Overall sales were a record $1.39 billion, up 37% over the same period in 2020.
Organic sales growth was 25%.
Acquisitions added 10 points to growth, while foreign currency added two points.
Overall orders in the quarter were a record $1.91 billion, a sharp increase of 92% over the prior year, while organic orders were an impressive 44% up in the quarter.
We ended the quarter with a record backlog of $2.5 billion, which is up over $700 million from the start of the year.
Second quarter operating income was a record $317 million, a nearly 40% increase over the second quarter of 2020.
And operating margins expanded 40 basis points to 22.8%.
Excluding the dilutive impact of acquisitions, core margins -- core operating margins expanded an exceptional 160 basis points to 24%.
EBITDA in the quarter was $387 million, up 34% over the prior year's second quarter, with EBITDA margins of 27.9%.
This operating performance led to earnings of $1.15 per diluted share, up 37% over the second quarter of 2020 and above our guidance range of $1.08 to $1.10.
In the second quarter, operating cash flow was $287 million, and free cash flow conversion was 114% of net income.
Sales for EIG were a record $934 million, up 44% over last year's second quarter.
Organic sales were up 27%.
Recent acquisitions added 16%, and foreign currency added nearly two points.
EIG's second quarter operating income was $227 million, up 42% versus the same quarter last year.
And operating margins were 24.3%.
Excluding acquisitions, EIG's core margins were 26.3%, expanding an impressive 170 basis points over the comparable period.
EMG's second quarter sales increased 24% versus the prior year to $452 million.
Organic sales growth was 21%, and currency added three points to the quarter.
EMG's operating income in the second quarter was a record $112 million, up 33% compared to the prior year period.
And EMG's operating margins expanded an exceptional 170 basis points to a record 24.9%.
In the second quarter, we invested $72 million in RD&E.
And for the full year, we now expect to invest more than $300 million or approximately 5.5% of sales.
For all of 2021, we now expect to invest approximately $100 million in incremental growth investments.
For the full year, we now expect approximately $145 million of operational excellence savings.
For the full year, we now expect overall sales to be up approximately 20% and organic sales up approximately 10% over 2020.
Diluted earnings per share for 2021 are now expected to be in the range of $4.62 to $4.68, an increase of 17% to 18% over 2020's comparable basis and above our prior guide of $4.48 to $4.56 per diluted share.
For the third quarter, we anticipate that overall sales will be up in the mid-20% range versus the same period last year.
Third quarter earnings per diluted share are now expected to be between $1.16 to $1.18, up 15% to 17% over last year's third quarter.
Second quarter general and administrative expenses were $22.5 million, up $5.6 million from the prior year largely due to higher compensation expense.
As a percentage of total sales, G&A was 1.6% for the quarter versus 1.7% in the same period last year.
For 2021, general and administrative expenses are now expected to be approximately $15 million -- or expected to be up approximately $15 million on higher compensation costs.
The effective tax rate in the second quarter was 20.6% compared to 19.5% in the same quarter last year.
For 2021, we continue to expect our effective tax rate to be between 19% and 20%.
For the quarter, working capital was 13.9% of sales, down an impressive 570 basis points from the 19.6% reported in the second quarter of 2020.
Capital expenditures in the second quarter were $23 million, and we continue to expect capital expenditures to be approximately $120 million for the full year.
Depreciation and amortization expense in the second quarter was $75 million.
For all of 2021, we continue to expect depreciation and amortization to be approximately $300 million, including after-tax, acquisition-related intangible amortization of approximately $141 million or $0.61 per diluted share.
In the second quarter, operating cash flow was $287 million and free cash flow was $264 million, with free cash flow conversion in the quarter a very strong 114% of net income.
Total debt at quarter end was $2.96 billion.
Offsetting this debt was cash and cash equivalents of $390 million.
During the second quarter, we deployed approximately $1.58 billion on the acquisitions of Abaco Systems and NSI-MI.
Combined, we have deployed approximately $1.85 billion on five strategic acquisitions thus far in 2021.
At quarter end, our gross debt-to-EBITDA ratio and our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio were 1.9 times and 1.6 times, respectively.
At quarter end, we had approximately $2 billion of cash and existing credit facilities to support our growth initiatives.

Summary:
Overall sales were a record $1.39 billion, up 37% over the same period in 2020.
This operating performance led to earnings of $1.15 per diluted share, up 37% over the second quarter of 2020 and above our guidance range of $1.08 to $1.10.
For the full year, we now expect overall sales to be up approximately 20% and organic sales up approximately 10% over 2020.
Diluted earnings per share for 2021 are now expected to be in the range of $4.62 to $4.68, an increase of 17% to 18% over 2020's comparable basis and above our prior guide of $4.48 to $4.56 per diluted share.
For the third quarter, we anticipate that overall sales will be up in the mid-20% range versus the same period last year.
Third quarter earnings per diluted share are now expected to be between $1.16 to $1.18, up 15% to 17% over last year's third quarter.
For 2021, we continue to expect our effective tax rate to be between 19% and 20%.