Excellent Envelopes, Earned Expertise

by Jonathan McGaha | 4 September 2013 12:00 am

Contractor optimizes metal to invigorate exterior envelope applications

President John Kalkreuth and his partner, executive vice president Jim Hurley, formed Wheeling, W.V.-based Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal[1] in 1984. Since that time, the company has grown from a single office in Wheeling, W.V., to having three additional locations in Frederick, Md.; Columbus, Ohio; and Lexington, Ky. This geographic expansion has allowed Kalkreuth to work on projects from the New England states down to Florida, and from the East Coast to the Mississippi River.

“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,” says Kalkreuth. “We have 400 field employees-all skilled craftsmen in their trade. We are factory certified by over 40 different roofing and metal wall panel manufacturers.”

Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal’s exterior envelope capabilities let it optimize and build the entire exterior of a building including low- and steep-slope roofing, insulated and non-insulated metal wall panels, custom aluminum composite material
(ACM) panel manufacture and ACM panel installation, and various areas of “green” roofing. Kalkreuth’s extensive involvement with the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED program has allowed it to work with various types of solar and vegetative roofing systems for hundreds of LEED accredited facilities.

Many metal-related endeavors

As its name suggests, Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal lends itself to diverse metal work involvement, including various educational facilities, health institutions, arenas, stadiums, office buildings, casinos, hotel and restaurant chains, government buildings and retail stores.

“Great examples of our metal work include jobs like the LEED Silver pending Camp Dawson Joint Interagency Training & Education Center in Kingwood, W.V.,” says Kalkreuth. “It utilized 6,000 square feet of [Moon Township, Pa.-based CENTRIA’s] Econolap siding with a Kynar 500 finish.”

Kalkreuth recently completed the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) East in Monroeville, Pa. This project utilized 34 squares of CENTRIA BR5-36, 200 squares of Concept Series panels and 211 squares of CENTRIA Formawall Dimension Series insulated metal wall panels. The project is pending LEED certification.

“We truly possess the resources and capabilities to provide what our customers would expect from a full-service exterior envelope building contractor,” Kalkreuth says.

Customers first

Even with its experience, expertise and corporate resources as a full-service, exterior envelope contractor, the Kalkreuth work ethic expressed by its employees is to exhibit an attention to detail and personal touch that lets its customers know that every job is important. While being large in scope and size, each project goes through its full-service engineering, estimating, production management, and the finance departments and the professional staff within each branch to make sure every facet of each project is addressed appropriately.

 “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,” says Kalkreuth. “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. We have maintained a significant industry presence, and have been able to absorb the latest technologies and best practices into our own corporate processes.”

Kalkreuth is a long-standing member of various trade associations and maintains involvement at state, regional and national levels. It has played an instrumental role in the writing and revision of technical manuals within the industry. “We continuously attain and develop business relationships with national and regional contractors and architects within different states, markets and venue types to extend our corporate resources and keep up with growing industry trends,” Kalkreuth says. “Our upper management has a vision for the future and quickly adapts to the industry’s continuously changing environment.”

Staying innovative

Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal realizes it must stay innovative and current to compete and be successful. It now has the technology and capabilities to precisely scan and measure buildings, even at long range, at any phase of the construction process with the use of a Leica ScanStation C10. This kind of precise measuring provides accurate shop drawings more quickly.

“This allows for rapid, job-specific material take-offs within the construction phases of any project to help our general contractors complete projects on time and on budget,” says Kalkreuth. “We have also vertically integrated our internal processes through the use of comprehensive metal fabrication equipment and the latest construction industry technologies with the integration of computer-aided design (CAD) and high-accuracy building scanners, which equip us with accuracy, efficiency and timeliness of delivery.”

The company has extensive involvement with the USGBC’s LEED program. “This allows us to be more versatile for customer needs and diversify our corporate capabilities, processes and resources to match the diverse dynamics of the construction industry,” Kalkreuth says. Just finishing up is a large, new construction project at Dunbar Senior High School in Washington, D.C., which is set to reach a LEED Platinum rating, and will be the first high school to do so nationwide.

Project involvement

John Kalkreuth is a firm believer that contractors who can supply the owner with a broad scope of project involvement are the ones who are able to differentiate themselves within the industry. “We’ve been able to reciprocate by providing comprehensive exterior envelope services, including full-service engineering, financial, LEED AP’s, 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.”

Steady growth, great future

Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal’s project involvement, innovative processes and attention to customers’ needs have proven successful. From 2007 to present day during tough economic times, Kalkreuth’s revenue jumped more than $36 million, steadily increasing from year to year. Between 2007 and 2009, Kalkreuth was actively hiring full-time employees and expanded their office locations into Columbus, Ohio (May 2008) and Lexington, Ky. (June 2009), where it opened its third and fourth satellite offices.

 “Throughout the global recession starting in the late 2000s, we have been able to stand as one of the few firms in the industry to maintain steady corporate growth,” says Kalkreuth. “In 2011, we made the decision to renovate and restore a historical high-rise in downtown Wheeling, W.V., to consolidate a growing work force and serve as the new corporate headquarters and central resource center-Kaley Center. Despite the tough economic climate, the company is able to diversify its physical locations and greatly expand total reach and presence in the market, covering projects across the entire Mid-Atlantic region. All of this growth is directly related to a loyal customer base and the reality of an innovative and progressive vision for the future.”

Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal is constantly updating its practices, procedures and resources to position itself based on exactly what the target market wants from a full-service exterior envelope contractor. “We have been able to stay at the forefront of technological advances to keep up with the fast-paced construction industry through new means, methods and systems,” says Kalkreuth. “We are constantly building and maintaining strong management teams, within each division, through mentoring and internships, and we maintain a strong labor force by sending each worker through training and by reinforcing comprehensive apprenticeship programs.”

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Company Profile

Year founded: 1984

Location: Wheeling, W.V.

Geographic Areas of Service: Strategically placed divisional offices in Frederick, Md.; Columbus, Ohio; Lexington, Ky.; and a corporate office in Wheeling, W.V.; and operates as a licensed contractor in Florida, to effectively serve an expanding customer base across the entire Mid-Atlantic region.

Services Offered: All aspects of thermal and architectural exterior envelope application

Number of Employees: approximately 400 field employees and 100 staff

Building Square Footage of Roofing and Wall Panel Installed:

2012: 219,905

2011: 369,166

2010: 372,517

2009: 254,445

2013 Revenue Projection: $87.9 million

2012 Total Revenue: $84.5 million

Management Team:

President, John Kalkreuth

Executive Vice President, James Hurley

Vice President of Finance, Wesley Nickell

Corporate HR Manager, Chad Smith

VP of Ohio Division, Patrick Hurley

VP of Maryland Division, David Hesse

VP of Kentucky Division, Stan Gorczyca

VP of Metal Operations, John Trifonoff

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/excellent-envelopes-earned-expertise/

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