JR Merit

What JR Merit does

JR Merit is a privately held, employee-owned industrial construction contractor headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, founded in 1997 by Mark Radich and led since summer 2025 by President Duncan Bagley (formerly COO). The firm self-performs a full stack of industrial construction services - industrial prime contracting, hydropower systems, mechanical and process piping, millwright and mechanical maintenance, civil-concrete, prefabrication, and 24/7 emergency repair - for enterprise and government clients in the Pacific Northwest and Western US, holding contractor licenses in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Colorado, and Wyoming.

The company's operational backbone is a 26,000-square-foot in-house fabrication shop equipped with advanced fabrication equipment, BIM-based clash detection, 3D scanning of existing piping (achieving ~1/16-inch tolerances on spool fabrication), and kitting/carting strategies that reduce on-site laydown. These tools support both direct bid execution and design-build, CM@R, and GC/CM delivery methods. Client work spans five vertical segments - power generation (hydroelectric rehabilitation, tainter gate work, turbine runner replacement), advanced manufacturing (semiconductor tooling installation, biotech/pharma facilities), food and beverage processing, industrial manufacturing, and water resources (dams, fish passage, water/wastewater) - with logged projects at owners including Idaho Power, Portland General Electric, PacifiCorp, Energy Northwest, Boeing, Crown Cork & Seal, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and multi-decade confidential food and snack manufacturers (1,300+ projects totaling $30M+ and 700+ projects totaling $15M+ respectively).

JR Merit's go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales via relationship-based bidding and prime contracting, with no reseller or marketplace intermediaries. Revenue is generated from project-based contracts and emergency repair engagements; the firm is union-signatory to UA, LiUNA, UBC, SMART, and IUOE across seven states, supporting a self-perform craft workforce that is central to its execution model. The company emphasizes employee ownership, safety performance (Highwire Platinum 2024, Gold 2025), and alternative project delivery expertise to compete for riskier, early-contractor-involvement scopes.

Name

JR Merit

Legal name

JR Merit

Website

https://jrmerit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

JR Merit is a privately held, employee-owned industrial contractor in Vancouver, Washington that self-performs hydropower, mechanical piping, millwright, civil-concrete, fabrication, and 24/7 emergency repair services for enterprise and government clients across the Pacific Northwest and Western US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Construction Services

NAICS

Specialty Trade Contractors (238), Structural Steel and Precast Concrete Contractors (23812)

SIC

Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700), Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Performing General Contractors (IMAFAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mine Construction & Development Contracting (Shaft Sinking, Tunneling, Pre-Strip, Civil Works) (IMAKAKAG)

Keywords

• Industrial contracting services
• Mechanical piping installation
• Hydropower construction
• Millwright mechanical maintenance
• Industrial fabrication services

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Prime Contracting: Full-service industrial contractor providing prime contracting and construction management services for industrial facilities and infrastructure projects. Revenue generated through project-based contracts with public and private clients.
2. Self-Perform Trade Services: Self-performing works including mechanical piping, process piping, millwright services, civil-concrete, and prefabrication/fabrication services. Revenue generated through direct project delivery and specialized trade contracting.
3. 24/7 Emergency Repair Services: Round-the-clock emergency response services for industrial facilities, providing immediate solutions to critical problems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

JR Merit is a full-service industrial contractor providing prime contracting and self-perform construction services for power generation, advanced manufacturing, food & beverage, industrial manufacturing, and water resources clients. Core offerings include hydropower systems construction and rehabilitation, mechanical and process piping, millwright and mechanical maintenance, civil-concrete work, and prefabrication/fabrication from a 26,000-square-foot in-house shop, supplemented by 24/7 emergency repair services across the Pacific Northwest and Western US.

Product overview

JR Merit is an industrial construction contractor offering a portfolio of construction services including Industrial Prime Contracting, Hydropower Systems, Millwright & Mechanical Maintenance, Mechanical Piping & Process Piping, Civil-Concrete, and Prefabrication & Fabrication. The company operates a 26,000-square-foot in-house fabrication shop and provides 24/7 Emergency Repair services. These services serve industries including Power Generation, Advanced Manufacturing, Food & Beverage Processing, Industrial Manufacturing, and Water Resources across the Pacific Northwest and Western US.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Prime Contracting Full-service industrial general contracting and construction management serving public and private clients in the Pacific Northwest and Western US across power generation, advanced manufacturing, food & beverage, industrial manufacturing, and water resources projects.
• Hydropower Systems Specialized construction, rehabilitation, and modernization services for hydropower, petroleum/natural gas, and alternative generation systems, including tainter gate rehabilitation, turbine runner replacement, penstock valve replacement, spillway bulkhead installation, and intake gate replacement for utilities and government dam operators.
• Millwright & Mechanical Maintenance Precision mechanical maintenance and millwright services for industrial facilities, including equipment installation, alignment, precision tooling foundations, structural steel maintenance platforms, and production line support for power generation, food & beverage, advanced manufacturing, and industrial manufacturing clients.
• Mechanical Piping & Process Piping

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced intake gate leakage by 95 percent at BPP Power Plant
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Morrison-MaierlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStructural designer partnership for Swift Spillway Bulkheads project. Morrison-Maierle provided structural engineering design services that were instrumental during the design and fabrication phase to ensure all project constraints were met.
• Thompson Metal FabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFabrication partner for Swift Spillway Bulkheads project. Thompson Metal Fab served as fabricator and was instrumental during the design and fabrication phase to ensure all project constraints were met and stoplog installation and removal procedure was optimized.
• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry (UA)coreOthersJR Merit is a signatory to plumbing and pipefitter union agreements. UA represents plumbers, pipefitters, sprinkler fitters, and HVAC technicians.
• Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA)coreOthersJR Merit is a signatory to laborer union agreements. LiUNA represents construction workers across various trades.
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC)coreOthersJR Merit is a signatory to carpenter union agreements. UBC represents carpenters in the United States and Canada.
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)coreOthersJR Merit is a signatory to sheet metal union agreements. SMART represents skilled craftspeople in the sheet metal, transportation, and roofing industries.
• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)coreOthersJR Merit is a signatory to millwright union agreements. IUOE represents heavy equipment operators, mechanics, and surveyors.
• Eugene Water & Electric / Wildish Building CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture/partnership for Carmen Smith TSV Replacement project. Eugene Water & Electric as owner/client with Wildish Building Company as construction partner.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TIC - The Industrial Company (Kiewit): Heavy industrial contractor subsidiary of Kiewit delivering process piping, mechanical, and structural work for power, mining, oil & gas, and industrial customers — directly comparable self-perform industrial model to JR Merit but with national footprint and substantially larger bonding capacity.
• Quanta Services: Large publicly traded infrastructure construction firm (NYSE: PWR) specializing in electric power, oil & gas, and renewable energy infrastructure — overlaps with JR Merit's hydropower and utility work but operates at national scale with much larger project capacity and bonding.
• APi Group: Public safety, specialty, and industrial services holding company (NYSE: APG) with substantial mechanical and industrial services exposure — competes with JR Merit on process piping, fabrication, and industrial maintenance but operates across a much broader service portfolio and geographies.
• EMCOR Group: Large publicly traded mechanical and electrical construction services firm (NYSE: EME) operating across industrial, utility, commercial, and institutional end markets — overlaps JR Merit's mechanical and process piping capabilities as part of a broader portfolio with substantially greater scale and national footprint.
• MYR Group: Public specialty contractor (MYRG) providing electrical construction for transmission, distribution, and commercial/industrial customers — competes with JR Merit on utility and industrial projects but is concentrated in electrical scope rather than mechanical/civil.

Direct peers

• Shambaugh & Son: Midwest-based industrial mechanical contractor delivering process piping, HVAC, plumbing, and 24/7 mechanical service to food/beverage, industrial manufacturing, and power generation customers — directly comparable service mix to JR Merit's self-perform mechanical and process piping work.
• Apollo Mechanical Contractors: Industrial mechanical contractor providing HVAC, plumbing, piping, and 24/7 service to industrial, power generation, semiconductor, and food/beverage clients in the Western US — directly comparable in service mix and customer verticals to JR Merit.
• Hermanson Company: Pacific Northwest mechanical and industrial contractor with in-house prefabrication and 24/7 service serving food/beverage, healthcare, semiconductor, and industrial customers — comparable scale and self-perform trade mix to JR Merit within the same regional footprint.
• Limbach Holdings: Public specialty mechanical contractor (LMB) providing HVAC, plumbing, process piping, and building systems for industrial, healthcare, and commercial customers — comparable to JR Merit's mechanical/process piping and millwright services, with overlap in regulated industrial end markets.
• McKinstry: Large privately held mechanical and industrial contractor headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, offering mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fabrication, and 24/7 service across industrial, power, healthcare, and food/beverage end markets — directly overlapping JR Merit's self-perform mechanical, fabrication, and multi-vertical industrial model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jrmerit
• Instagraminstagram.com/jrmerit/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 JR Merit