COMPANY HISTORY

COMPANY HISTORY

With more than 50 years in the field as an industrial and commercial general contractor, W.J. Rapp Company stands by its motto: Together We Can Achieve the Extraordinary. The company has built a strong reputation in the Virginia and D.C. area for high-quality work, peak performance on the job and collaborative work with customers. Working in a variety of industries, W.J. Rapp Company provides support, maintenance and general contracting services to its customers. Our client list includes everyone from large, Fortune 500 companies such as Mondelez Global, DuPont, Altria and Dominion Energy, to local customers including San-J, Citgo, Federal Reserve and WestRock.

With having more than 15 years experience in the construction business, W.J. Rapp Jr. began running a small concrete contracting operation out of his apartment resulting in the founding of the company in 1969. Since then, the company has grown steadily, developing an ever-growing, loyal list of customers, a dedicated staff, highly-trained crews and a collection of up-to-date equipment to tackle any job. In 1978, Dennis Rapp took over operations and grew the commercial side of the company, moving it into the heavily industrialized area of the City of Richmond just off 95, south of the James River.

Today, quick response, dependability, and high-quality work are hallmarks of the W.J. Rapp Company. By owning and maintaining its own equipment, the company is able to offer crews expertly trained on their machines, quick response times to emergency jobs, and more affordable costs on equipment usage. The variety of equipment owned by the company, like its propane and electric equipment, also allows for work to be completed in specialized environments like food service and drug processing.

With a core of skilled crews, W.J. Rapp Company is known for flexibility and creativity in tackling the most complex and challenging jobs. “People who work here share responsibilities,” says Dennis Rapp. Fortunately, we have a knowledgeable staff and crews that have been with the company for many years.”

For W.J. Rapp Company, Richmond has provided a stable environment with a diverse client base that our business fits into well. “We’re a small enough business that we don’t have rigid guidelines,” says Rapp. “We can make adjustments to meet our clients’ needs, and we’re large enough and have the needed equipment to handle the bigger jobs and almost any job. We can make things happen.”