CHICAGO - Grainger, a leading distributor of facilities maintenance supplies, has announced the release of its 2007 product catalog featuring more than 138,000 facilities maintenance products, an increase of 23,000 items, or 20 percent, over last year's offering.

"Our customers count on us to be a one-stop shop for a broad selection of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies so they can efficiently manage their facilities," said Kevin Peters, Grainger's senior vice president of supply chain management. "We bolstered our offering in several key categories including plumbing, material handling, fasteners, and security products."

Customer feedback drove the addition of over 7,000 plumbing products such as high-grade pipes, valves, and fittings; 4,000 material handling supplies such as conveyors, hoists, and casters; 5,000 fasteners such as nuts, bolts, and screws; as well as 1,600 security products such as locks and hinges. According to Grainger, this expansion is part of an ongoing commitment to match customer product requirements with a comprehensive product offering, enabling customers to consolidate their MRO purchases and drive efficiency in their businesses.

Grainger's expanded product offering is featured in the company's newly redesigned 2007 catalog, with more than 3,000 pages of product and technical information. In addition to the new, larger catalog, the company has added new search and selection tools on Grainger.com to assist customers in narrowing their selection to the right product based on factors that are relevant to the product or application. Advanced cross-referencing tools, a new dedicated plumbing catalog, and employee product training are also designed to help customers save time in sourcing the right product for their applications.

Publication date: 02/12/2007