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W.W. Grainger, Lake Forest, Ill., has completed its previously announced acquisition of Cromwell Group (Holdings) Ltd., together with its subsidiaries. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Leicester, England, Cromwell is the largest independent MRO distributor in the United Kingdom, serving more than 35,000 industrial and manufacturing customers worldwide with more than 80,000 industrial products and employing more than 2,150 team members. Sales for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31 are forecasted to be approximately £283 million ($440 million).
Grainger intends to combine its expertise in supply chain and e-commerce with Cromwell’s product strength and customer relationships to accelerate growth in the core business. Cromwell’s broad product offering will also provide accelerated growth and scale for Grainger’s online MRO model in the U.K. and Germany. With the completion of this acquisition, Cromwell will now operate as a subsidiary of Grainger and will be reported in Other Businesses.