r. j. lanthier co., inc
DESCRIPTION
The California-based, full-service mechanical contractor firm of R. J. Lanthier Co, Inc. takes the lead with everything from schools and hospitals to major military and government projects.TRANSCRIPT
R.J. Lanthier Co., Inc.the California-based, full-service mechanical contractor firm of R. J. Lanthier Co, Inc. takes the lead with everything from schools and hospitals to major military and government projects.
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Their work may not be as obvious to the public as the work of a general contractor, but R. J. Lanthier Co., Inc. is a leader in the field of mechanical contracting. The California-based company’s impressive portfolio includes projects ranging from schools and colleges to military institutions and government buildings.
Robert “Butch” Lanthier founded R. J. Lan-thier Co. Inc. in 1974. The company’s current President and CEO Brent Boyd met Lanthier before Lanthier decided to leave his job and start a company of his own.“I’m sure that must have been one of the most
difficult decisions that Butch and his wife, Shirley, made in their young lives as they had two small boys, a mortgage and little income to sustain them until and if the new company started generating a positive cash flow,” Boyd said. “It was a big risk, but worth it in the end.”
As a full-service mechanical contractor, R. J. Lanthier Co. specializes in the design, build and installation of mechanical systems, and incorporation of HVAC, including complete hydronics and steam-piping as well as plumb-ing systems for commercial, industrial and military clients.
The company started as a HVAC dryside mechanical contractor but branched out into general contracting in the 1980s, working with schools and government projects. In 1999, Lanthier made the decision to phase out the general contracting portion of the business and concentrate on HVAC subcontracting. The company later added both an HVAC piping division and a plumbing division.“That created a new profit center for the
company and allowed R. J. Lanthier Co. to bid larger projects,” Boyd said. “Most importantly, by having the three divisions, R. J. Lanthier has been able to provide more consistent employment over the years for the employees.”
In the last several years, R. J. Lanthier Co. has also brought on valuable employees such as Vice President Richard Racette, a company principal who is also responsible for the HVAC estimating department, Glen Bechthold, who is
by Joan Tupponce
Lrj the California-based, full-service mechanical contractor firm of R. J. Lanthier Co, Inc. takes the lead with everything from schools and hospitals to major military and government projects.
by Joan Tupponce
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runs the company’s piping and plumbing divi-sions, and Sam Scott, the operations manager of Field Operations and Safety.
R. J. Lanthier Co. works as a subcontractor for general contractors on government agency projects – county, city, state and federal – on approximately 90 percent of its jobs.“We do very little private work,” Boyd said. “A
lot of the work that we do is located on military installations. We also do a substantial amount of prison work within the state of California.”
Most of the company’s projects are design/build, a concept R. J. Lanthier Co. has been using for several years. Currently, they are working on a 406,477 sq. ft. project for the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near Oceanside, Calif. This LEED Gold qualifier includes four four-story residence buildings with a total of 800 double occupancy rooms and four single-story recreation and sports facilities buildings. The company also provided design/build services for the mechanical systems at the staff NCO Academy at Camp Pendleton.
A Department of the Navy project focused on the construction of a 28,169 sq. ft. teaching academy, a 3,843 sq. ft. armory and a 1,249 sq. ft. warehouse.
R. J. Lanthier Co. works mainly in the south-western quadrant of the United States – Cali-fornia, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah -- but also handles projects on offshore islands.“We have had work going on at the same time
from New Mexico to Guam,” Racette said. “We are able to travel anywhere that our general contractors want us to go.”
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In the past five years, the company has con-structed over $165 million in mechanical and plumbing systems.“We are a premium HVAC company and we
work with an outstanding group of partners on our team such as general contractors, mechani-cal engineering firms, vendors, subcontractors, sureties and insurance, legal and financial enterprises. Without those outstanding part-ners we would not have been as successful as we have over the last 36 years,” Boyd said.
“We have a very strong bond capacity. We have excellent financial resources, which gives us the freedom to take on any project we choose.”
The company works with a variety of govern-ment and college projects, providing mechanical systems for structures such as barracks, com-missaries, administration facilities, hospitals and laboratories.
R. J. Lanthier Co. provided the expertise for the Science Academic Center at California State University in Monterey, Calif. The 68,000 sq. ft., three-story building includes a science laboratory, 46 classrooms, 93 faculty and staff offices, a seminar room and a 100-seat lecture hall. As part of that project, as in most projects, the company provided a direct digital control system that governs the energy management of the mechanical systems in the building.
Based on a growing interest in “green” building, R. J. Lanthier Co. is doing more projects that are LEED certified, like the LEED Silver two bay maintenance hangar at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. It is one of the largest hangars built by the Air Force in the western United States.“The building will house two C-17 aircraft,”
Bechthold said. “It includes high efficiency chillers. Also, the duct work is double walled internally insulated with special diffusers.”
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The company expects to see more requests for projects that promote high levels of energy efficiency.“We do a lot of work for the U. S. Navy and they
are requiring that all of our projects on new construction be LEED Silver or better,” he said.
R. J. Lanthier Co., Inc. is always quick to respond to the need of its clients.“Our goal on every project is to exceed the
client’s expectations,” Scott said. “One way we accomplish this is by incorporating the latest technologies in the design of our mechanical systems. Our team stays on top of industry trends through on-going technical and safety training for our employees. We put our trade apprentices through a four-year college accred-ited apprenticeship program.”
Everyone at the company has a stake in the firm’s reputation. When he retired in 2000, Lanthier formed an Employee Stock Owner-ship Plan (ESOP) that allowed the employees to purchase 30 percent of the company. Today the company is 42 percent employee owned.“ESOP gave the employees the opportunity to
experience pride in ownership of the company they work for,” said Boyd, who started with the company 36 years ago as a journeyman. “We are like a family. Many people have been with the company for more than 20 years.”
As owners, the company’s employees are fully aware of the importance of customer satisfaction.“They strive to ensure that our clients’ needs
are fulfilled on every project,” Boyd said. CLT
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10 Construction Leaders Today
L&H AircoL&H Airco is a Temperature Control & Energy Management System Contractor serving California since 1968. L&H offers a comprehensive array of cost products and services for comfort control, energy con-servation and integrated facility management applications in single and multi-building facilities. They represent the leaders in the Energy Management System field; Alerton, Reliable, Lynxspring, Trend, and Encelium Lighting controls. L&H Airco has successfully completed over 1000 projects with an installed value of over $150 million, many of which have been with RJ Lanthier, who L&H is proud to partner with. Several of these projects include Franklin High School, Fresno Yosemite International Airport, and the DMV office in San Ysidro.
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