Rob Haddock
Posted
10/30/2012
Rob
Haddock is known throughout the industry as the founder of Colorado
Springs, Colo.-based S-5!, the company that invented the
non-invasive clamps for fastening accessories to standing seam
metal roofs. That innovation and impact on the industry would
probably be enough to earn Haddock Hall of Fame recognition, but he
also had a long career in the metal construction industry prior to
the founding of S-5! that, in itself, is noteworthy.
Attend an industry event-trade show, association meeting or
conference-and you will quickly recognize Haddock as the man in the
cowboy hat. He began his work life as a cowboy, tending a
5,000-acre ranch in the Colorado mountains. He loved that life, but
aspired for something more than the older, beat up he was working
alongside, so he looked around for new work opportunity (although
he continued to rodeo) and took a position for a company doing
metal building erection. That was his start in the metal
construction industry in the early 70s.
In 1977, after a few false starts with partners, Haddock opened
shop with his own company, Seven States Steel, "with 40 bucks and a
pickup," which grew over the course of the next 13 years to employ
as many as 52 people and offer erection services across the
country.
During that time, Haddock became actively involved in industry
associations and learned everything he could about metal
construction. "I had help from so many people," Haddock says. "I
entered the industry at age 19 and thought I was 10 feet tall and
bullet proof. But I always wanted to learn more, and so many people
helped to teach me all I wanted to know. I also found out I wasn't
bullet proof."
Although Haddock isn't college educated, he learned the depth of
the industry and absorbed knowledge from experts. "I learned by
doing and by interfacing with people who knew way more than I did,"
he says. In the associations, Haddock found mentors who encouraged
and educated him.
Part of what drove his success was an underlying curiosity,
which urged him to learn more. A good example is his reaction to
the introduction of Kansas City, Mo.-based Butler Manufacturing's
MR-24 Galvalume standing seam roof in the late '70s. "What a
wonderful thing," he says. "Innovators appreciate innovation, and I
was just really curious about this new technology. I learned all I
could about it and about steel, coatings and thermal expansion. I
would have mentors in the paint business and sealants chemists
teach me about all those things. Eventually, I started to become
recognized as a go-to guy for metal roofing." His erection company,
Seven States Steel, soon offered roof retrofitting and
architectural metals to its ranges of services, and he started
getting into consulting work.
After 19 years in contracting, though, Haddock wanted to take on
new challenges, so he closed up the construction company
("retired," he says) and began a career as a consultant in the
metal construction industry, which allowed him to share his amassed
knowledge with architects, engineers, building contractors, product
manufacturers and trade groups. He worked on research projects and
wrote white papers, participated in building forensics when roofs
failed, and brought his breadth of experience and knowledge to a
wider audience. With a knack for teaching, this new career
fulfilled a new part of him, and his writing and lectures have been
translated into at least nine languages.
It also matched a need to solve problems, which is a welcome
challenge for him. "It's using common sense and following the
science along a logic path to a final conclusion." That skill
suited him well in the consulting business when he was called on to
determine why a roof had failed and it also led directly to the
creation of S-5!. "When people want to attach something to a roof,
how do you do that? There wasn't a way. But you have standing
seams-an upraised portion. How do you grab ahold of it without
penetrating it? How can I accomplish those objectives?" The
invention of S-5! uses the same thought process that Haddock
exercised with his consulting work.
The company now has five manufacturing locations and serves the
international market with footprints in the United States, Canada,
Australia, Europe and Asia. The success and innovation of the
company has been well documented, but there is one thing about it
that stands out in a unique way and goes directly to the source of
what Haddock has brought to market. The goal for S-5!, which
Haddock asserts is probably little known, is not so much to promote
its products but to promote metal roofing. "Our big goal is to do
what we can to make metal roofing the most desired, accepted,
user-friendly, most coveted roof in the construction industry
globally. Of course we don't even make metal roofing and we don't
aspire to. But we want to innovate and commercialize products that
make the building community more aware of the attributes of metal
roofing. By doing both of those things, we can attain our
goal."
Haddock sums up his success by saying, "I had help from some
fantastic people in this great industry, including my kids and my
staff. And most especially my Creator."
"I believe our industry has a promising future because we have
some of the best products, systems and technologies in the entire
construction industry-we just need to make people aware of them and
keep innovating."