Our Story
JM Lapp has been around since 2006 and has deep roots in hard work, expertise, and service, all of which began with Matt Lapp, owner and founder of the company. Matt grew up Amish and attended school through the 8th grade. When he finished school, he spent one day a week as a plumber’s helper – the money wasn’t much to speak of, but that’s where he got hands-on training, traveling with a different plumber every day.
Matt and his wife got married in 2003, and Matt spent some time working for a larger plumbing company, but in 2006 he went out on his own. He bought a used Astro van on Craigslist, and set off down a new path. At first, he was dedicated to keeping the business simple – and to him, that meant not hiring any employees. He didn’t want to mess with the complications of a large business; he simply wanted to do quality work for as many customers as he could.
But when he kept getting busier, he was confronted with a question – if God was asking him to run a business, how could he keep telling potential customers no? If the opportunities were there, shouldn’t he take them?
In 2007, he hired his first employee, Reuben. It was also during those early days that he read a book called Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, all about doing the small details right in order to get big results. This would become the foundation of JM Lapp – a dedication to consistently performing well in even the smallest tasks.
He hired three more employees in 2010, and by 2011 JM Lapp had grown five-fold since then, a testament to their foundation of hard work, consistency, and dedication.
Matt is married with five children, and JM Lapp recently purchased a new building that is being renovated, reconfigured, and restored. Once an eyesore in the neighborhood, this building will serve as their new headquarters in Lancaster County. This is the perfect metaphor for JM Lapp’s goals as an organization: work hard and operate the business in a way that brings holistic improvement to the entire community.