Picker acquires two more distributors

Picker International of Cleveland reported last month that it is planning to purchase the assets of two imaging distribution companies, USI International of Milwaukee and Pacific X-ray of Portland, OR. The firms are the fifth and sixth regional distributors Picker has acquired in the last two years as part of its strategy to expand its imaging distribution business.

USI has revenues of $4.1 million and serves the Milwaukee area. Picker plans to combine the division's operations with another of its Milwaukee-based distributors, Delta Medical Systems. Pacific X-ray boasts annual revenues of $4.5 million and provides radiology supplies and equipment, including Bennett X-Ray equipment, to hospitals and imaging centers in the Pacific Northwest, according to Jerry Cirino, president of Picker's Health Care Products division. The Pacific acquisition will position HCP as the exclusive dealer for Bennett equipment in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, Cirino said.