Valley City Builders Supply - as it was then known - was founded by John Silk in 1961. John was an employee of Mack's Inc. and purchased the part of the business that handled the masonry and aggregate materials (such as block, tile, sand, and gravel). At the time of purchase, he rented a small garage from Mack's Inc. for the business.

In December of 1966, John purchased the William Steck Grist Mill located at 6745 School Street and moved the day-to-day operations of VCS; where it would be located for over 54 years. The mill had burned down and was rebuilt several times before John purchased the building. In 2015, the Valley City Supply showroom and office space was relocated across the street from its original location and 6745 School Street is now home to our 7,000sqft warehouse.

In October of 1967, with the continual manual loading and unloading of block onto and off of trucks and workers threatening to quit, John purchased the company's first boom truck. It was the first venture into automation and the beginning of expanding VCBS's fleet; which today consists of four (4) tractor trailer semis, 2 semi flatbeds with moffetts, 2 10-ton dump trucks, and 1 20-ton dump truck.

1971 was a big year of change and growth when John acquired Ken Cleveland Home Builders as a customer. At that time, Ken Cleveland was the largest home builder in Medina County and was eventually recognized as one of the top builders in the country.

Twenty-three (23) years after starting Valley City Builders Supply, John Silk retired and his daughter, Holly, took over the day-to-day operations of the business.

In 1994, John's youngest daughter, Sue Kronenberger, left a job at Ernst & Young to manage her family's business. Sue is still the President of Valley City Supply. In 2018, Sue's son, Chris, became Vice President of VCS and is transitioning to continue his grandfather's legacy. Eventually, Valley City Supply will become a third-generation family-owned business.

With increasing demand from homeowners to invest in and transform their backyard areas into extensions of their homes, VCS began their venture into outdoor living by adding hardscape, structure, water feature, and landscape lighting products to their product catalog.

With an increase in product lines and the customers that followed, VCS outgrew their space at 6745 School Street and plans to expand the showroom and warehouse capacity began. A land swap was done with the neighbors across the street from the existing showroom and construction of the new VCS showroom began in early 2015.

In October of 2015, construction of the new showroom was finally completed! The new 7,000sqft showroom houses over 400 samples of stone veneer, grills, tile, brick, outdoor water feature and landscape lighting displays, exterior walkways comprised of various types of pavers, outdoor furniture, and fire features.

At the age of 97, John Silk passed away. John was a man of his word and it was his hard work, his knowledge of knowing the value of word of mouth, and his integrity that made his business successful. He was generous to his community and established trust with his suppliers while building a foundation for this business that has survived over six decades, through good and bad economies. And as we continue to grow beyond what he first started, we bring with us the core values he established as we continue on with his legacy.

With increased product offerings and the need to increase available stock to serve customers more efficiently and quicker, the decision was made to take down the original building at 6745 School Street and build a new 7,000sqft warehouse in its place. The location also serves as a paver and stone yard and allows for quicker processing of customer pickups and product deliveries.

From a small rented garage to three buildings with a combined space of over 22,000sqft, the growth of Valley City Supply is one we can only hope that John Silk envisioned and would be proud of today. It was his commitment to the core values of service and community that built the foundation of who we were, who we are, and who we will always be. As we continue to expand and grow, our loyalty to our customers and the integrity of our service and products will help guide us along the way.