Wayne, Pa.-based buying group AD reported sales for all its members across all seven divisions and three countries grew by 2% in 2015. Performance within AD’s operating segments ranged from an increase of 10% to a decrease of 3%.

“Our diversified business strategy of operating across seven industries and three countries allowed us to capitalize on high growth areas of the economy and offset the negative impact of commodities, oil and gas and major industrial markets,” AD Chairman and CEO Bill Weisberg said. “The efficiencies afforded by our scale, along with the prudent management of investments and operational costs allowed us to deliver more than 100% of rebates to our independent member distributors and to cover 100% of our expenses.”

In 2015, AD members across all divisions hired 5,569 new employees, opened 319 new locations and made 33 acquisitions.