R/M is celebrating its 75th year of service to municipalities and organizations throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest.
Video: Celebrating 75 years of Engineering Excellence
Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. was established in 1946 by John Mielke and Frank Ruekert, Sr., who met after John returned from his service in the Army Corps and was hired to work alongside Frank as an engineer for the City of Waukesha.
Driven from the post WWII housing market boom, John and Frank began their early partnership moonlighting as subdivision designers, working from their kitchen tables after their full-time jobs late into the evenings. Not long after, John and Frank’s first big break arrived when the City of Pewaukee enlisted R/M to design the City’s first sewage treatment plant.
R/M grew rapidly from that point on, as our firm secured the water, wastewater, roads, and other infrastructure projects necessary to meet the increasing demands brought on by the rapid suburbanization of Waukesha County.
Frank and John’s team of engineers designed much of the first-generation infrastructure for many communities in Southeastern Wisconsin, including the Village of Menomonee Falls, the City of Pewaukee, the City of Brookfield, the Village of Elm Grove, the Village of Sussex, the Village of Hartland, the City of New Berlin, and the City of Muskego. They also designed some of the area’s first business parks, subdivisions, and municipal swimming pools, including those in Hartford, Evansville, Waukesha, and Sun Prairie.
Our firm is now on its third generation of ownership. In 1995, R/M transferred 30 percent of the company’s stock to the employees, and in 2015 the firm became 100% employee-owned. The benefits of employee ownership have paid off, and R/M has been named one of Wisconsin’s Top Workplaces for four consecutive years and counting.
“As a 100% employee-owned firm, our staff is the core of our company. We know that the success and happiness of our clients is directly linked to the success and happiness of our team. Our ability to celebrate 75 years of service to Wisconsin communities and organizations is owed to the dedication and tenacity of R/M’s employee-owners.”
While R/M is excited to honor 75 years of accomplishments, our team remains focused on the future. R/M’s engineers, environmental specialists, and support staff are dedicated to helping Wisconsin’s municipalities build a more sustainable future through economic development, environmental services, and resilient infrastructure.
