Merkley's History

Merkley Supply's roots reach back to 1900, when brothers Alex, Duncan, and Willie Merkley began a lumber and brick-manufacturing business in Casselman, Ontario. By 1925 their expertise in brick manufacturing had been recognized, and Alex was invited by the owners of the Ottawa Brick and Terra Cotta Company to manage its plant on Riverside Drive (now the location of the RA Centre).

Alex Merkley supervised the operations for five years then purchased the company in 1930. Unquestionably the most important brick manufacturing facility in the region, The Ottawa Brick and Terra Cotta Company provided brick for most of the important public buildings in Ottawa, as well as homes, schools, and churches. It was the only brick manufacturer in the Ottawa Valley to survive the Great Depression.

In 1959, Alex's son Cameron exited the brick manufacturing business to focus on retail supply. He purchased James P. Wood, a small distributor of tools and ramset equipment, and the company's evolution was marked by a name change in 1960: Merkley Supply Ltd. moved to Rochester Street.

The business's next major shift came in 1978 when Cameron's son, Robert Merkley, came on board to manage the company. In that same year, Merkley Supply moved to its present location at 100 Bayview Road. Robert set about converting the company's manual business processes to computers between 1978 and 1980, and Merkley was the first building supply yard in Ottawa to be fully automated. This dramatically improved the company's efficiencies in customer service and inventory management.

Under Robert's guidance, Merkley Supply focused on masonry and related supplies, growing into the region's largest masonry boutique. Today, Merkley employs 40 full-time staff - many of whom have been with the company for decades – and carries some 7,000 brick, stone, masonry and specialty building materials.