AT THE PEAK of the Roofing Supply Business

Corporate Report Wisconsin, Sep 2005 by Shepard, Bill

While most CEOs know their businesses from the ground up, Ken Hendricks knows his from the top down.

That's because he is in the roofing business.

He got his start more than 40 years ago in his hometown of Janesville, toiling on the rooftops alongside his father, who ran his own small roofing business.

Today, Hendricks' family-run ABC Supply Co. Inc. in Beloit claims to be the largest roofing, siding and window wholesaler in the U.S., with more than 285 stores and over 5,000 employees across the country, and with sales in excess of $2 billion.

In the fall of 2004, Forbes magazine listed Hendricks among the 400 richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $850 million. This year, ABC Supply anticipates 20% percent growth in sales.

Hendricks credits much of his success to his humble beginnings as a roofer. First and foremost, the experience reinforced the solid blue-collar work ethic his parents instilled in him.

Hendricks also learned virtually every aspect of the roofing business, which provided a firm foundation for his future success. It also shaped his core business philosophy: respect and value your customers to the fullest.

"None of my competitors has ever run a roofing business, or has even put on a roof," Hendricks notes. "But I can walk up to a roofer and say, 'Hey, I can give you some tips.' I can relate to them, because I respect them.

"If you have the utmost respect for your customers, everything else will trickle upstream. And when our customers are successful, we're successful."

After dropping out of high school, Hendricks worked in a power company service department, and later as a draftsman before starting his own roofing company. He eventually owned and ran two, International Roofing and Blackhawk Roofing, with crews working nationwide on everything from military bases to Kmart stores.

SEEING AN OPPORTUNITY

In 1980, Hendricks realized there was no national supplier of siding, roofing and other exterior products, so he envisioned creating such an enterprise himself. He cashed in some of his assets and purchased three roofing and siding supply centers, which formed the basis of ABC Supply, starting off as American Builders and Contractors Supply.

What motivated him to enter the exterior product wholesale business?

Reflecting on his past as a roofing contractor, Hendricks comments, "When I was going around the country dealing with these distributors, they did not appreciate their customers. That's where my passion really came alive."

Today, ABC Supply meets contractors' needs with all-encompassing turnkey solutions. Not only does ABC's nationwide network of stores supply contractors with roofing, siding, insulation, windows, and other exterior products, but also the tools and other supplies to get the job done. With a fleet of more than 2,000 delivery vehicles, including flatbeds, panel vans, truck-mounted cranes and forklifts, ABC guarantees customers' orders are delivered on time.

ABC also manufactures and sells its own private line of products. These include: Amcraft vinyl siding, windows, and other exterior products; Mule-Hide roofing products and accessories; Vande Hey Raleigh custom tile and roofing systems; American Construction Metals, encompassing quality metal roofing products and accessories; and Stone Metal Products, with accessories for metal roofing applications.

ABC's catalog division also makes it easier for customers to find and purchase more than 6,000 products from 300 suppliers via online and print catalogs.

And if that wasn't enough, there's a wide range of other value-added services for customers. These include: the Solution Center, a professional tapered- and metal-roof design and removal service; American Patriot Insurance, geared especially toward roofing contractors; Customer Financial Services; Target Mail, which identifies local homeowners who may be potential customers; Lead Generation services; the Marketing Starter Kit; and even professional-looking signs with On-Site Job Signs.

"All of these businesses are focused on one thing: helping our customers become more successful," Hendricks says. To reinforce this "customer first" mission, ABC's main base of operations in Beloit is officially known as the "National Support Center."

"We avoid thinking of it as the 'corporate headquarters,'" Hendricks explains. "Instead, it's there to support all of our stores and customers around the country."

A FAMILY ATMOSPHERE

While Hendricks is the sole owner of ABC Supply, he isn't the only one calling the shots. One of the lessons he learned from observing his father struggle with his small roofing business was that one man can only do so much. Hendricks realized that to run an effective operation, one must empower others to manage and take responsibility for different tasks.

To ensure the smooth operation of the ABC "empire," Hendricks has relied heavily on those who are closest to him: his family.

Hendricks' wife, Diane, is executive vice president of ABC and also CEO of a subsidiary, American Patriot Insurance.