Griffon Corporation
Griffon Corporation is a New York-based diversified management and holding company focused primarily on home, building, garden, and commercial door products.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Griffon Corporation is a diversified management and holding company headquartered in New York City. Its present portfolio is centered on home and building products, although the company originated in defense electronics and spent much of its history operating as a broad industrial conglomerate. Griffon manages businesses through wholly owned subsidiaries rather than marketing one unified consumer product range under the Griffon name. The company was founded in 1959 by Helmuth W. Waldorf as Waldorf Controls Corporation, a small defense-electronics business in College Point, Queens. It soon changed its name to Instrument Systems Corporation, or ISC. In 1961, ISC became publicly traded and acquired Telephonics Corporation, an established aviation-electronics company. Under Edward J. Garrett, who became chairman and president in 1964, ISC pursued an aggressive acquisition and diversification strategy. The company combined defense electronics with manufacturing businesses producing tools, trucks, furniture, packaging, hardware, and building materials. Its rapid expansion reflected the broader conglomerate trend of the 1960s. During the 1970s and early 1980s, lower defense spending, oil shocks, recession, and the disposal of underperforming operations weakened ISC. After Garrett's death in 1982, Harvey R. Blau became chairman and chief executive officer. Blau continued restructuring the portfolio while also pursuing new industries. His most consequential transaction was the 1986 purchase of Clopay Corporation. Clopay brought garage doors and specialty plastic films into the group and eventually became the foundation for Griffon's long-term home and building products strategy. ISC adopted the Griffon Corporation name in 1994 and moved its listing from the American Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange. During the 1990s and 2000s, the company expanded Clopay's garage-door, plastic-film, and international activities. It also entered residential installation services and acquired Holmes-Hally Industries to strengthen its garage-door presence. The housing downturn and financial crisis severely affected these operations. Griffon discontinued the residential installation business in 2008 after a sharp fall in demand and profitability. Ronald J. Kramer succeeded Blau as chief executive officer on April 1, 2008. Kramer concentrated on balance-sheet repair, operational restructuring, and a more focused portfolio. During his tenure, Griffon acquired Ames True Temper, a long-established maker of non-powered landscaping tools, and later added garden, storage, cleaning, and outdoor-living brands. It also expanded Clopay Building Products through the acquisition of CornellCookson, a manufacturer of rolling steel doors, fire doors, and security grilles. From 2017 onward, Griffon reshaped the group around home and building products. It acquired ClosetMaid, sold Clopay Plastics to Berry Global, and added brands and businesses in the United Kingdom and Australia. These transactions reduced the company's exposure to specialty plastics and increased its emphasis on residential storage, gardening tools, outdoor living, garage doors, and commercial door systems. Griffon's principal operating businesses include Ames True Temper, ClosetMaid, Clopay Building Products, and CornellCookson. Clopay Building Products is focused on residential garage doors and commercial and industrial door systems, while CornellCookson adds rolling steel doors, fire doors, and grilles. Ames True Temper covers long-handled garden and landscaping tools and related outdoor products. ClosetMaid serves the home-storage market. Collectively, these businesses sell through professional dealers, distributors, home-improvement retailers, and other trade channels across North America and selected international markets. The Griffon corporate brand is therefore best understood as an ownership, management, and portfolio platform rather than a single end-consumer label. Its stra…
History
Griffon Corporation began in 1959 when Helmuth W. Waldorf established Waldorf Controls Corporation in Queens, New York. The company was renamed Instrument Systems Corporation later that year and entered public markets in 1961. Its early development was shaped by the acquisition of Telephonics Corporation, an aviation-electronics pioneer whose products served military and commercial aircraft markets. Edward J. Garrett became chairman and president in 1964. He reorganized the company by closing weak facilities, pursuing civilian and government contracts, and buying businesses across defense electronics, manufacturing, tools, transportation equipment, furniture, packaging, and building materials. ISC expanded especially rapidly in the late 1960s and reached the Fortune 500 in 1970. The growth model became less effective in the 1970s as defense spending declined after the Vietnam War and the United States experienced oil shocks and recession. After Garrett died in 1982, Harvey R. Blau assumed leadership. Blau accelerated divestitures, reduced debt, raised shareholder equity, and sought new sources of growth. His 1984 acquisition of Oneita Knitting Mills demonstrated a willingness to enter unrelated industries, while the 1986 purchase of Clopay Corporation became the defining transaction of the period. Clopay brought garage doors and plastic films into ISC and later developed into a major source of operating income. ISC changed its name to Griffon Corporation in 1994 and moved its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange. During the following decade, Clopay expanded internationally through investments and acquisitions in Europe and Brazil. The garage-door business also grew with the United States housing market, and Griffon added residential installation services and acquired Holmes-Hally Industries. Telephonics continued to win military contracts while broadening into commercial transportation, homeland security, air-traffic management, and related electronics. The housing correction, subprime crisis, and 2008 financial crisis exposed the risks of Griffon's installation and garage-door activities. Installation revenue fell sharply, the installation business was discontinued in 2008, and the company experienced a significant deterioration in profitability. Ronald J. Kramer became chief executive officer on April 1, 2008, succeeding Blau, who remained non-executive chairman until his death in 2018. Kramer stabilized the company through new credit facilities, debt refinancing, equity financing, and operational retrenchment. Griffon reduced its dependence on defense spending at Telephonics and pursued work in surveillance, aviation, and homeland-security markets. It also built a broader home and garden platform through Ames True Temper, Southern Patio, Northcote Pottery, Cyclone, and other acquisitions. Beginning in 2017, Griffon reorganized the portfolio more decisively. It acquired ClosetMaid, sold Clopay Plastics to Berry Global, acquired CornellCookson for Clopay Building Products, and added outdoor-living and gardening businesses in the United Kingdom and Australia. By the end of this transformation, the company was primarily organized around home and building products, with Ames True Temper, ClosetMaid, Clopay Building Products, and CornellCookson as core subsidiaries. Its history illustrates a progression from defense-electronics start-up, to acquisition-heavy industrial conglomerate, to a more concentrated owner of home, garden, and building-product businesses.
- 2018
CornellCookson joins Clopay Building Products
[1]The acquisition expanded the commercial door business into rolling steel service doors, fire doors, and grilles.
- 2017
Portfolio refocusing begins
[1]Griffon acquired ClosetMaid and announced the sale of Clopay Plastics, signaling a move toward home and building products.
- 2010
Ames True Temper acquired
[1]Griffon entered a larger role in garden and landscaping tools through the acquisition of Ames True Temper.
- 2008
Leadership transition and restructuring
[1]Ronald J. Kramer became chief executive officer, while the company exited residential installation services and refinanced its debt.
- 1994
Name changed to Griffon Corporation
[1]The company adopted the Griffon name and transferred its stock listing from the American Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1986
Clopay acquired
[1]The acquisition introduced garage doors and specialty plastic films and became a central pillar of the later Griffon portfolio.
- 1964
Edward Garrett takes control
[1]Edward J. Garrett became chairman and president and began a major restructuring and acquisition program.
- 1961
Public offering and Telephonics acquisition
[1]Instrument Systems Corporation became publicly traded and acquired Telephonics Corporation to strengthen its avionics business.
- 1959
Company founded as Waldorf Controls Corporation
[1]Helmuth W. Waldorf established the defense-electronics company in College Point, Queens; it was later renamed Instrument Systems Corporation.
Products and positioning
A diversified management and holding company increasingly positioned around durable home, garden, and building-product businesses, with a portfolio approach emphasizing established brands, trade distribution, and operational integration.
Garden and landscaping tools
Ames True Temper
Ames True Temper is Griffon's platform for non-powered landscaping and garden tools. Its portfolio includes long-handled tools and related outdoor products sold through retail and professional channels. Griffon expanded the platform through additions such as Southern Patio, Northcote Pottery, Cyclone, Harper Brush Works, and other garden or cleaning businesses.
Home storage
ClosetMaid
ClosetMaid is Griffon's home-storage business, acquired from Emerson in 2017. It complements the company's garden and building-product activities with systems and products designed for organizing closets, garages, utility areas, and other residential spaces.
Residential and commercial doors
Clopay Building Products
Clopay Building Products manufactures and markets residential garage doors as well as commercial and industrial door systems. It sells through professional installing dealers, distribution facilities, home-improvement retailers, and other building-product channels across North America.
Commercial door systems
CornellCookson
CornellCookson supplies rolling steel service doors, fire doors, security grilles, and related commercial opening products. Griffon acquired the business and integrated it with Clopay Building Products to broaden its commercial and industrial door offering.
Defense and aviation electronics · 1933
Telephonics
Telephonics was an important historical Griffon subsidiary specializing in communications, avionics, radar, surveillance, and related electronics. Its work covered military aircraft, civil aviation, homeland security, air-traffic management, and transportation systems. Its strategic importance declined as Griffon shifted toward home and building products.
Brand decisions
2018
Acquisition of CornellCooksonM&ABackground
Clopay Building Products needed a broader commercial and industrial door range.
Action taken
Griffon acquired CornellCookson and integrated its rolling steel, fire-door, and grille products with Clopay Building Products.
Aftermath
The deal strengthened Griffon's commercial building-products platform.
2017
Acquisition of ClosetMaidM&ABackground
Griffon sought to diversify and strengthen its home and building products segment.
Action taken
The company acquired the ClosetMaid home-storage business from Emerson and later combined it with Ames True Temper.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened Griffon's exposure to residential organization and complemented its garden-tool platform.
2017
Divestiture of Clopay PlasticsStrategyBackground
Griffon began concentrating its portfolio on home and building products rather than maintaining a broad specialty-plastics presence.
Action taken
It announced the sale of Clopay Plastics to Berry Global; the transaction closed in 2018.
Aftermath
The divestiture represented Griffon's exit from the specialty-plastics industry and simplified the portfolio.
2008
Exit from residential installation servicesStrategyBackground
The United States housing downturn and financial crisis caused a steep decline in residential construction-related demand and weakened Griffon's installation business.
Action taken
Under new chief executive Ronald J. Kramer, Griffon discontinued its residential installation-services operation and focused on restructuring the balance sheet and core businesses.
Aftermath
The decision reduced exposure to a declining housing-related activity and formed part of a broader financial and portfolio stabilization program.
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