Sponsored content from Rumer Loudin

Rumer Loudin, a local heating and cooling company, located in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and Barnesville, Ohio recently bought the formerly known Whipkey Plumbing, Heating, and Air company, located in Moundsville, WV.

“We’ve purchased an existing company for a third location, and we took over July 1,” said Kellie Loudin, owner. “The former owner and his wife, the founders, were really good friends of ours, and he died suddenly in 2018. She (wife) and her son had tried to run it, and it was just too much for them. They approached us about a year ago to see if we’d be interested in buying it, and we were. There’s a high demand in Moundsville for HVAC and plumbing services, and it was hard for Jake Whipkey (son) to do it all. We have two other locations and we have 20 employees and so on, we could back him up and provide assistance with the work.”

Since 1975, Rumer Loudin has been providing the greater Ohio Valley area with technically superior repair, installation, and design/build heating, air conditioning, and ventilating services. They have also been installing geothermal in residential and commercial properties since 1989, the longest of any HVAC contractor in the Ohio Valley.

They offer free estimates on installations, new equipment installations in new and existing homes, installation and maintenance of geothermal systems.

“When hiring our company, you access trained service technicians who remain current with advancing technology; you obtain thorough estimates that determine the heating and cooling needs for each room, which ensures your comfort, as well as an operating cost analysis between various energy sources and how quickly you can realize a return on your investment,” Kellie Loudin said. “The longevity of the company ensures we will be here for you well into the future.”

Loudin said they install all types of heating and air conditioning equipment, while their specialty is geothermal systems.

“We have over 450 systems installed in the area providing cost-efficient heating, cooling, and domestic hot water,” she said. “People might want to consider the alternative of geothermal heating and air conditioning.”

Loudin said having a third location allows them to service a larger customer area.

“It is a large rural area, it would be challenging to take care of that wide of a territory from one location,” she said. “We can provide team members really from any of our locations. Jake Whipkey is going to be a familiar face to the Moundsville area. He grew up here, attended Marshall County schools, and so he’s been here and his parents have been here for a long, long time, and so he is a familiar face, but we’ll just have some new ones too that’ll be taking care of the increased demands.”

Loudin said she is doing a variety of advertising to let customers know about the ownership change.

“I have got radio commercials out there, I’ve done a Facebook post,” she said. “I’m working with Channel 9 right now to try and revamp some of our marketing. I’m working with Super Mail to do postcard mailing. Any of the equipment that Whipkey sold that would have a warranty. It’s very important to their customers to know that, yes, they still have someone to take care of any warranty for them. They still exist.”

Loudin said Jake Whipkey will be a valuable addition to their business.

“Jake is a licensed plumber, and I’ll tell you, I wish we could clone him in that regard, because there’s such a demand for plumbers, and there just aren’t nearly enough, and there’s no place to get

plumbing training,” she said. “He’s very valuable in that regard.”

Loudin said their long-range plan is for their children to continue the business and the high standards of excellence they have set.

“My husband and I bought it and then the succession plan is for my son and daughter to run it,” she said. “They’re onboard, and they’ve been on for a while.”

For more information call (740)-425-3134 or (740)-695-2487 or visit www.rumerloudin.com.