutions, software programming and repair, hydraulic system retrofits, and integration of autonomous and electrification features.
The company's specialty flow control operations provide highly engineered process flow control products, solutions, and services. Products include pumps, valves, fittings, hoses, process instrumentation, actuators, motors, and filtration supplies, which are used to control the flow of liquids and gases in mission-critical industrial applications. Process flow control systems are highly complex due to the specified nature of applications in harsh industrial or high-purity operating environments. The company's flow control products and services focus on MRO-related applications, OEMs, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms across a variety of industries, including chemicals, steel, power, oil and gas, pulp and paper, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, technology, and general industrials. Similar to its fluid power operations, the flow control offering includes technical service capabilities such as flow control systems integration, pump repair services, valve actuation, skid-mounted assembly, kitting, process instrumentation, parts fabrication, and compliance consulting. The company's flow control solutions are increasingly used in applications tied to required infrastructure for decarbonization initiatives, including providing technical support for the configuration, assembly, and testing of process systems.
The company's advanced automation operations provide solutions focused on the design, engineering, assembly, integration, and distribution of machine vision, collaborative robots, mobile robots, RFID (radio-frequency identification), industrial networking, motion control, and machine learning technologies for OEMs, machine builders, integrators, and other industrial and technology end users. Products and solutions are marketed across a variety of industries, including technology, medical, life sciences, biotechnology, automotive, data centers, food and beverage, logistics, consumer packaging, metalworking, and general industrial. The automation business helps customers develop, produce, and integrate machine and facility automation solutions using comprehensive technology and application knowledge. A core element of the company's strategy and value proposition within automation is its value-added and engineered solution capabilities, enabling it to provide in-depth consultative, design, engineering, assembly, testing, and support services for various customer requirements.
PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES, AND LICENSES
Customer recognition of the company's service marks and trade names, including Applied Industrial Technologies, Applied, and AIT, is an important contributing factor to its sales. Patents and licenses are not of material importance to the company's business.
History
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1923. The company was incorporated in 1928.