70 years in business is a long time for a family.
As one of the country’s finest off-site residential and commercial prefabricated building contractors serving a large construction-developer client base, Ritz-Craft is celebrating its seventh decade in the industry as the largest family-owned modular company in the United States.
Part of the secret of the company’s undeniable success is its long-term approach to building quality customer relationships alongside quality homes.
As a second—going on third—generation family business and a true partner to all its clients, Ritz-Craft is part of a much larger group of vertically integrated firms that provide it with most of the outstanding products and services that enable it to be as successful as it is. Founded in 1954 as a home trailer fabricator, the company is now owned by Paul and Eric John, sons of one of its founders, Paul R. John, through John Brothers Holdings LLC. Today, several of John Sr.’s grandchildren already work in the firm.
Ritz-Craft focuses on single-family offsite home construction and factory-produces HUD-code homes that are entirely portable while adhering to national codes, alongside prefabricated IRC modular homes adhering only to local building codes. John Brothers Holdings LLC is also parent company to Ritz-Craft’s sister company, RC2, which specializes in off-site constructed multifamily homes, apartments, and commercial projects.
Together, the two modular-expert sibling companies contribute to each other’s success through sharing expertise, suppliers, and more.
And there are more companies in the group. Most recently, John Brothers Holdings, LLC introduced Ritz-Craft Development in collaboration with a developer partner in upstate Michigan, fabricating off-site multifamily homes and apartments according to a business model that will allow it to supply its products nationwide. The idea has proven to be quite a market favorite, with industry professionals showing great interest in the concept and collaboration. As part of this offering, the company supplies design and general contracting services to partners in specific areas, making the deal a no-brainer.
There is also the well-established Ritz-Trans, which operates in the east of the country and is currently expanding its presence across the Midwest. Ritz-Trans is the group’s oversized trucking outfit handling preconstructed building deliveries. As part of this role, it takes care of all logistics, providing both construction firms with secure, outstanding service.
“At our corporate office, Ritz-Trans also provides automobile service capability to our employee base,” explains Paul Lindsley, shareholder and Regional Vice President, pointing out that its mechanics’ shop is also available to the people of central Pennsylvania.
Another John Brothers Holdings, LLC company is Legacy Crafted Cabinets, a semi-custom cabinet fabricator in central Pennsylvania that supplies external cabinet dealers as well as Ritz-Craft. This mutually beneficial business relationship currently accounts for just under 30 percent of Legacy Crafted Cabinets’ annual business. With such large volumes to produce, Legacy Crafted Cabinets relies heavily on high-level automation to ensure it delivers premium cabinets consistently.
Yet another sister company, Legacy Building Products in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania is the group’s building materials wholesaler and distributor. Beyond supplying Ritz-Craft with everything from siding, faucets, and cabinets to shingles, lights, sinks, and more, it serves cabinet dealers from beyond its ranks, from Maine to Mississippi. In addition, this company is responsible for shipping do-it-yourself kits to customers.
There are two retail centers belonging to the group: one in Hudson, New York, and the other in Susquehanna Valley, Pennsylvania. These two custom builder outfits handle the distribution and installation of Ritz-Craft products. The group also uses these two businesses to run major marketing campaigns on behalf of customers across multi-media platforms, generating leads and driving business for external, paying members.
The group has a deep sense of hospitality and loves nothing more than extending warm welcomes to clients, whether prospective or current. To achieve this, the company owns The Rusty Rail Brewing Company, a landmark brewery and restaurant complete with an events center and a cluster of condominiums. This locally legendary gathering place has become a much-loved name in the region.
“We surround ourselves with good people. Good business needs good people to grow,” Lindsley says. As a result, the group’s holdings contribute handsomely to the welfare of the communities in which they operate, both in terms of local economies and employment security as well as charitable organizations.
To ensure that this incredible team has all the support they need, the company invests in the best and latest technology, even establishing a dedicated department for it. “We integrate best-in-class technology for advancement across all our companies in what we do and how we do it,” says Michael Bussiere, Vice President of Business Development.
In addition to the most advanced technology (like design software, BIM software, a sophisticated ERP system to measure and improve performance and predict outcomes, and CRM software to hold everything together), there is a company-wide meeting every Wednesday. Intent on improving cooperation and outcomes, people gather in the morning to discuss performance across the company.
Striving for efficiency drives success, but so too does the human touch, Bussiere says. Keeping operations lean and consistent through optimal automation is important, but so is the judicious use of manual labor where the human eye for detail can make a difference to the finished product.
“There’s a focus on family,” he says. “Not only the family of companies, but the family of people who come together to help us be one organization.” An on-site training center provides new recruits with the background and understanding they need to succeed in diverse positions throughout the group.
Bussiere further underscores the importance of taking the concept of family seriously. It is a core value that is upheld daily across the board.
Fittingly, the company takes care of its people in many ways besides simple financial incentives. Every company facility receives upgrades to their break rooms, benefits from nourishing breakfast snacks, and gathers on Wednesdays for a grilled lunch and to hang out together over a good meal. “We want our people to feel respected and have a place where they’re recognized and appreciated for what they do,” Bussiere says.
Lindsley supports this approach. “Love, cherish, and respect—that’s what we want our people to feel,” he says. “Because we have that in our culture, it shows in our products and the end user’s experience.” While there are of course challenges from time to time, the team’s collective heart is in the right place.
For instance, to convey appreciation for local communities, the company works with local Chambers of Commerce, the Rotary, and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and beyond, supporting initiatives like a lovely mural that was completed as a gift to the town for the park opposite The Rusty Rail Brewing Company. The company also supports area Little Leagues and other youth sports.
With great staff morale comes good, long tenures and here, Ritz-Craft shines. Recently, the company’s owners signed over 20 percent of the firm to eight senior management members across all its companies—Zachary John, Kylee John, Chris Lucas, Jason Romig, Ray Cudwadie, Angela Hess, Mike Zangardi, and Paul Lindsley—in appreciation of their collective leadership that has made the company what it is.
This gesture, and the fact that the company’s ownership has passed up more than one chance to sell the firm for no ordinary king’s ransom, is also an incentive to others at every level of the company, reminding them of what is possible when solid achievement and company loyalty meet. Perhaps this explains why it’s so easy to meet many wonderful Ritz-Craft folk who’ve been with the company for a quarter of a century or longer.
Of course, Ritz-Craft’s customers are treated with the same loyalty and commitment to excellence. Considering the speed at which the company delivers, its consistency and service are as guaranteed as the turning of the seasons. “If we can get a developer in six, eight, nine months sooner than they anticipated, that is a game changer,” Lindsley says.
