News Release

CHICAGO, April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Grainger (NYSE: GWW), today announced that O.W. Eric Nowlin, 51, has been named to the position of President, Acklands – Grainger, Inc., Grainger's Canadian subsidiary with 2011 revenues of $993 million (C$982 million).  In this role, Nowlin will oversee the growth and performance of Acklands – Grainger and will report directly to Mike Pulick, Senior Vice President & President, Grainger International.

"Eric brings an impressive track record of delivering results and developing talent that will benefit the Acklands – Grainger team and our customers," said Pulick. "The business is performing very well and I'm confident Eric will help Acklands – Grainger advance its goal of helping businesses be more efficient and keeping employees safe on the job."

Nowlin joined Grainger's U.S. business in 2006 as a Regional Branch Services Vice President. He was later named Vice President, Business Development and most recently served as Vice President, Customer Service, where he led Grainger's multi-channel customer service network in the U.S. comprising 5,800 team members, 370 U.S. branches, eCommerce, phone centers, KeepStock customer engagements and Grainger's service offerings.  As part of his new role, Nowlin will relocate to the Greater Toronto Area.

"Acklands – Grainger has a proud, 124-year history of serving Canadian businesses and I'm thrilled and humbled to be joining this team," said Nowlin.  "I look forward to building on our momentum in Canada and leveraging our scale in industrial, safety and fastener products to advance our lead in the MRO market and help businesses from coast to coast get the products they need while saving time and money."

Prior to joining Grainger, Nowlin spent more than 20 years with Maytag, holding various roles in sales, field operations and business development, including Vice President, Sales (Western Division) and Business Development and Vice President, National Accounts and Customer Development.  Nowlin holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University. He serves on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Chicago and co-founded and served on the Board of Directors of the Coto Community for Hope.

Acklands – Grainger, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Grainger, is Canada's largest distributor of industrial, safety, and fastener products with 2011 sales of $993 million (C$982 million), 172 branches, 6 distribution centers, and 2,600 team members.  For more information about Acklands - Grainger, visit www.acklandsgrainger.com.

W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2011 sales of $8.1 billion, is North America's leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products, with expanding global operations.  For more information about the company, visit www.grainger.com/investor.

SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.

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