Lab Safety Supply began only 25 years ago, literally on the kitchen table by our
founders, Don and Gerry Hedberg. Their legacy lives on in a company that's known
throughout North America for its innovative approaches to merchandising and customer
service.
| 1967 |
Working out of their Evanston, Illinois home, Don and Gerry Hedberg
begin designing molecular models for the education market. The Science
Related Materials Company is born. |
| 1973 |
By offering safety products in its catalog, SRM is about to unleash
a monster. Lab Safety Supply is incorporated the following year on
April 1. No fooling! |
| 1977 |
The very first Lab Safety Supply Catalog: 44 pages, all black and
white, very primitive. Also very successful. |
| 1978 |
Business is building. Three expansions and 10 years later, we max
out at 140,000 square feet--still not enough. |
| 1986 |
Gasp! Full-color pages in a business-to-business catalog? What will
those Lab Safety Supply loonies dream up next? A safety hotline? |
| 1988 |
We launch Safety TECHline, our toll-free safety hotline. Callers
speak one-on-one with a safety expert who can answer their questions
about regulations, compliance and product applications. |
| 1989 |
Our sleek-and-modern new headquarters rises from a cornfield on
the edge of Janesville, Wisconsin. Inside is MORE SPACE--distribution
heaven. |
| 1992 |
Lab Safety Supply becomes an independent subsidiary of W.W. Grainger
Co., the world's top distributor of industrial/MRO products. |
| 1994 |
Lab Safety Supply wins an unprecedented 6th consecutive Catalog
Age Gold Award for catalog excellence. |
| 1996 |
The self-designed Lab Safety Supply Web site goes online; it quickly
becomes the largest safety resource on the Net. |
| 1998 |
With our General Catalog continuing to grow, we need to find new,
more efficient ways to go to market. By the end of 1998, our Family
of Catalogs includes seven specialty titles, each targeting a separate
market segment within our customer base. |
| 1999 |
A concerted effort to offer customers more choices brings the total
number of pages in Lab Safety Supply's General Catalog to nearly 2000,
and the total number of accessible products up to 65,500--all available
through the Family of Catalogs and the Web site. |
| 2000 |
Lab Safety Supply adds yet another convenient way to order . . .
CD-ROM. Our first-ever disc gives customers a portable, web-enabled
ordering option. In addition, the Buyer's Guide catalog grows to 2748
pages and holds more than 73,000 products! |
| 2001 |
The Lab Safety Supply Web site continues to grow, now making 100,000
products available. Also adds Disaster Response Resource Center to
help first responders find the information and products they need
to stay safe. |
| 2002 |
LSS is one of only five companies to win the Wellness Councils of
America's Platinum Award for excellence in employee health promotion.
Safety and health is more than just the talk we talk. It's the walk
we walk in our own building. |
| 2003 |
Other companies are closing doors, but we're opening new ones. The
purchase of Ben Meadows in 2001 (www.benmeadows.com)
and Gempler's in 2003 (www.gemplers.com)
moves LSS into new markets and new realms of product selection. It's
a commitment to our customer base-we're on top but we're never standing
still. |
| 2004 |
We now offer more equipment and services than ever before! With
more than 130,000 of the most innovative, high quality products available
we further cement our status as the leading direct marketer of safety
and industrial supplies in North America. We also implement our customers'
suggestions at LSS.com and benmeadows.com
making these Web sites two of the most comprehensive and convenient
product sources available on the Internet. |
| 2005 |
We bring another outstanding company into the LSS fold by acquiring
AW Direct, a leading direct
marketer of products to the service vehicle industry. We're proud
that our customers now have yet another way to take advantage of the
great service, selection and support LSS provides. |
| 2006 |
Rand Materials Handling joins our growing
family. Wow! As a national catalog distributor of material handling,
packaging and shipping supplies, Rand adds even more options to
your “LSS portfolio” of suppliers … and best of
all you know you can count on receiving the same great service and
reliability all LSS businesses provide. |
| tomorrow |
LSS is leading the way and other companies are doing their best
to imitate us. Some things never change. |
