Climb to the Top : Roofing Company Overcomes Adversity

Seven years ago, several employees of Specialty Associates Inc., a West Allis roofing contractor, made a major decision that would dramatically change their careers.

Specialty Associates Inc. (SAI) was one of the largest roofing contractors in the state and had been through several turbulent years of ownership changes and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. But in early 2005, an even bigger change was coming. Tecta America Corp. acquired General Roofing Services, the parent company of SAI. Tecta is the parent company of FJA Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc., one of Milwaukee's oldest and most prominent roofing companies.

SAI employees knew that Tecta would not maintain two roofing companies in Milwaukee.

"We knew when they were done, the lead entity in Milwaukee would be FJA," said Michael Hurst, who was then the president of SAI. "They were going to merge (SAI and FJA), cherrypick (SAI). Take the best people, the best pieces of equipment and just drop everything they weren't interested in."

Hurst joined SAI in 1996 as an architectural sheet metal mechanic and crew foreman. Seeking a new career path, and with an interest in computers, he moved into an information technology position at the company in 2000. The company was acquired in 1999 by Pompano Beach, Fla.-based General Roofing, then a huge international roofing company, and Hurst traveled around the nation installing, and doing training for, accounting software and developing process improvements and controls. But Hurst had a lot to learn about the roofing business.

"Before 2004, I couldn't have told you much more than a roof goes on the top of a building," he said.

In 2004, General Roofing was acquired by Aurora, Colo.-based investment firm Republic Financial Corp., and Ron Werowinski, who founded SAI in 1975, left the company. Hurst became president of SAI after Werowinski left.

"When Ron left, because of my relationship with all of the other (General Roofing) operators in the country, I really got a good understanding of the roofing business from the business side," Hurst said.

Hurst led SAI through turbulent times. Right after it acquired the company, Republic had General Roofing file to reorganize the company under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. As a result, some SAI vendors did not get paid, damaging their relationship with the company, Hurst said. Some vendors who did not get paid demanded payments from homeowners who had already paid SAI.

"Trying to run the company with those kinds of things going on, it's a nightmare," Hurst said. "The construction trade is really a relationship business. You've got to do what you say and say what you do."

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Climb to the Top : Roofing Company Overcomes Adversity