Grainger President & COO James T. Ryan Speaks at William Blair Growth Stock Conference

CHICAGO, June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grainger President & Chief Operating Officer James T. Ryan today addressed a group of analysts attending the William Blair & Company 27th Annual Growth Stock Conference in Chicago. The audio webcast of the event will be available, along with the presentation slides, on the Speeches and Presentations section of Grainger's Investor Relations Web site, http://www.grainger.com/investor.

Ryan described the trends in the facilities maintenance industry as businesses and institutions are reducing the cost of procuring the tools, safety equipment, lighting and other products they use to keep their facilities running by relying on fewer suppliers and carrying less inventory. He explained how Grainger's unique approach and scale advantages position it to capture market share in the highly fragmented North American market.

Ryan reiterated the company's 2007 earnings per share guidance of $4.70 to $4.85 saying, "Grainger is uniquely positioned to help customers become more productive and competitive by enabling them to reduce inventory and consolidate their supplier base. This in turn can help us take share in a highly fragmented and consolidating market, which should lead to additional shareholder value."

W.W. Grainger, Inc. , with 2006 sales of $5.9 billion, is a leading broad-line supplier of facilities maintenance products serving businesses and institutions in Canada, China, Mexico and the United States. 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.

This document may contain forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. The forward-looking statements relate to the company's expected future financial results and business plans, strategies and objectives and are not historical facts. They are generally identified by qualifiers such as "trends," "position it to capture," "earnings per share guidance," "positioned to," "can help," "lead to" or similar expressions. There are risks and uncertainties the outcome of which could cause the company's results to differ materially from what is projected. The forward-looking statements should be read in conjunction with the company's most recent annual report, as well as the company's Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, containing a discussion of the company's business and of various factors that may affect it.