“We have a talented team in Janesville and Ralph’s leadership will help us serve our Specialty Brand customers even better,” said Pulick. “He has strong ties to the Wisconsin business community and a track record of successfully growing business operations. We're looking for Ralph to leverage Grainger’s U.S. business platform to help drive growth for the Specialty Brands.”
Prior to joining Grainger, Howard was president of the Canac Cabinets business unit of Kohler Company, where he managed operations for the largest frameless cabinet manufacturer in North America. While at Kohler he also served as vice president of sales, Plumbing Americas, and vice president, Sterling Brand. Prior to Kohler, Ralph served in increasing roles of responsibility at Master Lock Company and Pella Windows and Doors.
Howard is a graduate of The General Manager Program from Harvard Business School and has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
W.W. Grainger, Inc. 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, India, China and Panama. Through a highly integrated network including more than 600 branches, 18 distribution centers and multiple Web sites, Grainger's employees help customers get the job done.
