Rudolph Libbe Group has shaped much of the Toledo skyline. A view of downtown Toledo highlighting four buildings built by Rudolph Libbe Group. Featured in front, ProMedica Corporate Headquarters; from left to right behind ProMedica: KeyBank (now ProMedica Senior Care Building), the Summit Center, and the Webstrand Building.
When considering the massive impact Rudolph Libbe Group has had on Hancock County — not to mention Northwest Ohio, the Toledo skyline, the state of Ohio, and even the U.S. — it’s fair to ask, “How?” How did a humble shop started by two brothers and their cousin in their father’s barn grow into one of the largest construction services providers in the country?
It had to be the values that Philip “PJ” Rudolph Jr. has lived during his 52-year career — values passed down by his dad, Philip Rudolph Sr.; uncle, Frederick “Fritz” Rudolph; and their cousin, Allan Libbe — the founders of the company.
Philip “PJ” Rudolph Jr., of Rudolph Libbe Group
They’re not values posted on a board somewhere — they’re lessons PJ Rudolph speaks from the heart when remembering his father. They’re the values that catapulted Rudolph Libbe Group into success. As PJ Rudolph looks forward to retirement on March 31, Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development (FHCED) looks back — remembering an impactful partner who leaves a legacy of growth, vitality and connection.
Beginnings
Rudolph Libbe Group’s headquarters is located at 6494 Latcha Road in Walbridge, Ohio — the same place it began in 1955. The company had been in operation for four years when PJ Rudolph was born.
The founders of Rudolph Libbe Group as children. From left to right, brothers Frederick “Fritz” Rudolph, Philip Rudolph Sr. and their cousin, Allan Libbe. The boys were raised during the Great Depression.
Rudolph was always interested in the family business and began working when he was 15.
“I started during summer breaks throughout high school, cleaning concrete forms, loading trucks, unloading trucks, emptying garbage cans, whatever needed to be done in the yard,” he said. “In college I worked summer breaks as a laborer cleaning up job sites with my grandpa, helping place concrete, and helping the masons.”
After completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Technology from Bowling Green State University, Rudolph started working as a carpenter and rose up the ladder —carpenter foreman, superintendent, then field operations manager.
Rudolph’s next career move was about 30 years ago into business development. You could say that role stuck.
“If you gave me a set of prints and specs with our subs and suppliers today, I could go out there and build a building; it’s like riding a bike,” Rudolph said. “I enjoyed learning field operations; I learned the business from the bottom up, but in business development, I am where I needed to be. On behalf of all the Rudolph Libbe companies, I enjoy networking with people and unearthing opportunities to keep our people busy.”
Today, Rudolph is part-owner of Rudolph Libbe Group, Vice President of Business Development and sits on the company’s executive Board of Directors.
The Companies
Rudolph Libbe Group is one of the largest construction firms in Ohio and consistently ranks as one of the Top 100 general contractors in the U.S., according to Engineering News-Record. Through the work of multi-disciplined experts, Rudolph Libbe Group is a one-stop provider of construction (design, build, renovate) and maintenance services as well as site selection, financing and ongoing facility management. Services are provided through five business units: Rudolph Libbe Inc., GEM Inc.; GEM Energy; Lehman Daman; and Rudolph Libbe Properties.
The company has shaped the Toledo skyline, building the Summit Center, ProMedica Senior Care Building (formerly Key Bank), Renaissance Hotel (formerly Raddison Hotel), United Way Building, the Webstrand Building, the ProMedica Corporate Headquarters, and renovating Fort Industry Square. Rudolph Libbe Group has completed numerous significant projects across the country and has an especially strong presence in Northeast Ohio, Southeast Michigan and the 17 counties that make up Northwest Ohio.
Rudolph Libbe Group has also offices in the Cleveland, Columbus and Lima, Ohio, regions; and Livonia, Michigan.
About 1,800 people are regularly employed by Rudolph Libbe Group. That number can increase to as many as 3,000 if the company is performing a maintenance shutdown for a large facility, for example when it retooled the Toledo Jeep plant to shift from making the Jeep Liberty to the Jeep Gladiator in 2018.
Rudolph Libbe Group serves customers in automotive, chemical, food processing, health care, industrial/manufacturing, institutional, metals, power/petrochemical, educational, commercial/retail, hospitality/recreation and warehouse/distribution markets.
Rudolph Libbe Group regularly receives industry awards for design, safety, efficiency and innovation.
Rudolph Libbe Group has shaped much of the Toledo skyline. A view of downtown Toledo highlighting four buildings built by Rudolph Libbe Group. Featured in front, ProMedica Corporate Headquarters. From left to right behind ProMedica: KeyBank (now ProMedica Senior Care Building), the Summit Center, and the Webstrand Building.
Notable Recent Projects
With the scope of the company’s reach throughout his career, it is difficult for Rudolph to choose favorite projects, but in recent years a few stand out.
Last year, Rudolph Libbe Group completed a 2.67 million-square-foot addition to Ford Motor Company’s Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, which was completed while keeping the existing plant in production. This project was recognized with the Build Ohio award from the Ohio Association of General Contractors as well as by Engineering News-Record.
In 2002, Rudolph Libbe Group built First Solar’s first solar panel manufacturing facility in Cedar Business Center, an industrial park in Wood County that it also developed. The company has since constructed six additional facilities for First Solar, three more in Wood County and others in South Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana ranging from 1.2 million square feet to 2.4 million square feet. First Solar is the largest solar panel manufacturer in the U.S.
“Their growth really is pretty amazing,” Rudolph said. “From my understanding just about every solar panel they produce is already pre-sold.”
Another outstanding project was the completion in 2022 of a 660,000-square-foot expansion for North Star BlueScope Steel in Delta, Ohio, which also won a Build Ohio Award. Presenting unique challenges, it was, at the time, one of the most challenging, complex projects RLG had completed to date. Rudolph Libbe Group built the original plant in 1990, and the addition was constructed contiguous to the existing plant.
“We kept it running while we did the addition and had to tie in the new castor with the existing rolling mills,” Rudolph said. “It really was pretty remarkable.”
Matt Gilroy, director of strategic initiatives for FHCED, joined the office in March last year. In his prior role, he was director of the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation in Wauseon and was heavily involved with the North Star BlueScope Steel project.
“North Star and Rudolph Libbe were very proud of the fact that the expansion of the steel mill occurred during Covid, and the mill did not miss a single day of operation during the whole expansion process,” Gilroy said. “That plant runs 24/7, 365 days a year, and they did not shut down the castors. It was amazing to watch that project. Since it was during Covid, they had to have all their meetings online, and when they were in person, everything required social distancing with only a handful of people at meetings. They still never shut the plant down for a second and finished the construction process on time.”
“It was remarkable management of so many moving parts to never miss a beat.”
Rudolph Libbe Group in Hancock County
Rudolph Libbe Group has completed an astounding 467 construction projects in Hancock County. Some were new buildings; many were expansions, renovations, repair or maintenance projects.
Early in his career working in the field, Rudolph completed projects for Ball Corporation, Dow Chemical (now Valgroup), Owens-Illinois (now Graham Packaging Co.), and Cooper Tire (now Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.). He even helped build the spec building — now owned by Ohio Logistics — that began Tall Timbers Industrial Park in the late 1980s.
Since shifting into business development, Rudolph has worked closely with FHCED, through changes in leadership and the organization’s evolution. Rudolph has enjoyed working with former Economic Development Directors John Kovach, Doug Born, Russ Rogerson, Ray de Winkle, Jeremiah Gracia, Tony Iriti, Tim Mayle, Dan Sheaffer, and now, Chris Keller and Matt Gilroy. He will finish a three-year term on the FHCED Advisory Council in 2026, having already served additional full and partial terms.
Rudolph’s career has spanned a notable period in Findlay’s growth — from Tall Timbers Industrial Park’s genesis in the late 1980s, through 11 years straight of Findlay being named Top Micropolitan in the U.S., to the current economic boom along the County Road 99 corridor.
“Findlay and Hancock County have put a lot of land into play for development,” he said. “We certainly didn’t do all the work, but still, I feel a part of it. I always say, it’s pretty simple — economic development takes the path of least resistance, and Findlay-Hancock County is very business friendly.
“If you’re a business looking at locating there, you can feel very confident you’re going to the right place because of the leadership — economic development, the mayor, other businesses — they really make you feel good about coming with land, available utilities, a good workforce. It’s always been a good business climate.”
Rudolph Libbe Group also built the WesBanco building (formerly First Federal Bank) in downtown Findlay. Because of the company’s maintenance capabilities, RLG works with Hancock County manufacturers nearly every day, fixing machines, assisting with efficiency, or completing other small repair projects.
Chris Keller, current executive director of FHCED, has been with the organization for two years, starting in February 2024 and stepping into the director role in December 2024.
“I haven’t known PJ for as long as some of the other economic development directors, but we greatly appreciate all that he and Rudolph Libbe have done for our community,” Keller said. “We appreciate his many years on the board, his input and his friendship.”
Having known and worked with Rudolph for more than 20 years, Gilroy considers him a great mentor and friend.
“Rudolph Libbe Group has grown throughout his tenure on the team, and Phil has provided many laughs and keen advice to economic development practitioners throughout northwest Ohio and beyond,” Gilroy said. “I’ve laughed at his stories — like the time his wife bought a giraffe at an antique store — and listened intently to his advice that helped secure development projects. He’ll enjoy retirement as much as he has enjoyed his career, and I hope to continue to listen to his sage advice when he offers.”
Retirement
Years ago, the owners of Rudolph Libbe Group — including family members and employee shareholders — began succession planning for the future. Looking at the options, they decided that becoming a company owned by key employees was the right thing to do. Now, along with second-generation family members, there are more than 85 shareholders in the company.
A key employee company is a business where the employees, not external shareholders, hold the majority of the company’s stock or equity. The structure encourages employees to have a vested interest in the success of the organization.
“We could’ve sold the company and that would have worked well for us, but not our associates,” Rudolph said. “We didn’t build that company by ourselves. We built it with our associates — and we wanted this to be good for everyone. It worked out well.”
Reflecting on the tremendous growth of Rudolph Libbe Group throughout his career, Rudolph expressed that it’s difficult to put into words what it means to him; it’s almost overwhelming. As a business developer, he always tried to schedule three to five meetings per day and one or two functions per week. He took his role in bringing in potential projects very seriously.
“It was fun to watch it grow and it was fun to see all of the people who could benefit from it professionally, and by providing for their families,” Rudolph said. “Slowly but surely, it kept growing – it’s amazing – it’s almost overwhelming. Sometimes, we can employ as many as 3,000 people. When you think of their families, we’re providing the livelihoods of thousands of people. Everybody is looking at you, wanting to know, ‘Where’s our next project?’ So, I was constantly trying to get in front of people and always tried to get in front of the work.”
In retirement, Rudolph is looking forward to relaxing from his longtime, rigorous schedule — but he’s not stepping away.
PJ Rudolph has served on numerous boards and committees throughout the region during his career, including the American Red Cross Northern Ohio Region Board of Directors. He was awarded the Clara Barton Award, which recognizes individuals or groups who demonstrate exceptional humanitarian service and commitment to the Red Cross mission. He has earned his 25-year pin and plans to continue serving all of his board terms.
As he transitions into retired life, Rudolph is looking forward to an easier schedule filled with “doing whatever I want.” He and his wife enjoy collecting antiques. He is expecting a grandson in June named Jack Philip Rudolph – JP – named after his great-grandpa Philip Rudolph Sr., and his daughter-in-law’s grandfather – great-grandpa Jack. He likes to hunt and fish. And he’ll restore old vehicles and boats. Rudolph has procured a 1930s Dodge Brothers motorhome that’s just waiting for some major TLC. In time, he’ll take it in all its glory to tailgate with friends.
What will he miss?
“The people. I enjoy my network — meeting people, getting to know people, helping each other out with business, and building professional relationships. Not that I won’t stay in contact, but it won’t be the same. You spend more time at work than you do at home — I’ve been with these people all the time, so that part is going to be hard. But I’m going to meet retired friends now and do new fun stuff.
“You know, I never worked a day in my life. I always enjoyed it, and I still enjoy it.”
