Grainger Buys Two DM Firms in Building Supply
Industrial distributor W. W. Grainger will acquire two direct marketing businesses through its Lab Safety Supply subsidiary, the company announced Friday.
Chicago-based Grainger will acquire Professional Inspection Equipment and Construction Book Express, direct marketers of tools, instruments and reference materials to the building and home inspection market, which Grainger puts at $2.5 billion annually.
Professional Inspection Equipment and Construction Book Express market directly to 85,000 active customers, including home inspectors, designers, architects, engineers and electricians. The companies, which operate from the same address in Hauppage NY, had combined annual sales of more than $20 million so far in 2006, according to Grainger.
The two acquisitions will be marketed as independent brands by LSS, a direct marketer of targeted specialty businesses in the safety, industrial, environmental and homeland security fields.
W. W. Grainger supplies facilities maintenance products serving businesses and institutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China, and had 2005 sales of $5.5 billion.
