In 1938, Lloyd Merritt, Sr. a local veterinarian and his wife, Jennie, opened Merritt Veterinary Supplies to provide pharmaceutical and biological products as well as equipment to other area veterinarians to take care of livestock and other large farm animals. The operation began in a warehouse behind their home in Sumter, South Carolina.

        The Merritt family ran the business by themselves up until the late 1940's when they added their first outside sales representative. In 1949, Mr. Merritt passed away and his wife took over operation of the business.

        Lloyd Merritt, Jr. began helping his mother in the warehouse while he was still in school. After graduation from college and an additional two years of service in the Army, he officially joined the company in 1964.

        He started in the warehouse, refamiliarizing himself with the business and inventory. One year later, he took to the road to open up the North Carolina sales territory. This venture was very successful and he continued to work as a salesman until his mother retired in 1973. At this point, Lloyd Merritt, Jr. took over as President of Merritt Veterinary Supplies.

        Since 1973, Merritt Veterinary Supplies had grown considerably. The corporate office relocated in 1996 to its present site in Columbia, South Carolina. Prior to this move, they opened their second distribution center in Birmingham, Alabama, followed by a third center several years later in Longwood, Florida.

        Birmingham opened first in 1992. Before this, Merritt only serviced the Carolinas and part of Georgia. This location allowed them to do business with veterinarians in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The success of this location led to the opening of the Florida Distribution Center in 1998. The Longwood branch primarily services the state of Florida, which was previously untouched. In early 2002, the territory expanded once again by including Virginia.

        Merritt still continues to offer pharmaceutical and biological products exclusively to veterinarians and veterinary clinics, but now offers a much broader range of products for all types of animals throughout most of the South Eastern United States.

        What started as a two-person operation for area veterinarians has turned into a multi-level business that employs 120 people - 30 of which are Sales Representatives and 18 Customer Service Representatives to handle incoming calls and questions. There is a high level of expertise among the staff at Merritt and an eagerness to provide first-class customer service.

        Over the past 60 years, Merritt's mission has remained the same - to ensure customer loyalty by bringing veterinarians the best value and knowledge in innovative products so that they can better serve their clients and patients.