Riddleberger Brothers, Inc.

Riddleberger Brothers (RBI) is the largest mechanical contractor in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The company provides engineering, installation, and maintenance of mechanical systems in Central and Western Virginia and serves a diverse group of commercial, industrial, and institutional clients.

How we helped

The company was family-owned when Jim Young bought the operation in 1998 as part of a succession plan for the previous owners. Jim successfully implemented process-improvement strategies and empowered the existing Riddleberger team, leading the company to grow from approximately $20MM in revenue to $80MM in revenue with 500 full-time employees. Jim’s leadership and the improvements he developed and implemented also led to substantial profit improvement.

Roughly ten years after Jim acquired the company, Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX), the nation’s largest non-union mechanical systems installation and service provider, approached Riddleberger on an unsolicited basis to acquire the company. After a long courting process, Jim was convinced that he and the Comfort Systems management team shared the same values. He subsequently agreed to sell the operation to Comfort Systems.

Although part of the Comfort Systems family of companies since 2008, Riddleberger continues to operate independently. After Jim retired from the business at the end of 2011, the company’s President of Construction, Daniel Blosser, who had been mentored by Jim, was promoted to run the entire operation and continues in that role today.