2019 Metal Construction Hall of Fame
When Dale Nelson started working for D.V. “Red” McConnohie for his first job out of college, he didn’t think he’d be working there for long. He took the construction job until he could find a job in his major, business management and finance. Little did he know, working for McConnohie would lead to a long-lasting partnership, friendship and a career.
A Part-Time Career
After graduating from Northern Illinois University, Nelson moved down to Clearwater, Fla., to be closer to his mom and stepdad. It was Nelson’s stepfather who introduced him to McConnohie. McConnohie had been complaining that he couldn’t find any good help for construction, so Nelson stepped up to take a job, at least part time, while he continued trying to find a real career.
In March 1973, Nelson started out as assistant to the estimator before taking over after only two months on the job when the previous estimator quit. “I was the chief estimator for an $8 million construction company with two months of experience,” he recalls. “Needless to say, McConnohie and his operations vice president, Charles helped me a lot, but I don’t think I slept for about two years trying to remember all of the stuff I left out of the buildings before quoting them. But that was my start, a trial by fire.”
Nelson continued to do well, and moved up the ranks to project management, project coordination, on-site management and eventually sales. The company did general contracting work around Florida and the rest of the country, including the Caribbean. “At one point I was licensed, not only as a Class A contractor in Florida, but I held a Class A contractor license in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
The Start of a Company
In 1991, Nelson went out to re-roof one of the buildings McConnohie owned as an investment property. While he was putting on the usual array of hat channels on the building to put the metal panels on top, McConnohie came by and asked what he was doing. “I explained to him that that’s how everybody did it at that point. And he explained to me that I was not going to do that to his building because it’s not structurally correct.”
Nelson confirmed this with the company’s engineers, and McConnohie decided to come up with a better solution himself. “McConnohie came up with a Z with all of these notches in it,” he says. “So we went out and got a fabricator to build it for us, we put it on the building, and it worked beautifully.”
Thus began Roof Hugger Inc., a nationally recognized manufacturer of retrofit framing systems for any existing metal roofed building. “We started out with an understanding that McConnohie would help some in sales and try to get a patent, but I would have to do all of the work, and we would be 50-50 partners,” he says. “I think we sold a whole $9,000 our first year all by word of mouth. And then we started taking out ads in Metal Construction News, and the rest is history.”
It is important for the metal construction industry to continue to grow and be competitive as a building product. And, given the recyclability of the material we use, metal certainly has the best potential to be one of the primary construction materials in every project. It’s got a great story to tell.
Dale Nelson, Roof Hugger
Association Involvement
As the company grew, it became apparent that a lot of people had the same problems when trying to re-roof buildings. “We evolved into very sophisticated testing, and understanding material properties and panel performance and all else that goes with retrofitting a metal roof,” Nelson recalls.
Around this time, the company started to get involved with some of the industry associations, including the Metal Construction Association (MCA), Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA), Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association (MBCEA), the Roof Consultants Institute [(RCI), now the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC)], and the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association Inc. (FRSA).
The contacts made through the company’s involvement in the associations has aided in the company’s growth. “That’s how you get the word out, connect to people, and explain your product,” Nelson says. “We’ve had some great experiences over the years.”
“Dale is the kind of guy who, in both his personal and professional life, not only tries to look at the big picture but understand it and advocate for all sides on the issue,” says Ed Karper, global product manager at Dura Coat Products, part of Axalta Coating Systems.
Nelson remains very active in industry associations and has served as chairman of the MCA, and the Pasco County Florida, Committee of 100, as well as being a board member of the Sertoma Speech and Hearings Foundation of Florida Inc. Nelson has received a number of business and social awards, including the 2013 Patrick R. Bush Service Award from the MCA, the 2014 Innovation Award from the MBMA, and the Sertoman of the Year and Presidents Award.
Looking Ahead
In 2016, Roof Hugger was acquired by the LSI Group, Logansport, Ind. The LSI Group family of companies includes Logan Stamping, Logan Fabrication and BPD, all serving the metal building industry.
“[Robert Baker, president of LSI Group] has been just a spectacular partner,” Nelson says. “They’ve helped us fund more equipment and more testing. They have broad-based fabrication facilities and equipment that give us a tremendous amount of resources in terms of buying power and more efficient production. We’ve just been the best team in terms of working together and providing services to the metal industry.”
Mark James, a long-time friend who worked in management with Roof Hugger, says from the moment he met Nelson and McConnohie at the 1994 International Roofing Expo, there was a friendship and immediate interest in the Roof Hugger product. “Nelson is an extremely good businessman with a high level of integrity and honesty,” he says. “It is no wonder to me that he is highly respected in our industry, and of course, a recipient of the Hall of Fame recognition.”
