Thornton delivers to Children's Hospital a complex mechanical systems package consisting of mechanical piping, plumbing, medical gas, HVAC and sheet metal systems for the 150,000 sq. ft. East Addition. This $10M+ contact took 1-1/2 years to complete and was finished right on-schedule.
September 2007
Thornton wins $10M+ contract at Howard University to upgrade energy efficiency of campus buildings.
July 2007
Thornton commissioned for Children’s National Medical Center a 6000 ton new chiller plant. This project included 800+ feet of 20 inch pipe, run throughout the plant and exterior of the hospital, up to the roof where five large cooling towers were fabricated.
June 2007
With an eye toward growing its service business, mechanical contractor R.M. Thornton has purchased a Linc Service franchise.
Robert W. (Bob) Shaw has joined the company as President. Bob Reaves, long-time President of the company and former past president of Washington Building Congress, became Chairman and CEO. Shaw will focus on operations, sales and customer service for R.M. Thornton, Inc.
April 9, 2008 Mechanical Contractor R.M. Thornton of Capitol Heights, MD announces that Frank Reaves celebrated his 60th anniversary with the company today during a luncheon at the company office.
Frank was a young engineer finishing graduate school in Washington when he applied to a job ad at R.M. Thornton. A native of West Virginia, Frank had graduated from the University of Louisville and was a naval engineering officer during World War II. Russell Thornton agreed to hire Frank on a part time basis until he graduated from school in May 1948.
In many ways, the partnership between Russell and Frank was an odd one. Russell was a burly union steamfitter who built his company during the lean Depression era years while Frank was the brainy engineer. Twice Frank stormed out and quit during their time together, but they eventually formed a synergistic relationship based upon mutual respect. When Thornton passed away in 1957, Frank bought the company along with other company officers from Mrs. Thornton, taking ten years to pay off the loan. Frank led the company as president until 1986 when his son Bob Reaves became president. Frank stepped down as company chairman in 2006. Since that time he as been a coordinator for various new initiatives in the company such as geothermal heating and cooling as well as significant work through the Reaves Family Foundation to provide HVAC construction and service work to many non-profits throughout the Washington, D.C. metro region.
Frank has always been a life long learner. He attends dozens of seminars a year and most recently is studying for his LEED certification. Indeed Frank was ahead of his time designing one of the most advanced sustainable company headquarters in the mid-1970s, which included many innovations that are cutting-edge today. Always in the front row of class, Frank is certainly one of the most knowledgeable mechanical contracting experts in the country. Perhaps his greatest legacy is as an extremely fair contractor who has given so much over sixty years to so many professional associations. Frank is an inspiration to Thornton and across the building trades of Washington.
R.M. Thornton is one of Washington’s oldest mechanical contractors, with over 75 years of service. Thornton provides full service mechanical contracting, fire protection and HVAC maintenance for Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. It success in the commercial, institutional and government market is driven from its dedication to first class customer service and superior quality.
For more information, please contact Bob Shaw, president, at bshaw@rmthornton.com or (301) 541-1060.
November 2007 Thornton delivers to Children's Hospital a complex mechanical systems package consisting of mechanical piping, plumbing, medical gas, HVAC and sheet metal systems for the 150,000 sq. ft. East Addition. This $10M+ contact took 1-1/2 years to complete and was finished right on-schedule.
September 2007 Thornton wins $10M+ contract at Howard University to upgrade energy efficiency of campus buildings.
July 2007: Thornton commissioned for Children’s National Medical Center a 6000 ton new chiller plant. This project included 800+ feet of 20 inch pipe, run throughout the plant and exterior of the hospital, up to the roof where five large cooling towers were fabricated.
PITTSBURGH – June 12, 2007 – With an eye toward growing its service business, mechanical contractor R.M. Thornton has purchased a Linc Service franchise.
Effective May 1, Capitol Heights, Maryland-based R.M. Thornton, located less than 10 miles from our nation’s capital, began delivering Linc Service to customers in southern Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington D.C. Thornton is Linc’s second franchise location in the greater D.C. area – along with a Linc Services, LLC, location – and the sole Linc Service® Contractor in Maryland. The company is now part of the growing, 130+-member Linc Service Network spanning the United States, Canada and Bermuda. Linc Service Contractors follow the disciplines of the Linc System® in delivering preventive maintenance – as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) service and bundled energy solutions – to the commercial market.
Known primarily for its construction work, Thornton realized it needed to strengthen its service capabilities when its customers began looking for someone to maintain the structures they were building. Faced with either hiring some experienced HVAC service personnel to its staff or joining the Linc Service Network, Thornton chose the latter. As Thornton Principal Bob Shaw put it, he was blown away by the operational expertise he saw after meeting with Linc executives prior to purchasing the franchise.
“I’m very impressed with how Linc invests in field operations and business systems, as well as the overall growth of the Network in the last three to four years,” Shaw said. “Everyone is on the same page, and a lot of people are buying in to the Linc System – with good reason.”
Shaw added that he sees a lot of growth potential for Thornton’s new offerings. He’s confident that Linc’s 25+ years of experience in the industry will be extremely valuable in helping the company to accelerate its service business. He believes Thornton can increase its annual run rate from $1.5 million to $5 million in the next three years – something that, he says, might take the company much longer without Linc’s guidance.
Celebrating its Diamond Jubilee after 75 years of service, R.M. Thornton is Washington’s oldest mechanical contracting company. Its 175 employees were honored recently with the 2006 National Contractor Insurance Limited’s Highest Risk Control Award. Thornton also received an award for the highest score on the organization’s safety program.
“We’re looking forward to contributing to the strength of Thornton’s sales process with a more structured, uniform approach,” said Linc Network, LLC President & CEO Scott Giacobbe. “By helping the company’s employees be more proactive with regard to selling maintenance agreements, we’ll enable them to capitalize on their tremendous brand name. It’s our goal to facilitate their efforts to diversify from the construction business to the business of selling solutions.”
Washington Building Congress
WBC Bulletin April 2007
Page 7
Mechanical Contractor R.M. Thornton, Inc. of Capitol Heights, MD announces that Robert W. (Bob) Shaw has joined the company as President. Bob Reaves, long-time President of the company and former past president of Washington Building Congress, became Chairman and CEO. Shaw will focus on operations, sales and customer service for R.M. Thornton, Inc.
Bob has extensive service industry experience building a myriad of companies. Most recently, he led as CEO an organization for 11 years with over 700 team mates. For six years, he was the sole American on Sodexho’s management committee where he was Division President of three operating divisions with over 3,000 team mates in 30 states. Shaw has specialized in building companies for the next stage through developing management depth, streamlining systems and focusing on world-class customer service.
Earlier in his career, Shaw was an infantry Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was an aide-de-camp to the commanding general of 80,000 Marines and sailors and made two 7 month deployments to Western Pacific and Indian Ocean during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Shaw earned a M.B.A. from Harvard University and an engineering degree in Operations Research from Cornell University. Married with four children, Shaw is active in the Harvard Business School alumni community and the Young Presidents’ Organization. He enjoys endurance sports and has completed three Ironman triathlons.
R.M. Thornton, Inc. is the Washington area’s oldest mechanical contractor, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year since its founding in 1932. R.M. Thornton, Inc. is the leading full service mechanical contractor serving Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. R.M. Thornton’s success in the commercial, institutional, and government market is driven from its dedication to first class customer service and superior quality work.
For more information, please contact Ms. Vicki Salley, Office Manager, at vickis@rmthornton.com
or
(301)541-1076.
