Belair Road Supply Company Inc. has been around the Baltimore region for more than 100 years but has now found a partner to keep moving into the future.

This month, North Carolina-based Fortiline acquired the company, which has five locations across Maryland and Delaware. The acquisition expands Fortiline’s presence in the northeastern region of the U.S. and grows its branch network to nearly 80 locations across 16 states.

Belair Road Supply, which has about 80 employees, has been family-owned and -operated since 1917. The core business provides masonry, hardscapes, tools and supplies, and water and sewer supplies to customers in Maryland, Delaware and Northern Virginia. Its five locations will be rebranded as Fortiline Waterworks.

Thurston R. “Bud” Adams Jr. began working at Belair Road Supply with his grandfather when he was 12, stocking shelves. Following his grandfather’s death in 1963, family members decided to sell the business, and Adams purchased it in 1970. He was named company president in 1976.

Adams expanded the business from a single store on Belair Road to five branches in Rosedale; Westminster; White Plains in Charles County; Frankford, Delaware; and Milton, Delaware. It became the largest independent water, sewer and storm drain distributor in Maryland.

Adams died in 2017, and his daughter, Stephanie Germano, took over as president. Germano said she is sad to have her family legacy come to an end, but the decision to sell to Fortiline was best for the future of the company.

“Fortiline was the frontrunner right from the get-go,” Germano said. “They are very much family-first.”

Fortiline has been Texas-based Reece USA’s waterworks supplier since 2018. Both companies are a part of the Reece Group, a distributor of plumbing, waterworks and HVAC-R products to commercial and residential customers through more than 900 branches in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Reece Group, established in 1920 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, has approximately 9,000 employees worldwide.

“Our Fortiline team has aggressive growth goals across the United States, including here in the Northeast, and this acquisition of Belair Road Supply underscores our commitment to that growth plan,” Fortiline president Andrew Pacifico, said in a statement. “In the first six months of the fiscal year, Fortiline has opened five new locations, with plans for more to come.

“In just these past six months, we’ve expanded our operations into Colorado, Nevada, Savannah, Georgia and Northern Arizona and we’re excited to continue this expansion into Maryland and Delaware.”

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