Steve Grinaker, President of Tecta America Seattle, came out of retirement because of his loyalty and passion for the roofing industry.
Sponsored by Allied Building Products
Corporation
Steve Grinaker, President of Tecta America
Seattle, came out of retirement because of his loyalty and passion for the
roofing industry.
“My (first) job was to remove two layers of composition and one layer of wood
shingles and load it into a flatbed truck,” Grinaker recalled. “I was then
driven to a landfill to unload by hand. The real roofers would then install the
plywood and new roofing. After doing that after school and weekends, I was
allowed to learn the process of installing the plywood, felt and three-tab
composition.”
Grinaker’s roofing and sheet metal career really
started when he was 12 years old, watching his brother work in the trade.
“Materials were loaded up the ladder by hand, and hand nailed,” he remembered.
“After the steep slope roofing was mastered, they allowed me to learn the
process of running the kerosene kettle. This machine you pumped up pressure so
the kerosene would heat up the tar (asphalt). If the color turned green, it was
too hot and ready to flash or catch fire.”
After taking on several different roofing jobs, Steve Grinaker found a home at
Edmonds Roofing in Edmonds,
Wash., and again started at the
bottom by carrying the composition shingles up and down the ladder. “All of us
were paid piece work: no material installed, no money,” he said. “If I wanted a
job - pay the dues.”
And he did.
Steve Grinaker worked his way up to be the
company vice president and achieved 50 percent ownership. Then, after 27 years,
the Edmonds
Roofing original owner retired.
“His son came on board and he did not have the same vision his father and I had
built the company on,” Grinaker said. “So, we parted ways.”
Grinaker happily retired … briefly.
“Western Roofing out of the Bay area started a satellite office and it was
having trouble roofing in the Pacific Northwest; it rains in Seattle,” Grinaker said. “They contacted me
and asked me to consider coming out of retirement for a year to give a hand on
the ins-and-outs of making a profit in such a not-so-friendly climate.”
Grinaker said the company’s success is wrapped
around the use of Tecta America’s bonding, insurance and safety, which allows
him to go after “high-profile and difficult jobs that smaller companies are not
qualified to perform.”
Success in roofing means Grinaker can now sometimes relax on his Harley Road
King, and he also enjoys hunting and fishing. He points out to the many
friendships he has established among roofing company owners and suppliers in
the Northwest.
“We planned on the economy going south by using
the input and foresight from our corporate office in Skokie, Illinois,”
Grinaker said. “Our Florida
offices were the first to see the downturn, and history has shown the downturn
starts East and moves West.”
Still, 2009 was Grinaker’s best year. “And 2010 will be a challenge,” he said.
“The work is available to us with Tecta’s strength to back us
up.
“Tecta America has given us the tools to succeed.”