RMF Nooter

With over 60 years of proven ability in the industrial construction industry, Ohio-based RMF Nooter more than talks the talk. RMF Nooter successfully manages mechanical and electrical industrial construction projects, ensuring each is completed within the given budget and schedule parameters and is backed by an industry-leading safety program.

The company’s roots date back to 1947 when William Ferrel founded a pipefitter – steamfitter and plumbing namesake firm William Ferrel Inc. Several acquisitions and changes in services followed, leading to the company recently completing year No. 12 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nooter Construction Company.

By capitalizing on its regional knowledge and the national resources of its parent company, RMF Nooter has prospered. The company has since grown into the largest regional mechanical and electrical industrial contractor.

The team offers a full range of mechanical and electrical contracting services, including pre-construction services, power and process pipe fabrication and installation, as well as medium and low voltage electrical service and installation. The company employs more full-time mechanics and welders, safety and quality professionals, as well as project management professionals, than any other contractor in the region.

“There is not much the RMF Nooter team can’t tackle with confidence,” details Don Majchrowski, vice president and general manager. “The company self-performs the majority of its building trades and only needs to subcontract civil, painting and insulation services.”

As a union contractor, RMF Nooter is also a proud member of NECA, AGC and MCAA, which Majchrowski notes are great resources.

Currently, RMF Nooter serves three main industries:  refining and petrochemical, utility and manufacturing. “We are now the largest refinery and petrochemical contractor in Ohio,” Majchrowski states. “Additionally, our mechanical and electrical trades are benefitting from Ohio’s competitive manufacturing capabilities and strategic location, executing more projects at manufacturing facilities and taking advantage of projects in the wind power industry.”

Majchrowski goes on to explain that the company’s manufacturing clients are serviced by RMF Nooter’s Multi Industry division.  From conveyor installation and modifications and machinery relocating, to infrastructure projects for universities, to erecting wind turbines, the company’s Multi Industry division handles everything outside of refining and utilities.

As the most experienced Ohio-based wind turbine contractor, RMF Nooter was selected as the primary erection contractor for an upcoming northwest Ohio wind project.  When completed, this privately-funded Wind for Industry project will provide electricity to a manufacturing facility and significantly reduce its electric consumption from the power grid.

While the team often executes projects out of its core region, the majority of RMF Nooter’s projects are in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. “We have a second office in Lima, Ohio, with its own fabrication shop that services that area,” Majchrowski details.

As a part of the Nooter Construction family of companies, with offices in St. Louis and Philadelphia, AMEX Nooter in Chicago, as well as Delta Nooter in St. Louis, RMF Nooter enjoys the support of an organization with a national footprint. When needed, RMF Nooter calls upon the expertise of Nooter Construction to support projects that require unique welding, and rigging and lifting requirements. Being a part of a larger organization allows some competitive advantages over regional competition.

High team standards

The company prides itself on the core attributes of safety leadership, exceptional quality, optimal productivity, minimal operational disruption and an unmatched ability to respond. The RMF Nooter team – which consists of a core group of over 500 employees – delivers high-quality craftsmanship, project management expertise, specialized in-house capabilities, as well as proven quality in both mechanical and electrical construction. The company lives up to its motto: ‘Where others deliver standard, we bring more to your project.’

It is evident RMF Nooter gives special consideration to the wellbeing of its employees, as safety is a major component of the company’s mission. RMF Nooter prides itself on its safety training and systems; the company’s efforts have paid off.

In 2001, RMF Nooter became the first U.S. construction company to receive the Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Services OHSAS 18001 Certification. Since 2003, RMF Nooter has worked over 15 million man hours without a lost-time incident resulting in an industry-leading EMR of 0.42 in 2014 and 0.37 in 2015.

The company is recognized annually for superior safety performance from several associations, including the MCA of America, TAUC, Steel Tank Institute/ Steel Plate Fabricators Association, NMA Policy Committee, American Fuel and Petroleum Manufacturers, NECA and Thomas J. Reynolds Award for Safety Excellence.

Projects to match

Majchrowski explains that the company’s signature project of 2014 was a 700,000 man hour turnaround for the BP-Husky Refinery in Oregon, Ohio. At the peak of the project, RMF Nooter employed over 1,200 people to meet the six-week turnaround schedule.

“The pre-construction planning and scheduling was critical to completing this large project on schedule,” Majchrowski says proudly. When the project commenced, RMF Nooter had completed over 7,000 welds and 28 critical lifts.

In order to successfully deliver such projects time and again, Majchrowski credits RMF Nooter’s many long-term employees and clients. “RMF Nooter has a very low turnover rate,” he details. “We maintain a focus on making work a family-like atmosphere and strive to provide our employees with more than just a paycheck. The large volume of work we execute on an annual basis allows RMF Nooter to recruit, develop and retain the best employees in the construction industry.”

However, RMF Nooter isn’t all business all the time. “We have fun together,” says Majchrowski, also mentioning the recent company Christmas party where over 200 guests competed in a rock-paper-scissors competition for the chance to win the grand prize of a custom vacation package.

The family atmosphere transfers to other areas of the company as evidenced by teams joining together to help Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity on area projects, as well as contributing to both the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Sal’s Pals Cystic Fibrosis charity organizations.

“RMF Nooter takes care of its people, and they in turn go the extra mile for the company and the community,” Majchrowski says with pride.

Dedicated team members, exemplary workmanship and an industry-leading safety program allow RMF Nooter’s professional project management team to consistently deliver more, because today, good enough isn’t good enough.