By ELLEN KOLMAN - Staff Writer - ekolman@starbeacon.com
GENEVA — During a time when other companies seem to be buried under the weight of the economic downturn, Geneva Pipeline continues to dig its way to success.
The company officially called A2 Services LLC, 4749 North Ridge East, is known as Geneva Pipeline. It was purchase by Llevelyn Rhone in March 2008, who is a successful entrepreneur, consultant and engineer from Chicago.
Rhone, who is also the president and chief executive officer for the company relocated to Ashtabula County to begin this new and exciting venture.
“This is a stable company that has been here for 52 years. I was excited to relocate to this area because Ohio has a solid infrastructure and Geneva Pipeline was an attractive opportunity for me,” Rhone said from his office in Geneva.
Geneva Pipeline, which does most of its business in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania, specializes in installation and repair in the areas of energy, water and environmental management. Specifically, Geneva Pipeline provides underground construction, maintenance and rehabilitation services to utilities, developers, and the municipal and industrial infrastructure markets.
Geneva Pipeline is fully certified to handle natural gas, water and sewer, electrical and telecommunications, and environmental restoration, Rhone said.
“Creating and maintaining the nation’s infrastructure has strong growth potential, especially in light of proposed Federal and State stimulus-based packages,” Rhone said.
“A lot of the infrastructure here was put into practice in the early 1900s, we hope to repair and replace the old pipes underground.”
In time, Geneva Pipeline hopes to expand above ground and venture into railroad infrastructure, because they are also aging.
Geneva Pipeline is expanding regionally throughout Ohio, having opened a satellite office in Akron. As a business to business contractor, their client base includes Dominion, Natural Fuel Gas, and Eastern National Gas.
“We are looking to push even further south,” Rhone said.
Since Geneva Pipeline’s home is Ashtabula County, 85 percent of the employees are local residents with many having invested more than 20 years into the company.
“One of our business benefits is the longevity of our employees, this gives customers confidence in us because of our experience,” Rhone said.
Today Geneva Pipeline, which is a union shop, has about 50 employees and the employee base has grown 15 percent over last year.
Geneva Pipeline is a certified Minority Business Enterprise in northeast Ohio that is contributing regionally. As a certified MBE, Geneva Pipeline is committed to expanding economic inclusion, strengthening employment and comprehensive job training, Rhone said.
Geneva Pipeline employs equipment operators and laborers that operate in a two to three man crew formation.
“One way of growing internally is we have experienced employees mentor the new employees because much of what we do is very skilled work and you can only learn it by doing it,” Rhone said. “Many of our employees are certified in a variety of areas and this allows us to offer more to our customers.”
In this present economy, Geneva Pipeline strives for excellence and must stand out above the competition.
“We have differentiated ourselves with experience, flexibility, availability and our commitment to create opportunities for our employees,” Rhone said.
Geneva Pipeline also has a high safety record, no OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) violations, and is a member of Ashtabula County Safety Council.
“This company has always been known for its safety record ever since it was a family-owned business in the beginning,” Rhone said.
Since Geneva Pipeline is doing a job for other companies, they are their clients representatives to the public.
“We have to deliver for our customers because we are the reflection of our customer,” Rhone said.
Geneva Pipeline’s recent projects have included 8,000 feet of pipeline on Route 20 in Saybrook Township for Ohio Department Of Transportation with Dominion; and completed the water service for the GaREAT Sports Complex in Harpersfield.
Rhone is working on creating its first internship program for primarily college students who will have the opportunity to see the operation side of this kind of business.
“We are a community-minded and family focused company, many of our crew members have family members here or have family members who have retired from here,” Rhone said.
To learn more about Geneva Pipeline look up www.genevapipeline.com
