CHICAGO – Mike Rowe, creator, executive producer and host of Discovery Channel's “Dirty Jobs,” recently visited Grainger’s Chicago distribution center in Niles, Ill., to meet employees and talk about his new relationship with Grainger.

Chicago-based Grainger, announced Rowe as its first celebrity spokesperson in January 2009, and featured him on the cover of its 2009 catalog. In his first visit to a Grainger distribution center, Rowe toured Grainger’s facility then helped pack one of the approximately 13,000 boxes the Chicago distribution center ships to businesses across the country every day.

Rowe spoke about how he and Grainger employees pay tribute to the hands-on men and women who get the job done for businesses and institutions across the country.

“Like me, Grainger employees are passionate about the people who work hard every day to keep our country running,” said Rowe. “I want to help harness that enthusiasm to raise awareness about the important role skilled workers play in our society.”

Grainger is the first corporate sponsor of Rowe’s new Web site, mikeroweWORKS.com. A cornerstone of the Grainger and Rowe relationship is partnering on ways to attract more people to technical education programs.

“Grainger is proud to join with Mike Rowe,” said Mike Pulick, senior vice president and president of Grainger U.S. “He understands the work we do, the people we support and the problems we help them solve. Together, we can get people thinking about the importance of technical education.”