I can share a little information after interviewing with the Brady subsidiary.

Brady focuses on high quality (some of their labels are really amazing). They view themselves as being in the identification business (and are expanding into RFID and other auto-identification technology). They also look to sell as part of a "bundle" rather than merely selling supplies, so they try not to compete solely on price. Finally, this subsidiary's impression was that they tend to leave their subs alone.

I like the focus on quality and on leaving local management to do its job (a la Warren Buffett). They're also moving into new areas of technology, another big positive.

However, unlike BRK, BRC is in a single business (identification) and I'd be a little concerned if they weren't trying to gain some advantage by integrating their subsidiaries as they acquire them; there's a close link between "identifying" something (assets, people) and "managing" it, and I can see several such possibilities for deeper integration just by reviewing their web site. They may become partners with software companies that "manage" people and assets--I don't think they can get into the "management" business.

But note: the sub I spoke with was acquired fairly recently so I don't think this last observation (lack of intgration) is necessarily very solid.