Back-to-back 1st place awards in Industrial/Heavy Construction category

Walbridge, Ohio — For the second consecutive year a Rudolph Libbe Inc. project won the prestigious Ohio Association of General Contractors’ Build Ohio Award for its work at First Solar’s 2.1-million-square foot manufacturing facility in Lake Township.

The award in Ohio AGC’s Industrial/Heavy category was announced at the organization’s Build Ohio dinner on Friday, Nov. 10, in Columbus.

“This award demonstrates the faith customers have in our ability to deliver outstanding quality even with complex technical challenges and aggressive timelines,” said Rudolph Libbe Inc. President Jeff Schaller. “We met the challenge of this project because of our long-standing partnership with First Solar.”

Rudolph Libbe was selected as design-builder for the facility on the strength of building a similar smaller facility for the solar panel manufacturer in 2019. On this project, Rudolph Libbe Inc., a Rudolph Libbe Group company, was asked to accelerate the schedule and turn over the facility for equipment setting in just 12 months.

The facility produces First Solar’s advanced technology Series 6 thin film photovoltaic module, increasing its U.S. capacity by 100% and adding 500 jobs.

Rudolph Libbe Group trades workers worked the majority of the nearly 750,000 man-hours on the project. RLI self-performed sitework, site concrete, site utilities, building foundations, concrete slabs and masonry. GEM Inc., another RLG company, performed building plumbing, structural steel, HVAC, building electrical, central utility building electrical, process mechanical and substation electrical work, and equipment setting.

“This award is a testament to the talent and hard work of hundreds of local trades workers who made the project’s success possible,” GEM President Steve Johnson said. “Day in and day out, they were committed to producing excellent quality while adhering to strict safety protocols.”

First Solar has contracted with RLI to build another facility across the street from this project, plus large solar panel manufacturing projects in Alabama and Louisiana.

Rudolph Libbe Inc. won the 2022 AGC Build Ohio contest for its work on North Star BlueScope’s steel-making facility in Delta, Ohio, which increased its production capacity by 40 percent without negatively affecting ongoing operations.

The Build Ohio Award is the 13th for Rudolph Libbe Group since 1993.

 

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