What McNear Brick & Block does

McNear Brick & Block is a privately held U.S. manufacturer of clay brick and concrete building materials, founded in 1868 and headquartered in San Rafael, California, on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The company operates a single manufacturing facility with 11-50 employees and produces seven core product lines: Thin Brick, Face Brick, and Paving Brick (all clay-based), complemented by BrickFast Panels (a proprietary galvanized steel panel system for accelerated thin brick installation), Interlocking Concrete Pavers, Versa-Lok Segmental Retaining Walls (manufactured under exclusive Northern California license), and Eurostone modular concrete landscaping blocks. McNear preserves century-old hand-craftsmanship and sandmold production techniques that allow it to offer four distinct color and texture series (Sandmold, Old California, Town, and Commercial) covering both historic reproduction and modern commercial aesthetics, with products meeting ASTM C216 Grade SW and ASTM C1088 Grade Exterior standards for freeze/thaw environments.

The company's products serve a horizontal mix of customer segments including architects and designers specifying materials for new construction and restoration, contractors installing brick and masonry products, individual homeowners undertaking renovation or DIY projects, building materials distributors and dealers who resell McNear products, and government or public works projects requiring retaining walls and landscaping materials. McNear generates revenue through hardware sales of brick and concrete building products, distributed via a national network of distributors and dealers supplemented by a direct sales team reachable through toll-free and main phone lines. Go-to-market is sales-led, supported by a website with product catalogs, technical documentation, downloadable brochures, free sample request forms, quote request functionality, and a radius-based distributor locator tool. Marketing relies on content (technical documentation, project galleries) and an Instagram presence under #mcnearbrick. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled via quote requests, consistent with a project-based B2B and prosumer sales motion rather than standardized retail pricing.

Name

McNear Brick & Block

Legal name

McNear Brick & Block

Website

https://mcnear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McNear Brick & Block, founded 1868 in San Rafael, California, manufactures clay brick (Thin, Face, Paving) and concrete building products (BrickFast Panels, Interlocking Pavers, Versa-Lok Retaining Walls, Eurostone), selling to architects, contractors, homeowners, distributors, and public works projects nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Rafael

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brick and Building Materials Sales: McNear generates revenue through the manufacture and sale of clay brick products including thin brick, face brick, paving bricks, and related building materials. The company also manufactures concrete interlocking pavers and segmental retaining walls. Products are sold through distributors and direct sales channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

McNear Brick & Block manufactures and sells clay brick products (Thin Brick, Face Brick, Paving Brick), the proprietary BrickFast galvanized steel panel installation system, concrete interlocking pavers, Versa-Lok segmental retaining walls, and Eurostone modular concrete landscaping blocks. Products are sold to architects, designers, contractors, distributors, homeowners, and government/public works projects through a nationwide distributor network and direct sales team.

Product overview

McNear Brick & Block is a manufacturer of clay brick and concrete building materials, producing a diversified portfolio of seven core product lines. The company specializes in Thin Brick, Face Brick, and Paving Brick (all clay-based products), complemented by BrickFast Panels (steel panel system for brick installation), Interlocking Pavers (concrete), Versa-Lok Retaining Walls (segmental concrete), and Eurostone Walls (concrete landscaping blocks). Products are available in multiple color series (Sandmold, Old California, Town, Commercial) and textures. The company ships products across the United States from its San Rafael, California facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BrickFast: BrickFast MCN Panels - brick veneer panels for real brick siding, featuring galvanized steel panels with mechanical brick attachment system for fast installation.
• Sandmold Series
• Old California Series
• Town Series
• Commercial Series
• Versa-Lok
• Eurostone

Products and services

• Thin Brick

Quantifiable outcome

• Products meet ASTM C216 Grade SW and ASTM C1088 Grade Exterior standards for freeze/thaw environments

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Versa-LokcoreTechnology or IntegrationMcNear Brick & Block is the exclusive Northern California manufacturer of the Versa-Lok family of segmental retaining walls. Versa-Lok walls have revolutionized the way Californian landscapes are shaped, terraced, and used, offering attractive, durable, affordable, strong, and versatile retaining wall solutions. The partnership involves manufacturing Versa-Lok's proprietary segmental retaining wall systems.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pine Hall Brick Company: Family-owned U.S. clay brick manufacturer with a comparable focus on face brick, paving brick, and specialty colors/textures. Closely comparable in scale, heritage, and product positioning as a specialty regional-to-national brick maker.
• Belden Brick Company: Family-owned clay brick manufacturer since 1885 producing face brick, pavers, and thin brick. Highly comparable in heritage positioning, product breadth, and target customer base of architects and contractors.
• Endicott Clay Products: Family-owned Midwest clay brick manufacturer producing face brick, pavers, and thin brick since 1920. Directly comparable product portfolio and similar specialty positioning in the face-brick category.
• Taylor Clay Products: Clay brick and thin brick manufacturer serving architects and masons with a comparable specialty product mix. Similar scale and channel strategy through distributor networks.
• Cherokee Brick: Southeast U.S. clay brick manufacturer producing face brick, thin brick, and pavers. Comparable product portfolio and customer segments (architects, contractors, distributors).

Broad incumbents

• Glen-Gery Corporation: One of the largest U.S. clay brick manufacturers, owned by Brickworks Limited, with extensive product breadth across face brick, thin brick, and pavers. Comparable product category but significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• General Shale: Large North American brick and masonry manufacturer offering face brick, thin brick, and stone veneer. Comparable product overlap but at meaningfully greater scale and broader distribution.
• ACME Brick Company: Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary and one of the largest U.S. brick manufacturers with national distribution. Directly competes in clay brick category but operates at far greater scale than McNear.
• Oldcastle APG: CRH-owned building products platform offering a broad masonry, hardscape, and paver portfolio. Overlaps with McNear's concrete paver and retaining wall categories but as part of a national, multi-product portfolio.

Regional players

• Mutual Materials: Pacific Northwest masonry and hardscape manufacturer producing brick, pavers, and retaining walls. Comparable product mix but geographically concentrated in the Pacific Northwest rather than competing in McNear's Northern California base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/explore/tags/mcnearbrick

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McNear Brick & Block