Bowerston Shale Company

What Bowerston Shale Company does

Bowerston Shale Company is a family-owned clay brick manufacturer founded in 1929 and headquartered in Bowerston, Ohio. The company operates two manufacturing plants — the original Bowerston plant at 515 Main Street and the Hanover plant at 1329 Seven Hills Rd. NE in Newark, Ohio — producing a portfolio of more than 100 brick SKUs organized by texture (wire cut, smooth, sanded, rough, bark, velour, vertical matt, iron spot), color family (reds, browns, buffs, grays, blacks), and specialty products including pavers and iron spot brick.

The business sells primarily to architectural firms, commercial construction projects, and residential builders, with a secondary distribution channel through brick wholesalers. Sales are quote-based and project-driven, supported by brick sample shipping and on-site job site support for brick selection and matching. The company also publishes Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to enable LEED-compliant specification in green-building projects and lists products in ARCAT SPECS and BIM specification databases.

The go-to-market motion is predominantly direct-to-architect and direct-to-builder, supplemented by traditional distributor relationships. Marketing is conducted through a comprehensive product-catalog website (bowerstonshale.com) with filtering by location, texture, and color, plus organic social media presence on Facebook and Instagram and direct phone-based sales for both plants. Revenue is generated through one-time hardware sales of clay brick products with no subscription, SaaS, or recurring component, and pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Bowerston Shale Company

Legal name

Bowerston Shale Company

Website

https://bowerstonshale.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Bowerston Shale Company is a family-owned Ohio clay brick manufacturer operating two plants since 1929, producing 100+ brick SKUs for architects, commercial construction, residential builders, and brick distributors nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clay Brick Manufacturing

NAICS

Clay Building Material and Refractories Manufacturing (32712)

SIC

Structural Clay Products (3250)

akta.pro primary industry

Clay Bricks (Facing & Common) (IMADABAA)

Keywords

• Clay brick manufacturing
• Architectural brick products
• Commercial building materials
• Residential masonry products
• Brick pavers

Headquarters

HQ city

Bowerston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Brick and clay product sales: One-time product sales of clay brick for architectural, commercial, and residential construction projects. Products include various textures (wire cut, smooth, sanded, rough, bark, velour, vertical matt, rugg, brush-tex, ver-tex), colors (reds, browns, buffs, grays, blacks), and specialty products like pavers and iron spot brick.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bowerston Shale Company manufactures and sells clay brick products through plants in Bowerston and Hanover, Ohio. Its catalog serves architectural, commercial, and residential construction with multiple colors, textures, sizes, specialty products, custom runs, and sample support.

Product overview

Bowerston Shale Company is a traditional brick manufacturer operating two plants in Ohio (Bowerston and Hanover) since 1929. The company produces quality clay brick products for architectural, commercial, and residential markets. Their product portfolio consists of a comprehensive line of brick offerings organized by texture (Wire Cut, Vertical, Smooth, Sanded, Rough/RT, Bark), color families (Blacks & Grays & Whites, Browns & Reds, Buffs & Tans), and specialty products (Pavers, Iron Spot). Featured products include Aztec Red, Bordeaux, Desert Brown Flash Smooth, and Desert Brown Flash WC. The company offers brick samples and provides test reports and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for LEED documentation. Bowerston Shale recommends PROSOCO cleaning products for their brick.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wire Cut Brick Wire-cut textured brick manufactured at both the Bowerston and Hanover plants, with color options including Aztec Red, Bordeaux, and Desert Brown Flash variants.
• Vertical Brick Vertical-textured brick products with multiple color offerings.
• Smooth Brick Smooth-textured brick with extensive color options including reds, buffs, tans, grays, and specialty finishes, with both standard and discontinued product lines listed.
• Sanded Brick Sanded-textured brick offered in colors including Sunfire, Cordovan, Charcoal Gray, Burgundy Blend, and blended options.
• Rough Brick (R/T) Rough sculptured-textured brick products including Valley Blend RT, Sorrel Flash R/T, Red RT, and blend options.
• Pavers Paving brick products in colors including Mahogany, Red, and Cordovan, suitable for walkways and outdoor surfaces.
• Iron Spot Brick Specialty brick with an iron spot finish, including Terra Cotta Red WC IS and Red Smooth IS products.
• Bark Brick Bark-textured brick products including Gray Bark blends, Ivory Bark, and tri-blend options.
• Woodsfield Blend A flashed range of browns, whites, and creams with a sculptured texture, produced at the Bowerston plant.
• Tallmadge Blend A brick blend consisting of 60% Harvest, 30% Old English, and 10% Cordovan Sanded (#520), produced at the Hanover plant.
• University Blend Smooth A flashed range of reds with cross sets and a semi-smooth texture, produced at the Bowerston plant.
• Santa Fe Smooth No Dark A flashed range of darker reds and burgundies with no cross sets or full darks and a smooth texture, produced at the Bowerston plant.
• Santa Fe Smooth A flashed range of darker reds and burgundies with no cross sets and a smooth texture, produced at the Bowerston plant.
• Aztec Red A narrow range of terra cotta with a sand-molded look, produced at the Hanover plant.
• Bordeaux A narrow range of burgundy red with a sand-molded look, produced at the Hanover plant.
• Desert Brown Flash Smooth A flashed range of light brown with a smooth texture, produced at the Hanover plant.
• Desert Brown Flash WC A flashed range of light brown with a wire-cut texture, produced at the Hanover plant.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• General Shale Brick: Major US manufacturer of clay brick and masonry products with plants across multiple states. Comparable in product offering (clay brick with varied textures/colors), customer segments (architectural, commercial, residential), and nationwide distribution.
• Interstate Brick: Western US clay brick and masonry products manufacturer serving architectural, commercial, and residential markets. Comparable in clay brick product line, architectural specification focus, and project-based sales model.
• Belden Brick Company: Family-owned Ohio-based clay brick manufacturer founded in 1885, operating multiple plants in the Canton/Sugarcreek area. Closest direct peer given shared Ohio footprint, family ownership model, and similar clay brick product portfolio serving architectural, commercial, and residential markets.
• Acme Brick Company: Large US clay brick manufacturer founded in 1891, serving residential and commercial construction across the South and Midwest. Directly comparable in clay brick manufacturing, multi-generational operating history, and broad customer base including architects and builders.
• Henry Brick Company: Regional clay brick manufacturer based in the Southeast US, producing face brick and specialty products for architectural and commercial applications. Comparable in clay brick focus, mid-sized regional plant footprint, and architectural specification orientation.
• Glen-Gery Corporation: One of the largest US clay brick manufacturers, operating numerous plants across the East Coast and Midwest. Directly comparable in core product (clay brick), customer base (architects, builders, distributors), and architectural specification focus.

Broad incumbents

• Wienerberger AG: World's largest producer of clay building bricks and roof tiles, with significant US operations. Broad incumbent offering overlapping clay brick products and similar customer segments, but at much larger scale and with diversified product portfolio beyond brick.

Regional players

• Carolina Ceramics Brick Company: Southeastern US clay brick manufacturer serving commercial and architectural markets. Comparable in clay brick manufacturing and architectural product offerings, but focused on a different regional market than Bowerston's Ohio/Midwest base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BowerstonShale
• Instagraminstagram.com/bowerstonshale

Compliance1 record

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 Bowerston Shale Company