In today’s business landscape, it seems like every month another local company disappears into a larger corporate network. Independent businesses that have served their communities for generations are becoming increasingly rare, especially in the building supply industry.
At Hewson Bros, we’re particularly proud of who we are—and where we’ve come from.
For more than a century, Hewson Bros. Building Supply has remained proudly independent and Canadian owned. Since opening our doors in the early 1900’s as a plaster contractor, we’ve grown alongside the communities we serve, helping generations of homeowners, contractors, builders, and families bring their projects to life.
Recently, we were reminded just how deep our roots run.
A neighbour generously gifted us a remarkable piece of local history: a 1932 edition of Vernon’s City of Brantford Phone Book. As we carefully turned through its pages, we discovered something special. Featured prominently on the cover was a Hewson & Potters advertisement, a snapshot of our company’s early years and a reminder of the role we have played in the community for decades. Even more fascinating was finding our original phone listing inside. Long before area codes, exchanges, and smartphones, our phone number was simply 168.
Holding that directory in our hands was a powerful reminder of the generations of customers, employees, suppliers, and neighbours who have helped shape our story over the last 100 years.
A Rare Story in Today’s Building Supply Industry
Independent building supply companies that survive for decades are uncommon. Independent companies that continue to grow, invest, expand, and thrive into their second century are even rarer. The building supply industry has undergone enormous change over the years. Family-owned businesses have faced economic downturns, shifting markets, changing customer needs, and increasing competition from large national and multinational corporations.
Many long-standing local competitors have been acquired by larger organizations, often headquartered far from the communities they serve. Decisions that were once made locally are increasingly made in distant boardrooms. Through it all, Hewson Bros. has remained committed to something different.
We continue to make decisions locally. We continue to invest in our people, our facilities, and our communities. We continue to support local builders, contractors, and homeowners with the service and expertise that only a locally owned company can provide. And because we’re independent, we’re able to focus on long-term relationships rather than quarterly reports.
Stronger Together Through AD Canada
Being independent doesn’t mean standing alone.
We are proud members of AD Canada (Affiliated Distributors Canada), a network of independently owned businesses that work together to compete effectively in today’s marketplace.
AD Canada allows local independent building suppliers like us to leverage collective purchasing power, shared resources, and industry expertise while maintaining local ownership and control. It helps level the playing field against the large corporate and often American-owned organizations that have steadily acquired many formerly independent competitors across the country.
Most importantly, it allows us to continue offering the products, value, and service our customers expect while keeping decision-making rooted in the communities we serve.
By supporting independent businesses through organizations like AD Canada, we’re helping preserve choice, competition, and local investment across Canada.
Looking Back—and Looking Forward
Finding our old listing in a 1932 phone book was a wonderful reminder of where we started. Seeing our phone number listed as simply “168” highlights just how much the world has changed over the past century. But while many things have changed, our core values have not.
We remain proudly Canadian owned. Proudly independent. Proudly local.
We’re grateful to the generations of customers who have trusted us over the years, and we’re excited about the future as we continue to grow, invest, and serve the communities that have supported us for more than 100 years. From phone number 168 to the modern building supply partner we are today, our commitment remains the same: helping our neighbours build stronger homes, businesses, and communities.
And that’s a tradition we’re proud to carry forward for generations to come.
