Our History
Sauer History
Sauer Southeast is a contemporary, multi-divisional construction firm, yet one of the nation’s oldest companies in the contracting field. In 1876, William N. Sauer founded a small plumbing business with the proceeds of a gift of $50 received from his mother on his 18ᵗʰ birthday. Uniquely positioned in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during a period of industrial growth as the country began to rebuild itself following the Civil War, it is this humble plumbing business which became the seed of what we know today as Sauer.
While Sauer originally directed his business towards the plumbing work of old mansions for Pittsburgh’s industrial leaders, the late 19ᵗʰ century saw an increased demand for city-wide sanitation and by 1901 Pittsburgh had enacted its first plumbing code. Capitalizing on these newer, larger opportunities, Sauer continued to grow its operations with the help of John G. Steitz, a young pump salesman from New York. Joining forces in 1906, the two men began to specialize in large construction work, installing plumbing and ventilation systems for many of Pittsburgh’s tallest buildings.
Sauer incorporated in 1943 and today provides services in general construction, mechanical construction, and structural steel, often self-performing process piping, controls & instrumentation, HVAC servicing, equipment erection & rigging, plumbing, and ASME Code work. The construction industry has grown more complex, and thus, Sauer is vastly different from the simple plumbing business founded by Bill Sauer.
Sauer reorganized its business structure in 2009 to meet the changing dynamics of the marketplace, enhance customer focus, and to position the Sauer Holdings Companies for growth in the future. Sauer Holdings is now the parent company for Sauer Southeast, LLC, Sauer Group, LLC, and Ruthrauff Sauer, LLC.
Sauer Southeast, LLC headquartered in Jacksonville Florida serves as the parent company of Sauer Construction, Sauer Mechanical, and Sauer Structural. Although similar in name, each division is an independent, autonomous business unit that provides services adapted to the specific needs of its respective customers.
Public and private organizations throughout the country rely on the Sauer Southeast companies to deliver quality, timely construction services on their most challenging projects. We attribute our long-standing success in these and other projects to a commitment to exceeding our customers’ expectations, building trust, effective planning, and strong field leadership.