After Half A Century, A Powerhouse Plumbing Business Breaks Into The South Shore

BRAINTREE, MA — The Granite Group began in Massachusetts and has dozens of locations across New England, but until now, not one on the South Shore.

The company, a 55-year-old distributor of plumbing, piping, heating systems and other home-building supplies, has opened a branch in Braintree.

It's a 30,000-square-foot wholesale store in a previously vacant industrial space at 100 Bay State Drive.

Fittingly, the location is just off Granite Street.

The Granite Group, indeed, is headquartered in the Granite State – in Concord, New Hampshire. But the privately owned company originated in Worcester. That’s where a local textile business owner, Bill Kennedy, acquired a distributor of gas, steam and water supply equipment in 1971, according to the company's website.

Since then the Granite Group has expanded with the help of other acquisitions, including the December purchase of Salem Plumbing Supply Co. on the North Shore.

Today, TGG operates 75 wholesale branches and 19 retail showrooms, stretching from the Connecticut coastline to northern Vermont to Down East Maine.

The Braintree branch is run by manager Cam Labadie, who previously led the Granite Group's wholesale business in Milford.

That store is still going strong, he said, but the Braintree business represents a new opportunity.

Labadie currently employs a team of three but said he hopes there will be more hires to come in Braintree.

"We believe this is a good gateway to the region," he said.