This is who we are. Take a good look, believe it or not, we’re not just showing our hands. Our business is only as strong as our family bond. We are three generations strong. Founded by Dick Rumsey, who still oversees the direction of the company. Lisa, his daughter-in-law, is our long-time office manager who now runs the daily operations. And her son Ryan, is our General Superintendent and Chief Estimator. We are part of a company dedicated to improving mid-Michigan, but the real strength of Rumsey and Sons are the employees who embody that dedication every single day on each job site and project we tackle.
It all started in 1965 when Dick Rumsey began the Richard Rumsey Company. It consisted of a backhoe and him working nights and weekends. That’s the work ethic that’s always driven us. And that’s what we mean about being dedicated.
Today our company is known as Rumsey and Sons. As our name has evolved, so too have our services and expertise. What began as a small equipment-operator business became excavating and sewer municipality work before expanding again to bring a focus to single family development and residential subdivision work as well.
Today, we do much of our work in single-family subdivision, as well as a significant amount in commercial and municipality. We have good relationships with virtually every municipality, and engineering & contracting firm in the region. And for good reason.
Determined and caring.Rodney Dean Rumsey was the original son of Rumsey and Sons. Born in 1963, he was always dedicated to construction. Really. As a child the family often camped at Gun Lake, and little Rodney would insist on bringing his construction toys. And every day at home you could find him in the sandbox, leveling sand and working the site with those toys.
In the harsh, snowy winter of 1978, at the age of fifteen, he displayed his initiative and got a job plowing snow. He took the company’s backhoe, which had no enclosed cab, windshield or heater. He drove eight miles to do the job, collected his money with thanks and drove home. That’s how he was then, and how he always would be.
When you work as late as Rod would – often long after the sun went down and he’d sent his last employee home to their family – people would excuse you being late to the office the next day. And yet when Dick would pull in at six a.m. sharp, Rod’s red pickup truck would already be there.
He instilled in his son, Ryan, those same qualities of hard work, respect for the customer and dedication to the community. Rod was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and for three years he fought the disease while fighting to keep the company going. His strength was undeniable. His spirit, unbreakabkle. Rod made an incredible impact in his fifty too-short years. He lived his life with integrity and an unparalleled dedication to community. Values that live on through both Ryan and the company. As for that famous work ethic, it’s become our company philosophy.
Rumsey and Sons was molded by Rod. We evolved and grew under his leadership. He kept us going in tough times and helped us thrive in good ones. He loved mid-Michigan and we’re committed every day to helping improve the place he was proud to call home.
Quality, collaboration and dedication.Those three words serve as our commitment to everyone we work with. It’s why we’ve been so successful. We concentrate on the highest quality and dedicate ourselves to good working relationships with the owners and/or developers on each project. We’re committed to the process, and facilitate it however we can.