CHICAGO, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grainger (NYSE:GWW), a leading industrial distributor, today announced that Sean O'Brien, 42, has been named to the position of President, Acklands-Grainger Inc., Grainger's Canadian subsidiary. O'Brien's new responsibilities include oversight of the Canadian business operations which had revenues of $728 million (C$773 million) in 2008. O'Brien succeeds and reports to Court D. Carruthers who became Senior Vice President and President, Grainger International, in March of this year. "Sean's energy and experience will help drive continued success in the Canadian maintenance, repair and operating supplies (MRO) market," said Carruthers. "We have worked closely together over the past two years and during that time Sean has developed a broad understanding of the unique capabilities of Acklands-Grainger - providing great service and unmatched MRO product breadth and depth to customers who maintain, repair and operate facilities." O'Brien joined Acklands-Grainger as Vice President, Sales, in November 2007 and has led several key initiatives in business services, inventory solutions, training, and sales effectiveness. Earlier this year, O'Brien took on additional responsibilities for E-Business and Marketing. "I look forward to building upon our momentum in Canada and leveraging our scale in industrial, safety and fastener products to continue our lead within the Canadian MRO market," said O'Brien. "Getting our customers the products they need while saving them time and money, especially during this global economic slowdown, is essential to how we add value." Prior to joining Grainger, O'Brien was Country Manager, Recall Canada Inc., a leading document management company, with responsibility for all facets of the Canadian business. Prior to his role at Recall, O'Brien was Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Group 4 Securicor, Canada's largest armoured car and security company, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, corporate development, and government relations. He has also held senior sales leadership roles in the transportation and logistics sectors. O'Brien holds a B.A. from Bishop's University, in Quebec. He and his family live in Oakville, Ontario. Acklands-Grainger Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago-based Grainger, is Canada's largest distributor of industrial, safety, and fastener products with 2008 revenues of $728 million (C$773 million), 159 branches, 5 distribution centers, and 2,300 employees. W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW), with 2008 sales of $6.9 billion, is the leading broad- line supplier of facilities maintenance products serving businesses and institutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, India and Panama. Through a highly integrated network including nearly 600 branches, 18 distribution centers and multiple Web sites, Grainger's employees help customers get the job done, saving them time and money by having the right products to keep their facilities running. DATASOURCE: W.W. Grainger, Inc. CONTACT: Jan Tratnik, Director, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, +1-847-535-4339, , or Erin Ptacek, Director, Corporate Brand & Reputation, +1-847-535-1543, , both of W.W. Grainger, Inc. Web Site: http://www.grainger.com/

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