Many Minnesotans drive on freshly striped roads and bridges, walk into newly painted homes and buildings or squeeze toothpaste onto a toothbrush without realizing a hometown company helped make it possible. That company is Graco Inc.

As Graco approaches its 100th anniversary, the Minneapolis-based manufacturer is marking a century of resilience, ingenuity and growth.

From a two-brother startup in a downtown garage to a $2 billion global industrial technology company, Graco’s story is deeply rooted in Minnesota and quietly woven into everyday life around the world.

The company traces its origins to the 1920s, when Russell Gray, then a parking lot attendant in downtown Minneapolis, grew frustrated with unreliable grease guns. Cold winters turned grease into sludge, making routine maintenance difficult and dangerous. After an early electric prototype failed, Gray pivoted to an air-powered design. The invention solved a real customer problem and launched Graco’s first product, the air-powered grease gun.

That customer-first mindset carried the company through the Great Depression, global wars, recessions and seismic shifts in manufacturing. During World War II, then known as Gray Company, Graco supported the Allied war effort with equipment that kept vehicles and aircraft operating in punishing conditions. After the war, the company expanded beyond service stations into factories, construction sites and infrastructure projects, evolving as speed, consistency and scale became essential. Growth was driven by both internal innovation and a disciplined acquisition strategy that added new technologies, capabilities and talent.

Today, Graco designs and builds equipment that moves some of the world’s most challenging fluids and powders. Its pumps, sprayers and systems apply house, car and airplane paint and stripe roads, build bridges, lubricate equipment, dispense peanut butter and chocolate as well as manufacture medicines and personal care products. If something is built, packaged, glued, painted or protected, Graco likely plays a role.

The company employs thousands worldwide and is recognized as an employer of choice, including honors from Fortune for best places to work in manufacturing. Its culture emphasizes craftsmanship, long-term careers and employee ownership, with more than 800 members in its Quarter Century Club.

Despite its global reach, Minnesota remains Graco’s headquarters and innovation hub. Their commitment to Minnesota extends beyond jobs. The Graco Foundation focuses on STEM education, workforce development and youth programs, contributing more than $50 million to communities since 1986.

As manufacturing enters a new era, Graco President & CEO Mark Sheahan sees the future being shaped by AI-driven automation, predictive maintenance and more sustainable operations.

“Graco will remain guided by the same principles that shaped our past—solving customers’ toughest challenges, investing in people and engineering dependable products designed to last. The combination of organic innovation with strategic acquisitions will continue to be a key driver as we look toward our next century of growth.”
—Mark Sheahan

After 100 years, one thing is clear. One of Minnesota’s most enduring success stories is still moving the world forward, one precise measurement, one perfect mix, one reliable dispense at a time.