Brian Moore, Ph.D., President and Treasurer of Schreiber Corporation in Wixom, Mich., said the company axiom starts with outstanding customer service as it nears 100 years in business.
Brian Moore, Ph.D., President and Treasurer of
Schreiber Corporation in Wixom, Mich., said the company axiom starts with
outstanding customer service as it nears 100 years in
business.
Ezekiel Schreiber started Standard Waterproofing and Damp Proofing in New York
City in the early 1900s. The company changed the name to Schreiber in 1916 and
moved to Detroit to service the growing auto industry.
“Herbert Schreiber, Ezekiel’s great-grandson, was hired after graduating from
the University of Michigan and eventually bought the company in 1961 and
incorporated it under the name Schreiber Corporation,” Brian Moore
recalled.
Herbert Schreiber passed away in 2006, leaving
control of the company in the hands of his children, who were already involved
in the management at Schreiber. The family also owns and operates a commercial
roofing company: Schreiber Bros. LLC, located in Hamilton, Ontario.
“I came into the business when I met and then married my wife, Patrice
Schreiber, who is now the CEO f the company,” Moore said. “I was the Director of Business
Development at a biotechnology company in Washington,
D.C., where Patrice was also
employed. I was responsible for licensing out both real and intellectual
property developed by our company or vice versa, acquiring real or intellectual
property from Universities or other biotechnology companies. In 1997, when
Patrice finished her MBA at Johns Hopkins University,
we decided to move to Michigan
to manage operations at Schreiber Corporation.”
Schreiber employs 16 office personnel and
approximately 150 roofers and sheet metal men during peak operations. Schreiber
is 100 percent commercial roofing.
“Schreiber is committed to providing the highest quality service and
professional workmanship using our highly skilled union workforce,” Moore said. “We recognize
that in many of the manufacturing plants that we roof, a single leak can
interrupt or halt production inside the building, costing the company thousands
of dollars an hour. Therefore, maintaining a complete water tight roof
throughout installation, which may take months, is critically important to our
customers.”
Schreiber prides itself in taking on the most complex and difficult projects.
“Our overall business philosophy is conservative, remain stable and our
strategy always considers the long term,” Moore
said. “Schreiber has been in business for over 90 years and this longevity is a
result of thinking and planning over the long run.”
Herbert Schreiber believed in maintaining a
strong financial position in order to weather economic downturns that are
inevitable in the marketplace. “Mr. Schreiber knew that by building a strong
base, in terms of labor in the field, in the office, and financially, the
company could survive recessions when they occur and that in doing so, the
company would lead the way as the economy returned and business picked up
again,” Moore said.
For many years, Schreiber Roofing has completed multiple roofing projects on
some of the most secure nuclear sites in the United States. “Many of the sites
pose particular difficulties including job staging, safety, access and possible
radiation exposure,” Moore
said.
Chuck Rosa, the longtime company president, retired after more than 35 years at
Schreiber. “Herbert Schreiber hired Mr. Rosa in 1967 and Chuck always
implemented Mr. Schreiber’s philosophy in managing the company, leaving it
positioned with a stable customer base and a talented workforce in place to
move the company forward,” Moore
said. “That obviously has made my job much easier, and I will continue the
tradition of providing the highest quality roofing installation and outstanding
customer service through our 100th anniversary and beyond.”