The McDowall family's legacy in construction has continued for five generations, spanning a 110-year period. Although the company experienced a brief interruption during the Depression, it was revived in the late 1940s and operates today with the same drive and spirit it had when George Atkinson McDowall first opened the doors at McDowall Roofing Company in 1895 in Joliet, Illinois. Roofing remained McDowall's area of focus until the 1940s when the company's craftsmanship and capabilities enabled them to enter the specialty sheet metal industry.

In the early 1960’s George J. McDowall introduced the company to the fabrication and installation of Full-HVAC Systems and this proved to be a good strength for McDowall Company. Throughout the 1970’s McDowall Company continued to grow under the leadership of George J. McDowall and his brothers Bob & Bill. The company spent time working on large scale energy projects in North Dakota and Iowa. Moving into the 1980’s John W. McDowall started to take on leadership roles within the company first in the roofing department and later company wide.

The 1980’s brought challenges to the roofing department with the rise of single ply EPDM systems, but saw the Commercial HVAC market grow as McDowall Company started to specialize in the educational field. As the 1990’s rolled around the Commercial Roofing market had stabilized and McDowall Company was growing in all departments. In the late 1990’s McDowall Company’s 3rd generation (George J., Bob, & Bill) were ready to pass the torch to the 4th generation of McDowall’s (John W. & Lawrence).

At this point McDowall Company was employing 85 people and had 10 million in sales. The company started to excel at a new level under the leadership of John W. McDowall in the early 2000’s and McDowall Company was out growing the current locations. In May of 2007, John’s son Mathew entered the business full-time marking the fifth generation of McDowall’s to work at the company. This was also the same year that operations shifted from three locations spread around the St. Cloud area to one NEW state of the art 42,000 square foot facility in Waite Park. Two years later (2009) St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce selected John W. McDowall (fourth generation) for the Entrepreneurial Success Award for McDowall Company's profitable growth and civic involvement in the community. The award is presented annually to a business that starts out small and through the years becomes large under the leadership of the same individual. Today McDowall Company continues to grow through visionary leadership and a commitment to quality.

TIMELINE »

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• THE HISTORY OF MCDOWALL

  
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  1895: George A. McDowall starts a roofing business in Joliet, Illinois.

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  1948: William N. McDowall buys Metal Roofing & Cornice Company in St. Cloud with Grace A. McDowall and their son, George J. McDowall.

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  1952: William N. passed away unexpectedly at the age of 54. George J. and his mother Grace are left to run the company.

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  1960’s:George J. McDowall relocates the growing company to a 14,000 square‐foot building on the west side of St. Cloud and starts to focus on commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

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  1973: John W. McDowall graduates from Technical High School and joins the company full‐time in roofing.

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  1981: Lawrence L. McDowall, John's brother, joins the company full-time as a crane operator.

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  1980’s‐90’s: John W. becomes treasurer, secretary and vice president of the company. The company continues to grow as John & Lawrence take leadership roles.

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  1997: John W. assumes business operations after his Uncle Bob, then president, has an accident and cannot work.

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  1997: The company has 85 employees and $10 million in sales. George J. (John & Lawrence's father), then CEO, semi‐retires and resides in Florida.

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  1998: John W. becomes acting president while his uncle’s health pulls him away from the business.

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  2000: George J & Bob McDowall retire; John W. and Lawrence take over full ownership of McDowall Co. and McDowall Comfort Management.

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  2007: Business moves to a 42,000 square foot building on Prosper Drive in Waite Park.

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  2007: In May John's son Mathew graduates from college and starts full-time with the company, becoming the fifth generation of McDowalls to work in the family business.

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  2008: Company employs 130 people during peak season and posts $28 million in sales.

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  2012: John W. serves as president and CEO, Lawrence as treasurer, and Matt as secretary

Five Generations. Spanning 110 Years.