What Merritt Aluminum Products makes

Merritt Aluminum Products Company, known internally as MAPCO, designs and manufactures aluminum accessories for heavy-duty and light trucks. The core catalog covers cab racks, tool boxes, storage and saddle boxes, battery boxes, fenders, deck covers, and hose racks, all fabricated from aluminum for a lighter installed weight than steel equivalents. The company also builds aluminum hydraulic tanks in cab-rack-mounted and freestanding versions from 20 to 70 gallons, and pressure-tested transfer tanks up to 90 gallons for carrying extra diesel fuel. Custom powder coating is offered in-house under the MAPCO name for color and finish options.

The work is aluminum metal fabrication rather than OEM part production: forming, welding, and finishing of accessory hardware sold into the trucking aftermarket. Products are engineered to fit the major Class 8 truck brands, including Kenworth and Peterbilt (PACCAR), Volvo and Mack (Volvo Group), Freightliner and Western Star (Daimler Truck North America), and International (Navistar). The company frames these as fitment and compatibility, not supply contracts, and states its accessories are designed to work across all North American OEMs. Buyers reach the products through a nationwide dealer and distribution network spanning the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, backed by an in-house sales team and company-owned warehouse distribution.

Ownership and history

Merritt traces its lineage to 1951, when Everett Lee Merritt and Guin Merritt opened a two-bay aluminum trailer-repair shop in Portland, Oregon. Everett L. Merritt led the company as president until 1978, and his sons Everett T. and Lee joined the business in 1966, opening the first branch in Bakersfield, California the following year. The company added a Denver branch and an Amarillo, Texas trailer factory through the 1970s, launched an aftermarket truck-products line in 1972, and by 1988 had consolidated operations in Denver. A 1994 expansion took the Denver plant to 130,000 square feet.

In 2016 the business was restructured into two operations. Merritt Aluminum Products moved into a purpose-built 100,000 square foot plant in Fort Lupton, Colorado, which the company says doubled its aluminum production capacity, while Merritt Trailers continued building livestock and gooseneck trailers in the Denver area. Third-generation Taylor Lee Merritt became CEO of both Merritt Aluminum Products and Merritt Trailers in 2019, and CEO of the parent Merritt Companies in 2025. The company remains independent and family-owned, and has been recognized as a Top 50 Family-Owned Business in Colorado. Merritt Aluminum Products sits alongside two sister businesses under Merritt Companies: Merritt Trailers, and Magnum Trailer & Equipment, a British Columbia manufacturer acquired in May 2025.

Scale and facilities

Merritt Aluminum Products operates from its purpose-built 100,000 square foot plant in Fort Lupton, Colorado, opened in 2016 when the company doubled aluminum capacity. At the group level, Merritt Companies reports more than 300 employees across North America, a figure that rose to more than 520 employees and roughly 400,000 square feet of production space after the 2025 Magnum acquisition. A standalone headcount for the Fort Lupton operation is not separately published, so scale here is reported as a band. The company describes an in-house engineering function, an in-house sales and customer-service team, and its own warehouse distribution channel, and positions its dealer support and lead times as competitive differentiators in the accessory market.

Recent developments

In June 2026, Merritt Companies marked 75 years of continuous family ownership, tracing the business back to the 1951 Portland shop. In May 2025, the group acquired Magnum Trailer & Equipment of British Columbia, adding aluminum front-end protection guards and custom trailer manufacturing to the portfolio and expanding the combined group to more than 520 employees. The company's CEO, Taylor Merritt, described the acquisition as combining the strengths of both organizations to broaden the aluminum product line for heavy-duty trucking customers.

Sourcing evidence

Merritt Aluminum Products appears in U.S. customs records with 155 import shipments on file, the most recent dated August 2026. The named foreign suppliers are hardware and fittings makers rather than finished-goods vendors: Lelox in Australia, and Xiamen Merican Industrial and Trade, Xiamen Jiyi Hardware Manufacturer, and Yangzhou All Well International Trade in China. That pattern, components and hardware in and finished aluminum accessories out, is consistent with a domestic manufacturer sourcing latches, locks, and fittings for its own fabrication, not a reseller importing complete products. Origin countries on record are China and Australia. For buyers weighing tariff exposure or nearshoring, the small imported-component footprint sits behind a U.S. manufacturing base.

Coverage caveats: these are U.S. import bill-of-lading records only, drawn from a summary view. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear, some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers, and product categories come from declared manifest data, which is noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does Merritt Aluminum Products make?

Merritt Aluminum Products manufactures aluminum accessories for heavy-duty and light trucks, including cab racks, tool boxes, battery boxes, fenders, deck covers, hose racks, hydraulic tanks, and transfer tanks. It also offers in-house custom powder coating. The products are aluminum fabrications sold into the trucking aftermarket through a dealer network.

Who owns Merritt Aluminum Products?

Merritt Aluminum Products is independent and family-owned, now in its third generation. It is part of Merritt Companies, which also includes Merritt Trailers and Magnum Trailer & Equipment. Taylor Merritt has served as chairman and CEO of Merritt Aluminum Products since 2016 and CEO of Merritt Companies since 2025.

Where is Merritt Aluminum Products located?

Merritt Aluminum Products is headquartered at 1011 14th Street, Fort Lupton, Colorado 80621, where it operates a purpose-built 100,000 square foot aluminum manufacturing plant opened in 2016. The wider Merritt Companies group traces its founding to a 1951 shop in Portland, Oregon.

Which truck brands do Merritt products fit?

Merritt aluminum accessories are engineered to fit the major Class 8 truck brands, including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo, Mack, Freightliner, Western Star, and International. The company states its products are designed to work across all North American truck manufacturers. These are fitment and compatibility statements rather than OEM supply contracts.

How large is Merritt Aluminum Products?

Merritt Companies, the parent group, reports more than 300 employees across North America, rising to more than 520 employees and roughly 400,000 square feet of production after acquiring Magnum Trailer & Equipment in 2025. A standalone employee count for the Fort Lupton plant is not separately published. The company does not publish revenue figures.

When was Merritt founded?

The Merritt business was founded in 1951 as a two-bay aluminum trailer-repair shop in Portland, Oregon by Everett Lee and Guin Merritt. It launched an aftermarket truck-products line in 1972, and the standalone Merritt Aluminum Products operation was formed in a 2016 restructuring that moved aluminum manufacturing to Fort Lupton, Colorado.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.