MHS Centennial Business: Alsip’s Building Products and Services

Very few companies have survived one hundred years, and even fewer are still managed by members of the same family. Alsip’s Industrial Products Limited, as of 2008 known as Alsip’s Building Products and Services, is a fine example, still operating in the same location in Winnipeg, in the original building, and with an Alsip as President (F. Wayne Alsip) and his two sons, Jason and Brad, as Directors. In the late 1800s Alsip’s began manufacturing brick. In fact, the company can be found in the Henderson’s Directories since 1900, when Arthur, Elmer and William all lived with their father, William, at 2 Gomez Street near Macdonald. They were described as brick makers and contractors, with yards near the Louise Bridge.

On 20 November 1905 Alsip Brick, Tile & Lumber Company Limited was incorporated. In the incorporation papers, founder William Alsip (a Chicago native), William Pitt Alsip and his wife Isabella, and Elmer Lee Alsip described their business as “manufacturers of brick tile pipes, ... to deal in all kinds of building material and building supplies, including lumber stone, brick, tile, cement, marble and building material.” Each of the Directors put up $100 (though none paid that amount), to account for a total of five out of the proposed 2,000 shares. In 1912, when the Founder and President, William Alsip Sr., died at 78, his sons continued: William P. Alsip was General Manager, Arthur A. Alsip was Secretary-Treasurer, and Elmer L. Alsip was Superintendent.

By 1959 brick manufacture was no longer profitable, so they extended their product line, always keeping their core business, construction materials, in mind. In masonry, just one of their many lines, Alsip’s products have been used in the construction of everything from the Manitoba Legislative Buildings, the Law Courts, and the original buildings at the Forks to many of the city’s elegant brick homes. Their contribution continues today, including such imposing projects such as the Asper Research Centre, the Inn at the Forks, and the City Hall’s new courtyard.

An MHS Centennial Business Award was presented to Brad Alsip by Judith Hudson Beattie, Ken Zealand, and David Deane on 14 January 2006.