Projects with complete building envelopes contribute to core business
Wheeling, W.Va.-based Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal Inc. experienced largescale growth during the last 10 years in part due to aggressively pursuing complex projects. Paul Orbin, director of marketing at Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, says one example of large projects that contributed to his company’s growth was Dunbar Senior High School in Washington, D.C. The LEED Platinum-certified project was completed in 2013. “This was a complex and involved LEED project on which we installed the roofing and composite wall panels,” he says. “We are usually first in line for complex, fast track projects.”
Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, an exterior envelope contractor operating in the eastern U.S., specializes in all forms of roofing and architectural metals, according to its website. Its clients include large universities and automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical companies.
John Kalkreuth is president and CEO at Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal. “Our two in-house metal fabrication facilities have allowed us to vertically integrate our supply chain, which has produced shorter lead times for our customers and our projects,” he says. “We truly possess the resources and capabilities to provide what our customers would expect from a full-service exterior envelope building contractor.”
Kalkreuth says he believes contractors that supply owners with broad scopes of project involvement differentiate themselves. “We’ve been able to reciprocate by providing comprehensive exterior envelope services, including full-service engineering, financial, LEED APs, production management, metal fabrication, service and safety departments to centralize the various process complexities all under one roof,” he says. “Through the incorporation of many diverse departments, we are able to stay on the cutting edge of technology and industry trends, which helps architects and general contractors to stay on schedule, on budget and according to specified project designs and details.”
Orbin says another example of complex, fast-paced projects his company sought persistently was PNC Financial Services Group’s LEED Platinum-certified headquarters in Pittsburgh, dubbed the Tower at PNC Plaza. PNC Plaza opened in October 2015. “Our management team started out in this business taking on any and all projects that came across the table and developed a keen understanding of the entire construction process from start to finish, which makes us invaluable to general contractors,” he says.
The company operates from five office locations: its headquarters in West Virginia; Canonsburg, Pa.; Lewis Center, Ohio; Frederick, Md.; and Lexington, Ky. Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal was founded in 1984 and has approximately 400 employees. It completed 21 metal roofing projects in 2015 totaling 325,300 square feet, an increase from 310,000 square feet in 2014. Its average metal roofing project was 13,800 square feet in 2015.
Orbin says Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal’s foundation of employees, expertise and sound financial position supports its production. “Our growth has been organic from day one,” he says. “We didn’t invent anything new; we are the solution.”
Orbin says his company’s growth was consistent with its maintenance of current technologies, products and industry developments. These efforts helped it attract and retain skilled workers. “We have earned our foothold in the industry, and skilled craftsmen and top industry talent recognize that as a desirable feature,” he says. “Same goes for our financial stability, through this organic growth we have been able to obtain, train and maintain a skilled workforce both in the field and office support.”
Kalkreuth says his company has maintained a significant industry presence and absorbed current technologies and best practices into corporate processes. “Our customers’ responsiveness to our attention to detail and dedication to overall satisfaction has become apparent through the large amount of repeat business we attract,” he says. “We have remained loyal to our growing customer base by branching into other states through the acquisition of so many diverse services and the offering of an extensive product breadth.”
