Grainger CEO looks for future growth in global expansion

W.W. Grainger Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., is moving fast on its mission to become a more global distributor, as you can see from its recent acquisitions of Acklands-Grainger Inc., Fercomat Inc., Canada’s largest distributor of industrial, safety and fastener supplies through its Acklands-Grainger division, and its purchase of Fabory, a large Dutch fasteners distributor.

CEO Jim Ryan offers some interesting details on this strategy in a report on the Seeking Alpha website about its recent acquisition of Fabory. Grainger plans to use Fabory, which is considered Europe’s “master of fasteners,” as a base for future expansion. Fabory last year did approximately $350 million in sales and has more than 1,600 team members at 120 locations in 14 countries.