Redlinger Bros Plumbing and Heating

Redlinger Bros. Plumbing and Heating began as a vision of two brothers, Howard and ClarkRedlinger. They dreamed of working together and building a business they could call their own.

Howard and Clark purchased two service trucks and leased a basement office space on West Kemp Ave. in Watertown. On April 1, 1946 they opened the doors of Redlinger Bros. Plumbing, providing plumbing services to the folks in the Watertown area. It was a humble beginning.

Much like raising a child, they nurtured their business over the years. They worked hard,excelled in their customer service, and grew their business.  Today Redlinger Bros. Plumbing and Heating provides residential plumbing and heating services as well as mechanical contracting services for commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. Redlinger Bros. employs 40 full-time employees and adds an additional 10 full-time employees during the summer months. They have offices in Watertown, Yankton and Aberdeen, SO. Jim Redlinger, son of Clark Redlinger serves as president of the company with wife Lori as the secretary-treasurer. Their children CJ, Adam, Jeremy, Jason and Ryan have all worked for the family business. Jeremy is employed part-time at Redlinger Bros. while attending SDSU and Ryan is working full-time in the construction department. CJ and Adam have worked the past several summers in the construction department. Many family dinners and lunches are spent discussing various jobs the company is working on.

"It is neat to see the boys taking a real interest in the progress of the family business," says Lori Redlinger.  Although the “family" consists of Jim, Lori and their sons, Jim views the entire staff as family.  He believes in treating all his employees in a way that expresses his deep appreciation for their contribution to the growth and positive reputation of Redlinger Bros. He values their input and provides opportunities for retreats where employees can voice their opinion about various issues, share ideas and brainstorm ways to improve the company.

This past year, he hosted the first ”Young Guns" retreat. The "younger generation" staff was invited to a game farm at Little Falls, MN. Lori facilitated the retreat where they spent a day sharing their opinions and ideas with Jim. As a bonus, they spent the next morning hunting - the temperature was 3 below zero - but they had a great time. Jamie Furman, a construction worker out of Aberdeen had this to say of the retreat, "This has been a great experience. You rarely hear of a company that looks to their youth for ideas. Thanks for this opportunity. " Many employees have experienced first-hand the generosity, caring and loyalty Jim has towards his staff. When Sue Binde, an employee of 30 years had unexpected bypass surgery and could not work for 6 weeks, Jim assured her she would have a job when she returned.

Family has always been important to Jim, as it was with his father and uncle who preceded him. JIm has always been very generous and caring with his 'company family' as well as with his 'at home' family.