The Patel brothers founded Waymade Healthcare in 1984, building off of the pharmacy business began by Vijay Patel in 1975. You might think the Patel brothers have it made in a big way, but they're not resting on their laurels. The owners of Waymade Healthcare, Vijay and Bhikhu Patel grew up impoverished in Kenya, but today oversee one of the UK's leading pharmaceutical distribution firms. Waymade Healthcare supplies pharmacists and hospitals in the UK and abroad with branded and generic prescription drugs. Its subsidiary Amdipharm (launched in 2002) develops novel pharmaceuticals.

Bassett & Walker International, Inc. is an international trade firm that specializes in agricultural commodities such as meat and dairy products. BWI acts as principal buyer and seller of these goods, and handles all trade-related issues, such as foreign exchange, documentation, and international finance. It also offers logistical and fulfillment services. Clients include food producers and processors, as well as pharmaceutical and industrial companies in more than 55 countries. BWI operates from offices in Brazil, Canada, and the US.

Northwestern Meat is a leading importer and exporter of meat products, specifically beef, pork, poultry, and seafood. In addition to traditional meat and seafood, the company distributes more exotic foods such as cuttlefish, frog legs, octopus, ostrich, pheasant, and sea cucumber. Northwestern Meat serves customers throughout the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean through facilities in Florida and Puerto Rico. The company was founded in 1961 by president Elpidio Nunez Ojeda, who emigrated to the US from Cuba in 1960.

Kato Sangyo is a leading Japanese distributor of foodstuffs. Founded in 1947, the Tokyo exchange-listed company distributes processed food products primarily in the Kansai region and is expanding its sales force in the areas of Kanto and Tohoku. Its product offerings include milk, soft drinks, beer wine, fresh produce, pasta, cereal products, confectionery, jam, honey, frozen foods, and seafood products. Kato Sangyo operates via about a dozen subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Japan, including insurance, property leasing, and franchised restaurant operations.

Henry Schein, Inc. distributes healthcare products and services primarily to office-based healthcare practitioners. It operates in two segments, Healthcare Distribution and Technology. The Healthcare Distribution segment offers consumable dental products, dental laboratory products, and small equipment, including X-ray products, infection-control products, handpieces, preventatives, impression materials, composites, anesthetics, teeth, dental implants, gypsum, acrylics, articulators, and abrasives; and large dental equipment comprising dental chairs, delivery units and lights, X-ray equipment, equipment repair, and high-tech equipment. It also provides medical products, including branded and generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgical products, diagnostic tests, infection-control products, X-ray products, equipment, and vitamins; and animal health products, such as branded and generic pharmaceuticals, surgical and consumable products and services, and equipment. The Technology segment offers software and related products, and value-added solutions that primarily include practice management software systems for dental and medical practitioners and animal health clinics. Its services also consist of financial services and continuing education services for practitioners. Henry Schein primarily serves dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices, and animal health clinics, as well as government and other institutions. It operates in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Henry Schein, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

MIECO's got the power, but it's willing to make a swap. The subsidiary of Marubeni trades in petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity; it also offers transportation and risk management services, as well as marketing and trade financing. The company's customers include utilities, independent power producers, and other energy-related companies. The petroleum products trading group, set up in 1985, has been the cornerstone of MIECO. Other activities include product terminalling and fuel oil marketing. MIECO INC., which has offices in California, New Jersey, and Texas, serves supply and distribution needs in the American and Pacific Rim markets.

FFF Enterprises really puts the "fff" in pharmaceuticals. The company distributes biopharmaceuticals, plasma products, and vaccines to medical providers, pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, and other medical supply distributors. Already a top distributor of intravenous immune globulin, used to bolster weakened immune systems, FFF Enterprises is also a leading US distributor of influenza vaccines and medicines including Roche's Tamiflu, Sanofi Pasteur's Fluzone, and Novartis' Fluvirin. FFF Enterprises supplies more than 80% of the nation's hospitals with biopharmaceuticals.

Franz Haniel & Cie. is a five-headed hydra. The holding company is comprised of a handful of operating divisions -- Celesio, CWS-boco, ELG, TAKKT, and METRO -- each of which specializes in a different core business. Haniel derives the bulk of its sales from distributing pharmaceuticals to pharmacies worldwide through drug wholesaler Celesio. Its other divisions offer washroom and workwear products and services; stainless steel scrap recycling; mail-order of office and warehouse equipment; and retail store operations. Haniel has operations in some 30 countries. Members of the Haniel family have controlled Franz Haniel and Cie. GmbH company since its founding in 1756.

Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc.,the second-largest retailer-owned cooperative in the US (behind Wakefern Food Corporation), AWG supplies more than 1,900 member-stores in about 25 states with a wide array of grocery items from its eight distribution facilities. In addition to its wholesale operation, AWG offers a variety of business services to its members, including marketing and merchandising programs, shelf management, insurance, and store design. The firm also operates about 10 grocery store brands, including Country Mart and Homeland; it also owns a small number of supermarkets. AWG was founded by a group of independent grocers in 1924.

Wham! Frozen Foods is a wholesale food distributor that specializes in close-out and discontinued products. It acquires goods from manufacturers around the world and distributes the discounted items primarily to dollar stores, food banks, and thrift stores. The company makes it a point that it does not supply traditional retail chains. Company president Jon Auspitz started the business in 1993.

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