Our story

Griffon, founded in 1959, is a leading provider of residential and commercial building products. The Company is the largest manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial sectional doors, and commercial rolling steel doors in North America.

Sectional garage doors for residential and commercial applications are sold under the brands Clopay, IDEAL, and Holmes.

Rolling steel door and grille products designed for commercial, industrial, institutional, and retail use are sold under the Clopay, Cornell, and Cookson brands.

Griffon is also a leading provider of residential, industrial, and commercial ceiling fans sold under the Hunter, Casablanca, and Jan Fan brands.

Griffon’s name was inspired by the mythical creature that was half-lion, half-eagle, and entrusted with the protection of valuable treasure. Like its namesake, Griffon aspires to achieve strength through diversity and will build value for its shareholders by providing world-class products to its customers.

The Griffon Way

Create strength through diversity

Our diversity in brands, products, customers, and channels to market provides stability and strength. Our leadership teams are empowered to manage their businesses with a focus on long-term value and benefit from the cross pollination of best practices, processes, and policies.

Foster a collaborative culture

Our collaborative culture is built on a foundation of teamwork focused on delivering value for our customers and shareholders.

Invest for Market Leadership

We take a disciplined, long-term approach to investing in our iconic brands, new product development, technology, and productivity.

Be patient

We are pragmatic and patient when integrating acquired businesses. We leverage the combined experience of Griffon’s management team and the acquired businesses to deliver a broader portfolio of products and capabilities for our customers, opportunities for our employees, and long-term value for our shareholders.

Ready for
the future

FOUNDING AND EARLY YEARS

Griffon traces its corporate roots to the defense electronics and avionics industry that developed in the greater New York City area. Griffon was founded in 1959 as Waldorf Controls Corporation, but assumed the name Instrument Systems Corporation (ISC) later that year.

Starting with the acquisition of Telephonics in 1963, the company rapidly expanded by acquiring an array of defense and commercial electronics and manufacturing businesses, transforming it from a small Long Island electronics company to a nationally recognized industrial conglomerate. Instrument Systems made its first appearance on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies in 1970, and made the list again in 1971.

In 1986, Instrument Systems acquired Clopay Corporation, a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of thin film plastics and garage doors. This acquisition established the foundation for Griffon’s current Home and Building Products segment.

Instrument Systems was renamed Griffon Corporation in 1995 in recognition of the diversification of the business beyond electronics and avionics. The name Griffon was inspired by the mythical creature that is part lion, part eagle, which represents strength through diversity.

Griffon was founded in 1959 as Waldorf Controls Corporation, but assumed the name Instrument Systems Corporation (ISC) later that year. The company grew rapidly during the 1960s and had its IPO on the American Stock exchange in 1968.

In 1961, Instrument Systems acquired Telephonics, a manufacturer of electronic devices for industry and defense founded in 1933. This acquisition marked the beginning of the company’s rapid expansion.

Instrument Systems acquired an array of defense and commercial electronics and manufacturing businesses during the 1960s, becoming a nationally recognized industrial conglomerate. The company made its first appearance on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest industrial companies in 1970, and made the list again in 1971.

In 1986, the company acquired Clopay Corporation, a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of plastics products and garage doors. This acquisition established the foundation for Griffon’s current Home and Building Products segment.

In 1994, Instrument Systems was renamed Griffon Corporation, a name inspired by the mythical creature that is part lion, part eagle, to better reflect the company’s strategy of “strength through diversity.”

BUILDING FOR
THE FUTURE

In 2008, Ronald J. Kramer, then the Vice Chairman of Griffon, and President and a Director of Wynn Resorts, was named as Griffon’s CEO. Under Kramer’s leadership, the company strengthened its balance sheet, consolidated its manufacturing facilities, invested more than $50 million to modernize its operations, and divested its underperforming installation services business.

In September 2010, Griffon acquired AMES True Temper, the leading non-powered landscaping tool manufacturer in North America. This acquisition, and subsequent tuck-ins, established the foundation of what is now Griffon’s Consumer and Professional Products segment.

In 2010, Griffon acquired Ames True Temper, the leading North American provider of non-powered landscaping tools and lawn and garden products. This established the foundation for Griffon’s Consumer and Professional Products segment.

Griffon expanded its lawn and garden business in 2011 with the acquisition of Southern Patio, a leading U.S. provider of pots and planters.

In 2014, Griffon expanded its lawn and garden operations in Australia with the acquisition of Northcote Pottery and the Cyclone tools division of Illinois Tool Works. Subsequent acquisitions of Hills Home Living in 2016 and Tuscan Path in 2017 further expanded the company’s product portfolio in the Australian market.

PORTFOLIO RESHAPING

Since 2017, Griffon has reshaped its portfolio through a series of strategic transactions to increase shareholder value and focus and strengthen its core business.

The company exited from the specialty plastics business with the sale of Clopay Plastics in 2018, and exited from defense electronics with the sale of Systems Engineering Group in 2020 and Telephonics in 2022.

Griffon bolstered its residential and commercial garage door business with the acquisition of CornellCookson, a leading provider of rolling steel service doors, fire doors, and grilles, in 2018.

The company expanded its building products portfolio with the acquisition of residential, industrial, and commercial ceiling fan provider Hunter Fan in 2022.

In 2026, the company announced strategic actions to further streamline into a pure-play building products company through divesting its AMES consumer and professional tool, home storage and organization, and lawn and garden businesses in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Acquisitions

CornellCookson (2018)
Hunter Fan (2022)
Divestitures

Clopay Plastic Products (2018)
Systems Engineering Group (2020)
Telephonics (2022)
AMES North America (2026)
AMES UK (2026)
AMES Australia (2026, pending)

In 2018, Griffon acquired CornellCookson, a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of rolling steel door and grille products designed for commercial, industrial, institutional, and retail use. This transaction rounded out the Clopay portfolio with a line of commercial rolling steel products which complemented Clopay sectional door offerings for the commercial industry.

Griffon divested its Clopay Plastic Products segment in 2018 to better focus Griffon’s portfolio on its core markets, provide liquidity, and improve the company’s free cash flow conversion.

Over $25 million of capital was invested in Clopay and CornellCookson subsequent to the acquisition of CornellCookson in 2018, including $15 million for the expansion and modernization of Cornell’s Mountain Top, PA facility. These actions reinforced the company’s position as a leader in door products and positioned it for additional growth.

Griffon exited defense electronics with the divestitures of Systems Engineering Group in 2020 and Telephonics in 2022. These actions strengthened Griffon’s financial position and allowed for better focus of resources on the company’s core businesses.

Griffon purchased Hunter Fan, a leading provider of residential ceiling fans in North America, in 2022. This marked Griffon’s entry into the indoor home décor market and also established the company as a provider of industrial fans

NEW PHASE OF GROWTH

Griffon today is a leading manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial building products with a diverse and innovative product portfolio. The company has over 60 years of experience in the sectional door industry, over 100 years of experience in the rolling steel industry, and a 140 year legacy of innovation in the ceiling fan industry.

The company is poised to capitalize on secular market trends, improve margins and free cash flow generation, and enhance shareholder value. Growth will be driven by increasing market penetration with innovative and category-leading residential and commercial products, coupled with margin improvement from ongoing efficiency initiatives and productivity improvements.