A bird’s eye view over the United States would capture thousands of rooftops donning the Tecta America name, making them part of the nation’s leading commercial roofing company. This roofing contractor powerhouse is made up of over 4,500 professionals across 100 locations, specializing in commercial roofing, architectural metals and waterproofing solutions. Under the Tecta umbrella, and one of its founding members, is Schwickert’s, a Minnesota-based roofing and mechanical contractor serving the commercial and residential industry. Schwickert’s began long before the forming of Tecta America in 2000, with roots dating back to 1906 and a far less evolved mechanical landscape than the technologically advanced one we’ve come to know. It was the sale of mechanical air conditioning units and furnaces that defined Schwickert’s early years, before it developed into the roofing industry and became the multi-faceted company it is today. “What started out as a small, family-owned hardware company has developed into a prominent multi-trade contractor with 4 locations in 2 different states,” says Julie Leiferman, Director of Sales & Business Development at Schwickert’s. The Schwickert’s of today specializes not in one single service, but rather in hard work and going the extra mile for its clients, whatever the service.
“What started out as a small, family-owned hardware company has developed into a prominent multi-trade contractor with 4 locations in 2 different states.”
Julie has been with Schwickert’s since 2005 and has been witness to some of the company’s most formative years. “In 2000, owners Kim and Kent Schwickert got together with nine other roofing companies to form a corporation called Tecta America,” she says. “They were very innovative and very forward thinking in their thought process as far as developing the company, and very strategic in the way they went about getting that growth.” There are now over one hundred companies under the Tecta America umbrella, of which Schwickert’s is one of the largest. While Schwickert’s is cut from the same cloth as its Tecta America partners who focus primarily on roofing and architectural sheet metal, it is unique in its additional capability to provide mechanical, electrical, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning services.
Schwickert’s’ diverse range of services are applied in the most part to the commercial and residential sectors, both of which are responsible for a steady stream of work in today’s construction climate. HVAC and refrigeration are at the core, as well as plumbing, piping, duct cleaning, chimney sweeping, and roofing itself. “We do all kinds of roof systems,” Julie says. “Steep slope, low-slope, and energy-efficient.” Whether it’s a single-ply membrane, standing seam metal, or a Built-up Roofing (BUR) system, Schwickert’s specializes in providing solutions that are durable and reliable “When we talk about roofing and mechanical projects, we’re talking about your whole building and what makes it run.” Adds Connor Tanhoff, Marketing Manager at Schwickert’s “Behind the scenes, the mechanical systems create a comfortable and productive place to work or live, while the roof protects everyone and everything inside.”
Service by service, Schwickert’s became a one-stop-shop for its growing book of clients throughout Minnesota and Kansas. In the early 2000’s, Schwickert’s evolved in tandem with the collective push towards a more sustainable future, and its portfolio grew to even include green roof and solar projects. “Typically, we’ve started most of our different trades in house,” Julie says, “For instance, our electrical service was a strategic plan where we bought an electrical company. Now we’re doing that in-house and growing on it to offer security services, surveillance services on cameras, and audio visual. Our architectural metals division was started about 10 years ago. We were always doing sheet metal work for our roofing projects, so it was a natural evolution to start making our own custom metal panels and installing them. We’ve done work on the buildings you see now that the owners and architects love, with that metal finish and all the different kinds of fascia. We do all sorts of custom wall panels that give that unique look.”
From green roofs and military hangars, to school districts and ongoing work for the internationally recognized Mayo Clinic, Schwickert’s project portfolio is as complex as it is diversified. Yet, the quality of service that Schwickert’s provides is never lacking. The key to consistently operating at high-efficiency while covering so much ground annually is a truly customer-centric approach that goes beyond expected industry standards. The customer, no matter which of its services it is performing, is always at the forefront. “Over the last few years, we’ve put even more emphasis on our customer relationships,” Julie says. “We’ve always had good relationships, and we’ve always had a book of business, but when that worldwide recession hit in 2008, we thought about ways to make our business recession proof. We evolved our client relationships into more of a consultant role, where we can help them with their budgeting and their planning both long term and short term. We specialize in a lot of different things because we like to offer our customers solutions. We’re looking to help them and provide a solution to their need and become a lifelong partner with them. That’s our unique approach and how we tackle our customer relationships.”
In the spirit of providing innovative solutions to its customers, Schwickert’s is setting the standard for Facility Asset Management, which has become a key part of its business. Through their proprietary Tecta Tracker and HVAC Tracker programs, Schwickert’s can manage a client’s roof and mechanical systems in real time to mitigate costly downtime and maintenance disruptions. “We’ve always done service work,” Julie says, “sometimes taking it a step further by doing inspections or preventative maintenance. We had the thought to take that even further and track that for our clients, so we developed an innovative web-based tracking system, and that’s what makes us unique. A lot of other companies are doing preventative maintenance and annual roof inspections, but what they’re not doing is tracking that data and putting it into real life. Our clients can get on the web-based system and look at their building’s performance and at their short-term planning. What do I need to do for repairs to keep this in peak performance? What do I have coming up down the line in five, ten years, where I’m going to have that capital expense? That’s something unlike anybody else is doing. There are other kinds of tracking mechanisms, but nothing like that where it’s going to capture both their HVAC and their roofing all in one spot, and that’s going to give them forecastable information based on history.”
This ability to get ahead of future maintenance is invaluable in the construction industry, where disruption of operations can sometimes be very costly. Connor gives an example of how this tracking technology can be put into practice. “Every section of a roof will have a score based on our inspections. You might see that roof section A is probably going to need a major repair within the next 5 years, while roof section B’s got a good 20 years on it, so they can prioritize in that way.” This clever use of technology extends right down the line to a reroofing project, where Schwickert’s foremen walk the roof with a 360 Cam on their heads which allows them to safely share the progress of the job with the customer. This data is evaluated on an ongoing basis to ensure things are going as planned, operating within budget, and most importantly, that they are safe. Ultimately, the driving force behind Schwickert’s long list of successful projects and its approach to doing business is just that, safety. Schwickert’s safety-first mindset is recognized year after year by the prestigious ABC Accredited Quality Contractor award. “It hits on safety, quality, talent management, continuing education, and community,” says Connor, “so to even be eligible you have to be a gold or above in this STEP program, which is a safety program. This year we will be reapplying for top performer, which we’ve gotten before.”
As the construction industry continues to grow, and with it the competition, it is not enough for a company to simply get the work done and move on. “We’re looking to be an advocate for our clients for the entirety of their business and the entirety of their building,” Julie says. “They know that we’re there not just for the main project, but also throughout the course of maintaining it, helping them budget it, and getting as much life out of their systems as possible.” Being part of the Tecta America brand solidifies Schwickert’s reputation as one of the top performing roofing companies in the United States. That, paired with its customer-centric approach and innovative use of tracking technology, is what allows Schwickert’s to do business in a way that is efficient, sustainable, and recession proof. Derek Homrighausen is the President of Schwickert’s Tecta America and he had this to say. “Schwickert’s is built to succeed. We are always in a growth mindset, whether it be geographically or by growing our trades. We have a clear vision for the future and are always looking for better ways to get the job done. We are ready to continue leading the industry forward.” The future of roofing, as we know it and as we are yet to, is in safe and capable hands.
