R.F. MacDonald

Name

R.F. MacDonald

Legal name

R.F. MacDonald Co.

Website

https://rfmacdonald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hayward

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of commercial and industrial boilers, pumps, and accessories to engineering firms, contractors, and end users. The company represents multiple manufacturers and distributes their products across California and Nevada.
2. Boiler and Pump Rental: Rental of mobile steam plants, skid-mounted boilers, and pumping equipment for temporary or emergency applications. The company maintains a large rental fleet including units ranging from 16HP to 600HP steam boilers and hot water systems.
3. Field Service and Repair: 24/7/365 field service for boiler and pump equipment including maintenance, repair, startup, and commissioning. Services include boiler equipment maintenance plans, boiler and pump parts, and pump repair.
4. Parts Sales: Immediate delivery of boiler and pump replacement parts. The company maintains a large parts inventory across its 10 offices.
5. Training Services: Boiler and pump operator training courses offered throughout California and Nevada, including Boiler Operators Workshops (steam and hydronic), Cleaver-Brooks Level 1 training, Basic Pump & Mechanical Seal training, Hands-On Pump Workshop, and factory-rep training for Warren Rupp Sandpiper and Grundfos. AFE-certified and CWEA-certified training available. Custom onsite training also offered.
6. In-house Fabrication: Custom fabrication of pump skids and boiler skids/packages including pre-piped and pre-wired systems. The Fresno, CA office employs pump fabrication experts with up to 30 years of experience. Fabrication includes cart-mounted pump packages, pumping stations, booster systems, boiler feed systems, rotary gear pump skids, hot water skid packages, modular central plants, and trailer-mounted mobile steam plants.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

R.F. MacDonald Co. is a manufacturer representative and distributor that sells, rents, services, and fabricates commercial and industrial boilers, pumps, and related hydronic/steam equipment across California and Nevada. The company represents multiple equipment brands (Cleaver-Brooks, Taco Comfort Solutions, KSB, Hubbell Water Heaters, Grundfos, Boerger, ITT Goulds, Seepex, Camus, Fulton) and supports customers with 24/7/365 field service, parts supply, operator training, and custom skid fabrication. The firm also offers its proprietary EcoCAT direct urea injection SCR technology (USPTO patent) for NOx emissions reduction.

Product overview

R.F. MacDonald Co. is a manufacturer representative and distributor specializing in commercial and industrial boilers and pumps. The company operates a platform model consisting of core equipment products (boilers, pumps, heat exchangers, cooling towers, water heaters) supported by add-on services (training, rentals, maintenance, fabrication) and specialty products (EcoCAT SCR emissions systems, skid packages). They represent multiple manufacturer brands including Cleaver-Brooks, Camus, Fulton, KSB, Taco, Hubbell, Boerger, Warren Rupp, ITT Goulds, and Seepex. The Boiler & Pump Training Institute provides professional certification training, while their rental program offers mobile and stationary steam plants from 40HP to 600HP capacity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EcoCAT: EcoCAT Emissions Reduction Systems - company's branded SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology for NOx emissions reduction using direct urea injection

Products and services

• Commercial & Industrial Boilers
• Commercial & Industrial Pumps
• Boiler Rentals
• Boiler & Pump Service and Maintenance
• Boiler & Pump Training Institute
• EcoCAT Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) System Proprietary EcoCAT direct urea injection SCR technology for NOx emissions reduction in boilers and fired vessels. Uses urea (Diesel Exhaust Fluid / DEF), the lowest-risk ammonia-based reagent. Converts NOx into harmless nitrogen and water through NOx Reduction Catalyst. Patented process.
• Custom Fabrication Solutions
• Heat Exchangers
• Cooling Towers
• Heat Pumps & Electrical Heating
• Boiler & Pump Parts and Components

Quantifiable outcome

• Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.9 over 3 years, vs. industry average of 3.3 for HVAC contractors (NAICS 238220) — competitors 3x more likely to suffer injury.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core, supporting and minor.

• AtmosZeromajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 February 2026R.F. MacDonald Co. entered a partnership with AtmosZero in February 2026 to deploy its electric heat pump boilers to replace fossil fuel-powered steam systems across engineering firms and industrial end users. The partnership pairs AtmosZero's new electric heat pump technology with R.F. MacDonald's established distribution channel, positioning the legacy supplier to serve customers where traditional gas-fired designs are constrained. This is part of RFMCO's move into decarbonization and electrification of industrial heat.
• KSB Standard Products & ServicecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 October 2025RFMCO was tapped as the new representative for KSB standard products and service in California and Nevada, expanding the company's pump and valve product offerings. KSB is a major industrial pump manufacturer.
• Cleaver-BrookscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary manufacturer represented by R.F. MacDonald Co. across its California and Nevada territory. Products include firetube boilers, watertube boilers, ClearFire boilers, CFC-E hydronic boilers, and Nebraska boiler products. RFMCO has provided over 15,000 boilers since 1956. Cleaver-Brooks Level 1 factory training is offered through RFMCO's training institute.
• Taco Comfort SolutionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive manufacturer representative for Taco Comfort Solutions in California. Products include commercial pumps, circulators, hot water systems, LoadMatch single-pipe comfort systems, and LOFlo precision control systems.
• Hubbell Water HeaterscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorR.F. MacDonald Co. is the representative for Hubbell Water Heaters in California and Nevada, offering water heaters for commercial, industrial, marine, and food service applications. Hubbell products include heat pump water heaters, storage tanks, instantaneous heaters, and custom skids. Made in America in New England since 1920.
• GrundfoscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGrundfos pump products are represented and sold through R.F. MacDonald Co. Factory-rep training sessions for Grundfos pumps are offered through the company's training institute.
• BoergercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBoerger rotary lobe pumps represented for the wine industry and industrial applications in California. RFMCO hosts Boerger Pump Mobile Trailer Tours for hands-on training at wineries and provides Boerger and Seepex pumps for moving wine with minimal agitation.
• ITT Goulds (Goulds Water Technology)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoulds mag-drive sealless pumps and process pumps represented for severe applications. The company has become seal specialists through its association with John Crane Mechanical Seals and offers Goulds products for industrial and process applications.
• John Crane Mechanical SealssupportingTechnology or IntegrationR.F. MacDonald Co. has become seal specialists through its association with John Crane Mechanical Seals, supporting pump applications requiring mechanical seal expertise.
• AvettaminorOthersAvetta is a supply chain risk management and contractor prequalification platform. RFMCO is a premier member of ISNetworld RAVS Plus, AVETTA, and Veriforce, increasing visibility of the service team's safety practices and procedures. RFMCO won 1st Place Operational Excellence at the Avetta 2025 Summit.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cleaver-Brooks: Cleaver-Brooks is the largest U.S. manufacturer of commercial and industrial boilers and is R.F. MacDonald's primary OEM principal. It is a broad incumbent serving the same end customers with overlapping boiler, service, and parts offerings, and competes with RFMCO at the manufacturer-rep boundary.
• Patterson-Kelley (a division of Harsco Industrial): Patterson-Kelley manufactures commercial and industrial boilers (steam and hydronic) and competes with several of RFMCO's principal OEMs (Cleaver-Brooks, Camus, Fulton) for the same specifying engineers and end users in CA/NV.
• Babcock & Wilcox (B&W): B&W manufactures industrial boilers and emissions-control systems used in power and industrial process applications. It overlaps with RFMCO's industrial boiler portfolio and competes for large industrial customers and SCR/NOx reduction projects.
• Hurst Boiler & Welding Co. Hurst is a manufacturer of commercial, industrial, and specialty boilers used across process steam, heating, and waste-heat applications, competing with brands RFMCO distributes (Cleaver-Brooks, Fulton) for industrial accounts.

Direct peers

• Nationwide Boiler Inc. Nationwide Boiler supplies mobile and rental boiler systems and emissions control solutions, competing with RFMCO's rental and EcoCAT SCR offerings for industrial steam and low-NOx applications across the U.S.
• Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corp. Preferred Utilities designs and manufactures boiler burners, controls, and related equipment and supports industrial/commercial steam customers with comparable field-service and emissions-control capabilities to RFMCO.
• WARE (Ware Inc.): WARE is one of the largest U.S. providers of boiler rentals and portable steam plants and competes directly with R.F. MacDonald's boiler rental fleet (40HP–600HP units) across industrial and commercial customers in the Western U.S.

Others

• Taco Comfort Solutions: Taco is a key OEM principal R.F. MacDonald exclusively represents in California, providing commercial pumps, circulators, and hydronic components. It is comparable because it sells overlapping equipment into the same CA/NV specifying-engineer channel through RFMCO and competing reps.
• KSB (KSB SE & Co. KGaA): KSB is a major global industrial pump and valve manufacturer that R.F. MacDonald represents in CA/NV. It is comparable as the OEM behind much of RFMCO's pump portfolio and competing rep firms sell overlapping KSB, Grundfos, and ITT Goulds lines.

Regional players

• McKenna Boiler & Pump Service: McKenna Boiler & Pump Service is a regional competitor providing boiler and pump sales, service, and rentals to industrial and commercial customers — primarily outside California but with a comparable service-led business model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/r-f-macdonald-co
• Xx.com/rfmacdonaldco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about R.F. MacDonald