<PAGE>
                                                 Registration No.
                                                                 ---------------

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 16, 2002

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                    FORM S-8

                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                               ------------------

                                BRADY CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                 WISCONSIN                                39-0178960
      (State or other jurisdiction of                  (I.R.S. Employer
      incorporation or organization)                  Identification No.)

         6555 West Good Hope Road
               P.O. Box 571
           Milwaukee, Wisconsin                           53201-0571
 (Address of Principal Executive Offices)                 (ZIP Code)

                                -----------------
                         BRADY CORPORATION 2001 OMNIBUS
                              INCENTIVE STOCK PLAN

                            (Full title of the plan)
                               -------------------

            DAVID W. SCHROEDER                                Copy to:
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer            CONRAD G. GOODKIND, ESQ.
             Brady Corporation                           Quarles & Brady LLP
         6555 West Good Hope Road                     411 East Wisconsin Avenue
               P.O. Box 571                          Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
      Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0571
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (414) 358-6600
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         Calculation of Registration Fee
<TABLE>
<Caption>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   PROPOSED           PROPOSED
                                                                    MAXIMUM            MAXIMUM           AMOUNT OF
        TITLE OF SECURITIES                  AMOUNT TO BE       OFFERING PRICE        AGGREGATE        REGISTRATION
         TO BE REGISTERED                    REGISTERED(1)         PER SHARE      OFFERING PRICE(2)         FEE
        -------------------                  -------------      --------------    -----------------    ------------
<S>                                         <C>                 <C>               <C>                  <C>
   Class A Nonvoting Common Stock,
      par value $.01 per share              500,000 shares            (2)            $17,200,000         $1,582.40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>




<PAGE>



(1)      The Brady Corporation 2001 Omnibus Incentive Stock Plan (the "Plan")
         provides for the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of Class A Nonvoting
         Common Stock, par value $.01 per share ("Class A Common Stock"). The
         Plan provides for possible adjustment of the number, price and kind of
         shares covered by options and other incentive awards granted or to be
         granted, and of the number and kind of shares which may be awarded as
         restricted stock, in the event of certain capital or other changes
         affecting the Registrant's Class A Common Stock. This Registration
         Statement therefore covers, in addition to the above stated 500,000
         shares, an indeterminate number of shares that may become subject to
         the Plan by means of any such adjustment.

(2)      Pursuant to Rule 457(h), estimated solely for the purpose of computing
         the registration fee, based upon $34.40 per share, which is the average
         of the high and low sales prices of the Registrant's Class A Common
         Stock on the NYSE on September 10, 2002.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




<PAGE>



                                     PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS

         Information specified in Part I of Form S-8 (Items 1 and 2) will be
sent or given to Plan participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the
Securities Act of 1933.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents filed by Brady Corporation (the "Registrant")
(Commission File No. 0-12730) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, (the "1934 Act") are incorporated herein by reference:

         (a)      Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31,
                  2001.

         (b)      Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended
                  October 31, 2001, January 31, 2002 and April 30, 2002.

         (c)      That portion of the Registrant's Registration Statement on
                  Form 8-A that describes the Registrant's Class A Nonvoting
                  Common Stock in Item 1 thereof, which incorporates the
                  description from the description of Registrant's Capital Stock
                  contained in the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form
                  S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-0415), and including any
                  future amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating
                  such description.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the 1934 Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have
been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be
deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the
date of the filing of such documents.

         Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded
for purposes hereof to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated
by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so
modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded,
to constitute a part hereof.

ITEM 6.  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         Chapter 180 of the Wisconsin Statutes includes provisions for
indemnification by a corporation of a director or officer against certain
liabilities and expenses incurred by him or her in any proceeding (whether
threatened, pending or completed, and whether brought by the corporation or any
other person) to which he or she was a party because of being a director or
officer. In general, under these provisions (1) a corporation is required to
indemnify a director or officer, to the extent he or she has been successful on
the merits or otherwise in the defense of any such proceeding, for all
reasonable expenses incurred in the proceeding, and (2) in other cases, the
corporation is required to indemnify a director or officer against liabilities
(including,

                                       -1-


<PAGE>



among other things, judgments, penalties, fines and reasonable expenses)
incurred in any such proceeding unless liability was incurred because he or she
breached or failed to perform a duty to the corporation and the breach or
failure constitutes any of the following: (a) a willful failure to deal fairly
with the corporation or its shareholders in connection with a matter in which he
or she has a material conflict of interest, (b) a violation of criminal law,
unless he or she had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was lawful
or no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, (c) a
transaction from which he or she derived an improper personal profit, or (d)
willful misconduct. The provisions specify that the termination of a proceeding
by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of no contest or an
equivalent plea, does not, by itself, create a presumption that indemnification
is not required. Also, the provisions permit a corporation to pay or reimburse
reasonable expenses as incurred if the director or officer affirms his or her
good faith belief that he or she has not breached or failed to perform his or
her duties to the corporation and undertakes to make repayment to the extent it
is ultimately determined that indemnification is not required. With specified
exceptions, these provisions do not preclude additional indemnification. Chapter
180 specifically provides that it is the public policy of the State of Wisconsin
to require or permit indemnification, allowance of expenses and insurance, to
the extent required or permitted generally thereunder, for any liability
incurred in connection with a proceeding involving a federal or state statute,
rule or regulation regulating the offer, sale or purchase of securities.

         Chapter 180 of the Wisconsin Statutes also provides that, with certain
exceptions, a director is not liable to a corporation, its shareholders, or any
person asserting rights on behalf of the corporation or its shareholders, for
damages, settlements, fees, fines, penalties or other monetary liabilities
arising from a breach of, or failure to perform, any duty resulting solely from
his or her status as a director, unless the person asserting liability proves
that the breach or failure to perform constitutes any of the four exceptions to
mandatory indemnification referred to above.

         The Bylaws of the Registrant provide generally for mandatory
indemnification of directors and officers of the Registrant to the fullest
extent permitted by law.

         Officers and directors of the Registrant may be covered by insurance
policies purchased by the Registrant, under which they are insured (subject to
exceptions and limitations specified in the policies) against expenses and
liabilities arising out of actions, suits or proceedings to which they are
parties by reason of being or having been such directors or officers.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

         Not Applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS.

         See Exhibit Index following the Signatures page in this Registration
Statement, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS.

         (a)      The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1)      To file, during any period in which offers or sales
                           are being made, a post-effective amendment to this
                           Registration Statement:

                                       -2-


<PAGE>



                           (i)      To include any prospectus required by
                                    section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of
                                    1933;

                           (ii)     To reflect in the prospectus any facts or
                                    events arising after the effective date of
                                    the Registration Statement (or the most
                                    recent post-effective amendment thereof)
                                    which, individually or in the aggregate,
                                    represent a fundamental change in the
                                    information set forth in the Registration
                                    Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
                                    any increase or decrease in volume of
                                    securities offered (if the total dollar
                                    value of securities offered would not exceed
                                    that which was registered) and any deviation
                                    from the low or high end of the estimated
                                    maximum offering range may be reflected in
                                    the form of a prospectus filed with the
                                    Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in
                                    the aggregate, the changes in volume and
                                    price represent no more than a 20% change in
                                    the maximum aggregate offering price set
                                    forth in the "Calculation of Registration
                                    Fee" table in the effective Registration
                                    Statement;

                           (iii)    To include any material information with
                                    respect to the plan of distribution not
                                    previously disclosed in the Registration
                                    Statement or any material change to such
                                    information in the Registration Statement;

                  Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the
Registrant with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed
to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

         (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

         (h) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the provisions referred to in Item 6, or
otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities
and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim
for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant

                                       -3-


<PAGE>



in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
such issue.



                                       -4-


<PAGE>



                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, on September 13, 2002.

                                  BRADY CORPORATION
                                  (Registrant)


                                  By:  /s/ David W. Schroeder
                                     ------------------------
                                     David W. Schroeder
                                     Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
                                     (Principal Accounting Officer)
                                     (Principal Financial Officer)

                               -------------------

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

         KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Katherine M. Hudson and Conrad G.
Goodkind, and each of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents,
with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name,
place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments
(including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to
file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and any other regulatory
authority, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them,
full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all
intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their
substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

                              ---------------------

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.*

SIGNATURE                         TITLE

/s/ K. M. Hudson                  President and Director
-------------------------------   (Principal Executive Officer)
K. M. Hudson

/s/ David W. Schroeder            Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
-------------------------------   (Principal Accounting Officer)
David W. Schroeder                (Principal Financial Officer)




                                       S-1



<PAGE>



  /s/ P. J. Lettenberger                             Director
---------------------------------------------
P. J. Lettenberger

  /s/ R. A. Bemis                                    Director
--------------------------------------------
R. A. Bemis

  /s/ F. W. Harris                                   Director
--------------------------------------------
F. W. Harris

  /s/ R. C. Buchanan                                 Director
--------------------------------------------
R. C. Buchanan

  /s/ R. D. Peirce                                   Director
--------------------------------------------
R. D. Peirce

  /s/ G. E. Nei                                      Director
--------------------------------------------
G. E. Nei

  /s/ M. K. Bush                                     Director
--------------------------------------------
M. K. Bush

  /s/ F. R. Jarc                                     Director
--------------------------------------------
F. R. Jarc

----------------------



         * Each of these signatures is affixed as of September 13, 2002.



                                       S-2



<PAGE>



                                BRADY CORPORATION
                               (THE "REGISTRANT")
                          (COMMISSION FILE NO. 0-12730)

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                       TO
                         FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>



EXHIBIT                                                        INCORPORATED HEREIN                FILED
NUMBER                      DESCRIPTION                          BY REFERENCE TO                HEREWITH
------                      -----------                         -----------------               --------
<S>           <C>                                           <C>                            <C>
4.1            Restated Articles of Incorporation of        Exhibit 4.1 to Registrant's
               the Registrant                               Registration Statement  No.
                                                            333-04155 on Form S-3

4.2            Bylaws of the Registrant                     Registrant's Annual Report
                                                            on Form 10-K for the fiscal
                                                            year ended July 31, 1989

5              Opinion of Counsel                                                                        X

23.1           Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP                                                          X

23.2           Consent of Counsel                                                             Contained in
                                                                                              Opinion filed as
                                                                                              Exhibit 5

24             Powers of Attorney                                                             Signatures Page to
                                                                                              this Registration
                                                                                              Statement

99.1           Brady Corporation 2001 Omnibus               Exhibit 10.26 to Form
               Incentive Stock Plan                         10-Q for quarter ended
                                                            January 31, 2002

</TABLE>



                                      EI-1
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "filename": "c71812sv8.txt", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 22732}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "BRADY CORP", "cik": "0000746598", "assigned-sic": "3990", "irs-number": "390178960", "state-of-incorporation": "WI", "fiscal-year-end": "0731"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-99615", "film-number": "02764823"}, "business-address": {"street1": "6555 W GOOD HOPE RD", "street2": "P O BOX 571", "city": "MILWAUKEE", "state": "WI", "zip": "53201-0571", "phone": "4143586600"}, "former-company": {"former-conformed-name": "BRADY W H CO", "date-changed": "19920703"}}
Registration No.
                                                                 ---------------

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 16, 2002

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                    FORM S-8

                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                               ------------------

                                BRADY CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                 WISCONSIN                                39-0178960
      (State or other jurisdiction of                  (I.R.S. Employer
      incorporation or organization)                  Identification No.)

         6555 West Good Hope Road
               P.O. Box 571
           Milwaukee, Wisconsin                           53201-0571
 (Address of Principal Executive Offices)                 (ZIP Code)

                                -----------------
                         BRADY CORPORATION 2001 OMNIBUS
                              INCENTIVE STOCK PLAN

                            (Full title of the plan)
                               -------------------

            DAVID W. SCHROEDER                                Copy to:
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer            CONRAD G. GOODKIND, ESQ.
             Brady Corporation                           Quarles & Brady LLP
         6555 West Good Hope Road                     411 East Wisconsin Avenue
               P.O. Box 571                          Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
      Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0571
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (414) 358-6600
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         Calculation of Registration Fee
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   PROPOSED           PROPOSED
                                                                    MAXIMUM            MAXIMUM           AMOUNT OF
        TITLE OF SECURITIES                  AMOUNT TO BE       OFFERING PRICE        AGGREGATE        REGISTRATION
         TO BE REGISTERED                    REGISTERED(1)         PER SHARE      OFFERING PRICE(2)         FEE
        -------------------                  -------------      --------------    -----------------    ------------
Class A Nonvoting Common Stock,
      par value $.01 per share              500,000 shares            (2)            $17,200,000         $1,582.40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)      The Brady Corporation 2001 Omnibus Incentive Stock Plan (the "Plan")
         provides for the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of Class A Nonvoting
         Common Stock, par value $.01 per share ("Class A Common Stock"). The
         Plan provides for possible adjustment of the number, price and kind of
         shares covered by options and other incentive awards granted or to be
         granted, and of the number and kind of shares which may be awarded as
         restricted stock, in the event of certain capital or other changes
         affecting the Registrant's Class A Common Stock. This Registration
         Statement therefore covers, in addition to the above stated 500,000
         shares, an indeterminate number of shares that may become subject to
         the Plan by means of any such adjustment.

(2)      Pursuant to Rule 457(h), estimated solely for the purpose of computing
         the registration fee, based upon $34.40 per share, which is the average
         of the high and low sales prices of the Registrant's Class A Common
         Stock on the NYSE on September 10, 2002.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS

         Information specified in Part I of Form S-8 (Items 1 and 2) will be
sent or given to Plan participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the
Securities Act of 1933.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents filed by Brady Corporation (the "Registrant")
(Commission File No. 0-12730) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, (the "1934 Act") are incorporated herein by reference:

         (a)      Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31,
                  2001.

         (b)      Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended
                  October 31, 2001, January 31, 2002 and April 30, 2002.

         (c)      That portion of the Registrant's Registration Statement on
                  Form 8-A that describes the Registrant's Class A Nonvoting
                  Common Stock in Item 1 thereof, which incorporates the
                  description from the description of Registrant's Capital Stock
                  contained in the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form
                  S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-0415), and including any
                  future amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating
                  such description.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the 1934 Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have
been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be
deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the
date of the filing of such documents.

         Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded
for purposes hereof to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated
by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so
modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded,
to constitute a part hereof.

ITEM 6.  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         Chapter 180 of the Wisconsin Statutes includes provisions for
indemnification by a corporation of a director or officer against certain
liabilities and expenses incurred by him or her in any proceeding (whether
threatened, pending or completed, and whether brought by the corporation or any
other person) to which he or she was a party because of being a director or
officer. In general, under these provisions (1) a corporation is required to
indemnify a director or officer, to the extent he or she has been successful on
the merits or otherwise in the defense of any such proceeding, for all
reasonable expenses incurred in the proceeding, and (2) in other cases, the
corporation is required to indemnify a director or officer against liabilities
(including,

                                       -1-
among other things, judgments, penalties, fines and reasonable expenses)
incurred in any such proceeding unless liability was incurred because he or she
breached or failed to perform a duty to the corporation and the breach or
failure constitutes any of the following: (a) a willful failure to deal fairly
with the corporation or its shareholders in connection with a matter in which he
or she has a material conflict of interest, (b) a violation of criminal law,
unless he or she had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was lawful
or no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, (c) a
transaction from which he or she derived an improper personal profit, or (d)
willful misconduct. The provisions specify that the termination of a proceeding
by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of no contest or an
equivalent plea, does not, by itself, create a presumption that indemnification
is not required. Also, the provisions permit a corporation to pay or reimburse
reasonable expenses as incurred if the director or officer affirms his or her
good faith belief that he or she has not breached or failed to perform his or
her duties to the corporation and undertakes to make repayment to the extent it
is ultimately determined that indemnification is not required. With specified
exceptions, these provisions do not preclude additional indemnification. Chapter
180 specifically provides that it is the public policy of the State of Wisconsin
to require or permit indemnification, allowance of expenses and insurance, to
the extent required or permitted generally thereunder, for any liability
incurred in connection with a proceeding involving a federal or state statute,
rule or regulation regulating the offer, sale or purchase of securities.

         Chapter 180 of the Wisconsin Statutes also provides that, with certain
exceptions, a director is not liable to a corporation, its shareholders, or any
person asserting rights on behalf of the corporation or its shareholders, for
damages, settlements, fees, fines, penalties or other monetary liabilities
arising from a breach of, or failure to perform, any duty resulting solely from
his or her status as a director, unless the person asserting liability proves
that the breach or failure to perform constitutes any of the four exceptions to
mandatory indemnification referred to above.

         The Bylaws of the Registrant provide generally for mandatory
indemnification of directors and officers of the Registrant to the fullest
extent permitted by law.

         Officers and directors of the Registrant may be covered by insurance
policies purchased by the Registrant, under which they are insured (subject to
exceptions and limitations specified in the policies) against expenses and
liabilities arising out of actions, suits or proceedings to which they are
parties by reason of being or having been such directors or officers.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

         Not Applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS.

         See Exhibit Index following the Signatures page in this Registration
Statement, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS.

         (a)      The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1)      To file, during any period in which offers or sales
                           are being made, a post-effective amendment to this
                           Registration Statement:

                                       -2-
(i)      To include any prospectus required by
                                    section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of
                                    1933;

                           (ii)     To reflect in the prospectus any facts or
                                    events arising after the effective date of
                                    the Registration Statement (or the most
                                    recent post-effective amendment thereof)
                                    which, individually or in the aggregate,
                                    represent a fundamental change in the
                                    information set forth in the Registration
                                    Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
                                    any increase or decrease in volume of
                                    securities offered (if the total dollar
                                    value of securities offered would not exceed
                                    that which was registered) and any deviation
                                    from the low or high end of the estimated
                                    maximum offering range may be reflected in
                                    the form of a prospectus filed with the
                                    Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in
                                    the aggregate, the changes in volume and
                                    price represent no more than a 20% change in
                                    the maximum aggregate offering price set
                                    forth in the "Calculation of Registration
                                    Fee" table in the effective Registration
                                    Statement;

                           (iii)    To include any material information with
                                    respect to the plan of distribution not
                                    previously disclosed in the Registration
                                    Statement or any material change to such
                                    information in the Registration Statement;

                  Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the
Registrant with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed
to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

         (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

         (h) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the provisions referred to in Item 6, or
otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities
and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim
for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant

                                       -3-
in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
such issue.

                                       -4-
SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, on September 13, 2002.

                                  BRADY CORPORATION
                                  (Registrant)

                                  By:  /s/ David W. Schroeder
                                     ------------------------
                                     David W. Schroeder
                                     Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
                                     (Principal Accounting Officer)
                                     (Principal Financial Officer)

                               -------------------

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

         KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Katherine M. Hudson and Conrad G.
Goodkind, and each of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents,
with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name,
place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments
(including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to
file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and any other regulatory
authority, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them,
full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all
intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their
substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

                              ---------------------

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.*

SIGNATURE                         TITLE

/s/ K. M. Hudson                  President and Director
-------------------------------   (Principal Executive Officer)
K. M. Hudson

/s/ David W. Schroeder            Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
-------------------------------   (Principal Accounting Officer)
David W. Schroeder                (Principal Financial Officer)

                                       S-1
/s/ P. J. Lettenberger                             Director
---------------------------------------------
P. J. Lettenberger

  /s/ R. A. Bemis                                    Director
--------------------------------------------
R. A. Bemis

  /s/ F. W. Harris                                   Director
--------------------------------------------
F. W. Harris

  /s/ R. C. Buchanan                                 Director
--------------------------------------------
R. C. Buchanan

  /s/ R. D. Peirce                                   Director
--------------------------------------------
R. D. Peirce

  /s/ G. E. Nei                                      Director
--------------------------------------------
G. E. Nei

  /s/ M. K. Bush                                     Director
--------------------------------------------
M. K. Bush

  /s/ F. R. Jarc                                     Director
--------------------------------------------
F. R. Jarc

----------------------

         * Each of these signatures is affixed as of September 13, 2002.

                                       S-2
BRADY CORPORATION
                               (THE "REGISTRANT")
                          (COMMISSION FILE NO. 0-12730)

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                       TO
                         FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT
EXHIBIT                                                        INCORPORATED HEREIN                FILED
NUMBER                      DESCRIPTION                          BY REFERENCE TO                HEREWITH
------                      -----------                         -----------------               --------
4.1            Restated Articles of Incorporation of        Exhibit 4.1 to Registrant's
               the Registrant                               Registration Statement  No.
                                                            333-04155 on Form S-3

4.2            Bylaws of the Registrant                     Registrant's Annual Report
                                                            on Form 10-K for the fiscal
                                                            year ended July 31, 1989

5              Opinion of Counsel                                                                        X

23.1           Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP                                                          X

23.2           Consent of Counsel                                                             Contained in
                                                                                              Opinion filed as
                                                                                              Exhibit 5

24             Powers of Attorney                                                             Signatures Page to
                                                                                              this Registration
                                                                                              Statement

99.1           Brady Corporation 2001 Omnibus               Exhibit 10.26 to Form
               Incentive Stock Plan                         10-Q for quarter ended
                                                            January 31, 2002
EI-1