| 1951 |
Oliver J. Laughlin and his wife Catherine open up their own plumbing company after the death of Oliver’s Uncle Charles Herbert. |
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1951-1972
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During these years, O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company was a repair and remodel shop with some light commercial jobs. Mr. Laughlin averaged about five Plumbers and one Plumber’s Laborer at this time. Mr. Laughlin’s two older sons start working full time, Jim in 1957 and Bill in 1959. Both sons continued to work until Jim’s departure in 1970 and the opening of his own business in the Spring of 1972. |
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| 1972 |
Bob Laughlin started his five year Apprenticeship program with Plumber’s Local 35. Bob and his brother Bill worked on gasoline stations for Amoco, Shell and Vickers Oil. Besides the plumbing work required for these jobs, O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Co. did the underground gasoline piping from the 10,000 gallon gasoline tanks to the dispensers you pump gas out of. |
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| 1977 |
Bob receives both his St. Louis County and St. Louis City Plumbing License after passing his examination. |
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| 1979 |
Bill Laughlin decides to pursue other opportunities and leaves O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company. |
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| 1981 |
Bob and Bill Laughlin approach Oliver and Catherine regarding purchasing O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Co. On September 15th, Bob and Bill each purchased a third of O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company. The company was incorporated within the state of Missouri on November 1st. |
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| 1982 |
Mike Laughlin starts working for O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. working with Bill on Amoco Oil jobs. |
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| 1983 |
Bob Laughlin buys Bill’s shares of the business in October and becomes majority stock holder. Along with his wife Kate, they both begin running daily operations of the business. |
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| 1984 |
After years of struggling with heart disease, Oliver J. Laughlin passes away on December 6, 1984. Bob secures his Master License for St. Louis City. |
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| 1985 |
Jim Laughlin comes back to work for O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. running the service department. |
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| 1986 |
Dan Laughlin graduates from Parkway West High School and starts working full time. Bob purchases the building at 300 St. Louis Avenue in Valley Park for the office and warehouse. |
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| 1987 |
Bob passes his Master License examination for St. Louis County in July. John Laughlin joins the family business in October. He starts helping out on gasoline station jobs with the purpose of being able to help in January 1988 when all major oil companies would switch their piping systems to vapor recovery. This gives O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. two crews to perform this work. John is currently working as Purchasing Manager and Estimator. |
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| 1989 |
Bill Laughlin passes away on September 11, 1989. Steve Quinn starts working full time in warehouse and making various deliveries. |
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| 1990 |
Jim Laughlin passes away on July 8, 1990. Kate steps back on her duties, but continues to come in on a part-time basis. |
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| 1992 |
Dan Laughlin graduates from Apprentice School and receives both his St. Louis County and St. Louis City Plumbing License. |
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| 1993 |
Mike Laughlin decides to leave O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. and started his own business Mid-America Drain. In the Fall, the Meramec River flooded leaving 12″ of water in both the office and the warehouse. |
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| 1994 |
2nd Flood of the Meramec River hits again in May this time leaving five feet of water in the office and warehouse. |
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| 1995 |
April 10th, Bob purchases West-Side Plumbing Company from Dave Kaufmann. Dave agrees to work for O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. first as a Service Plumber and later as an Estimator. July 12th, Bob purchases residential house next to warehouse and converts it into storage space. |
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| 1997 |
Steve Quinn graduates from Apprentice School and receives both his St. Louis County and St. Louis City Plumbing License. |
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| 1999 |
Catherine M. Laughlin passes away on August 21, 1999. Bob and Kate become sole owners of O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. |
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| 2001 |
Dan Laughlin’s responsibilities shift and he begins working more in the office while still maintaining his duties in the field. In December, Bob purchases Kinstler Plumbing Company acquiring their accounts and the employment of both Mike and Greg Kinstler. |
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| 2002 |
Tom Deimeke joins staff in March as Service Manager and Inside Sales Manager. Bob purchases two story building south of existing office and warehouse for plans of future office expansion. |
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| 2003 |
June 5th, Karen Warren joins staff as Account Manager. |
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| 2005 |
With the completion of the Valley Park levee, Bob starts addition of new offices on the two story building south of existing office. |
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| 2006 |
In July, Larry Gyore begins full time in the warehouse overseeing all equipment and company vehicles. He is currently working as the Equipment Manager. Moved into the new offices in December, converted the old offices into storage and redesigned existing warehouse. |
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| 2007 |
Mike Trojahn comes back to work for O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. running large commercial jobs in the field. Mike Kinstler retires in December. |
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| 2008 |
Frank Friedlein, Jr. started working in May as Chief Financial Officer. Frank is currently in charge of all contracts, accounting, insurance, and payables. Karen Warren’s job duties switched in May to Assistant Project Manager coordinating job duties and reports for larger commercial jobs. |
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| 2009 |
Kelly Laughlin O’Connell, Bob’s daughter, started working part time in August handling the company website, newsletter, and other marketing needs. In October, Mike Trojahn was brought into the office to work as an Estimator and Project Manager. Steve Quinn was brought into the office in November to work as an Estimator and Project Manager. |
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| 2010 |
Dave Kaufmann retires in March. |
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| 2012 |
In July, Bob and Dan start discussions on possible buyout agreement between the two of them. On December 28th, Bob and Dan officially sign agreement with Dan and his wife Stacy assuming full control of O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Company, Inc. Per agreement, Bob will continue to have an office and work as a Consultant. |
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~Over the years we’ve had various employees work for us so we’ve only included current employees to our history. We would like to acknowledge four people that were a huge part of our success: Ann Laughlin Boehm, Colleen Laughlin, Gary Everson, and Vanessa Bruner.~
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