History

1858 William N. Sauer was born in old Allegheny, now the North Side of Pittsburgh, on February 11, 1858 at the time city sewage systems were first introduced in the nation. It was a time of stress and change as America was still recovering from the Civil War. On his 18th birthday, he received a gift of $50 from his mother. He used it to start a small plumbing business – the foundation of the business known today as Sauer Incorporated.
1906 In 1906 Bill Sauer met John G. Steitz, a young pump salesman from New York. These two men joined forces and began to specialize in large construction work. It soon became accepted practice to design the water supply systems of a building in close coordination with its heating system – leading Sauer Company into the heating field as well.
1934
service_van

Display of tools carried by the service vans.

 Mr. Jack Ruthrauff founded Ruthrauff when he opened a refrigeration equipment distribution & service company.
1943 Sauer was incorporated in 1943. In addition to Pittsburgh, Sauer has offices in Columbus, Ohio and Jacksonville, Florida and currently is engaged in providing services in Design/Build, HVAC, Process Piping, Controls & Instrumentation, Service, Equipment Erection & Rigging, Plumbing, Fabrication, Subcontracted Services and ASME Code work.
1950 Jack Ruthrauff branched out into the air conditioning field in the mid 1950s when Mr. Nick Laux joined the company, forming Ruthrauff Incorporated.
1969 Ruthrauff purchased Coleman-Good, Inc, a well-established plumbing firm in 1969. Mr. Laux and Mr. Ruthrauff had set a goal to become a complete mechanical contractor and the purchase of Coleman Good Inc. gained them entrance into the plumbing field.
1971 Operations of both companies were consolidated into one location in McKees Rocks.
ruthrauff_coleman

McKees Rocks, PA
1985 Coleman-Good merged into Ruthrauff Incorporated at the end of 1985 and Ruthrauff Inc. was established.
——- During the ensuing years Ruthrauff opened its own sheet metal and pipe fabrication shops. An in-house engineering staff provided both design and construction services and contributed to the extensive resume of design/build work that includes HVAC and Plumbing projects for a wide variety of commercial, industrial and institutional clients.
1989 A group of key employees, led by David & Nora Faller, acquired ownership of Ruthrauff Inc. as Mr. Laux gradually phased out. All facets of engineering, project management and accounting were computerized and networked and the corporate structure streamlined into a single entity with a focus on being “The Single Source Advantage” to its customers.
2006 Sauer Holdings, owned by Bill, Charlie and Tim Steitz, acquired Ruthrauff Inc., creating two new companies:
Ruthrauff | Sauer, LLC and Ruthrauff Service, LLC.
Today Under the leadership of Raymond Gajski, a veteran of the mechanical construction industry, Ruthrauff | Sauer, LLC is now one of the largest and most diversified mechanical contracting firms in Western Pennsylvania.