| Roofers descend as fast as hailstones
Not long after dark skies returned to blue following last month's hailstorm, the thumping of nail guns replaced the sound of falling hailstones on the roofs of many local homes. ". With thousands of area homes likely in need of some sort of roofing repair, Mitchell Building Inspector John Hegg has been busy advising local and out-of-state roofers, insurance agents and homeowners about the city's building codes. "The chances that any local company is going to be in business in 50 years probably isn't very good … they're massive companies that back our warranties," Brookins said. When coming to a whole new area, tension sometimes develops between Hoffman Weber and local companies, he added. "The most that happens is we will hear people bad-mouthing our name," he said. "Everybody that's on our roof is employed by us. He said many of the roofers coming to Mitchell from out of town are quick to come to his office and introduce themselves. "I haven't had any problems. "It's going to take some extra roofers in town to get this many roofs done. As an out-of-state company, Hoffman Weber was required to get a South Dakota excise tax license before it could start any work in Mitchell. The license is only needed for door-to-door sales and not during the actual roof repair. Cumings' company has replaced 85 roofs in Mitchell since the hailstorm. He also said companies that sound local are not always as they look. He turned down the offer. "It's taken me 10 to 12 years to get my name what it is. "We choose to support the markets we choose to be in," he said. JRD Roofing, also based in Yankton, did very little work in Mitchell before the storm, but with fewer jobs available nearby, coowner Adam Kelsey saw the storm in Mitchell as opportunity to get more work. Premier Systems Inc. The license is issued one month at a time, and companies must supply the state with a bond of $5,000 plus $500 per employee, which is only returned after its taxes are paid. "I love paying taxes," Brookins said. "We don't chase after storms, but the storms allow the company a lot of work in an area," said Premier Systems President Scott Meyer. The stability of storm-related work is a draw for Meyer and his company. "It's a lot more stable work to have an insurance claim where you know you're going to get paid, instead of trying to sell to residents for additions or improvements," Meyer said. "That's how we get our start in most locations," said the company's Chief Operations Officer Adam Brookins. He estimated 95 percent of Hoffman Weber's business is in storm-related repairs. Once the work in Mitchell is gone, Brookins said the company will most likely open a brand new, more permanent location in Sioux Falls. Hoffman Weber Construction is a Minneapolis-based construction company with a presence in nine states. Cumings, who lives in rural Mitchell, has done construction work across South Dakota and elsewhere with his company in the past, but said he was usually referred to those out-of-state jobs by past customers. Storm damage are able to offer businesses with the customer base needed to become a local company, he said, but the amount of work will always determine which companies stay and which choose to leave. He and his crews were out doing temporary repairs for homeowners not long after the storm subsided, and Cumings was prepared for more. But he wasn't the only one preparing. Since May 14, the city of Mitchell has issued about 40 peddler's licenses to employees from 13 roofing companies. He added other Hoffman Weber crews travel between all of the company's locations as work demands. |
Monday, 11 June 2012
Roofers descend as fast as hailstones
