ST. CLAIRSVILLE – For more than 40 years, Rumer-Loudin has been providing the Ohio Valley with technically superior repair, installation, design/build services for heating, air conditioning and ventilating systems.

The company also has been installing geothermal in residential and commercial properties for 25 years – the longest of any HVAC contractor in the Ohio Valley. The Loudins – Kellie and Sid and their son, Brandon – even have a geothermal system in their own home.

Rumer-Loudin was founded in 1975 by Kellie’s father, Larry Rumer, who retired about eight years ago but still is involved with the company. In addition to the Loudins, the company employees 15 workers.

“We wouldn’t have lasted as long or done as well without our employees being as good as they are,” Kellie said. “We also take good care of our customers. We’ve lasted through a lot of downturns in the economy – if a company can last through things like that, it’s doing something right.”

Kellie Loudin said because the company has lasted as long as it has, it will be there when people need them years down the road.

“We’re here to take care of people – we won’t disappear. We take care of people’s systems through their warranty,” she said.

Rumer-Loudin has two locations: 823 E. Main St., Barnesville (740-425-3134 or 800-901-7873) and 67679 Clark Road, St. Clairsville (740-695-2487).

Rumer-Loudin has been featured in various magazines for its plumbing and mechanical work. Most recently, its “green” geothermal heating system work has been noticed in Green Builder magazine. One of the more recent geothermal projects was completed on the historic Cockayne Farmstead house in Glen Dale.

Kellie noted Rumer Loudin also is an Accredited Bosch Contractor. Such contractors are a select group of professional heating and air conditioning installers. They are individually selected by Bosch Thermotechnology Corp., then inducted into the program, factory-trained, and equipped with the information and tools required to install, service, and maintain Bosch and Buderus equipment to the highest professional standards.

A brief history of Rumer-Loudin

Larry Rumer became interested in the heating and air conditioning industry when he was a young man. He felt bad that his dad had to call someone to work on his oil furnace. So, in 1964, he decided to enroll in an adult vocational program in Jackson, Ohio. He traveled every week for many months to Jackson, leaving his young wife and small daughter behind to learn a new trade. After completing his education, he worked for Wheeling Heating, then owned by the Thoburns, and Hitt Heating owned by Ben and Katherine Hitt.

He continued to learn as much as he could about how to service all types and brands, read all information he could get his hands on, learned how to use Manual J to properly size duct systems and attended sales courses and worked hard to be a valuable employee and provide for his family.

In 1975, he and his wife, Jeneane, decided to strike out on their own. They had two daughters, Kellie and Stephanie, to support. Working out of his home and garage on Clark Road in St. Clairsville, he soon outgrew that location. He purchased land about a quarter of a mile away and built a commercial building housing an office, sheet metal shop, garage and storage.

In 1987, to provide better access to the western side of Belmont County and parts of Monroe, Noble, Harrison and Guernsey counties, a Barnesville office was opened in then-Rogers Hardware at 110 E. Main St., managed by his son-in-law, Sid Loudin, thus the current name Rumer-Loudin Inc.

Loudin grew in his scope of knowledge in the HVAC industry – geothermal, plumbing and commercial applications. In 1998, Rumer sold the Barnesville branch to Loudin, which was then located on Ohio 800 north of Barnesville, and then the St. Clairsville office in 2006. Rumer stayed on part-time until 2008, when he fully retired. Occasionally he comes out of retirement for a special project.

Sid Loudin and Kellie Rumer had married in 1984. Kellie worked for the company for 11 years, then went on to earn two applied associates degrees in business management and retail management, a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and a master’s degree in strategic leadership. She worked at VNA Home Support Services, Shamrock Conduit Products and Belmont Technical College before rejoining the company in March 2008.

Brandon Loudin, who has worked in the industry in some way since the age of 9, earned his associate’s of technical studies degree in electronics from Belmont Technical College. He continues to install and perform repairs as well as size and sell systems. He represents the third generation who will be there to take care of customers well into the future.