History
The company was founded by William W. Grainger in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. He established the company to provide an efficient solution for fulfilling business consumers' needs. The business was incorporated as W. W. Grainger, Inc., in 1928. Sales in the early days were generated primarily through mail order via post cards and a catalog. The MotorBook, as the catalog was originally called, was the basis for today's Grainger catalog. Grainger headquarters are now located in Lake Forest, IL.
In 1967, Grainger became a publicly traded company. Grainger is a profitable corporation and has increased dividends to its shareholders for 36 consecutive years. The company has grown consistently since becoming public and has passed $1 billion in annual sales in 1984 and $5 billion in sales in 2004.
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