Munro Companies

History

The Munro family has been in the merchandising business in Colorado since 1900 when the family opened its first store, Munro Mercantile. Throughout the next 35 years, JR and Fred Munro expanded Munro Mercantile to five locations and branched off into several different ventures.

After surviving the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929, JR and Fred Munro split the organization with Fred taking over the Mercantile side of the business. As times change, JR and his son Jack and new partner, DG Son, facilitated the grand opening of Son (S) & Munro (M) Supply in 1936. Jack, had previously completed the engineering program at the University of Colorado. As a registered professional engineer, he brought valuable knowledge learned while working for the Bureau of Reclamation.

S & M Supply’s main focus became reclamation of mining equipment left from the gold and silver rushes of the late 1800’s. During World War II, new mining equipment was nonexistent and S & M Supply furnished operating mines with the refurbished equipment. Between WWII and the uranium boom in the 1950’s, S & M Supply became a major employer of Western Colorado. As the uranium boom began to dwindle in the late 1950’s, the Munro family, once again had to adjust to the new marketplace.

Jack and his son, Allen, transitioned industry focus into Munro Supply in 1965. Specializing in pumps and related equipment, Munro Supply quickly became recognized as a pump authority in the Colorado region.

In the early 1900’s, "Munro Mercantile" dotted the western Colorado landscape. All five locations had signs in the windows that read, "Quality remains long after price is forgotten" – Upton Sinclair. Though times and customer needs have changed, this philosophy, stated way back when, still guides the Munro family of companies today.

Past Catalogues