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While constantly focusing on quality, Madsen Roof Company
Inc., Sacramento, CA, has continued
to search for ways to do business
even better. Its founder, Peter C.B.
Madsen, moved from the Bay area down
to Southern California and then back
up to Sacramento, all the time expanding
the business horizons for the roofing
companies he worked for. When he started
his own business in 1987, Peter had
two decades of practical experience
in what works in the roofing industry.
This versatile roofing contractor
installs single plies, built-up roofing,
modified bitumen and urethane waterproofing
coatings as well as shake, tile and
shingles.
Primarily, Madsen Roof Company works
with commercial and industrial clients
in Central and Northern California. Its
main service area extends from Modesto
to Redding and from the Greater Bay Area
to Lake Tahoe. However, the company is
licensed in three states: California,
Nevada and Oregon.
Since every building and every building
owner are different, Madsen Roof Company
believes in preparing personalized
quotes that start with a one-on-one
consultation to determine the client's
needs. A detailed inspection of the
building follows.
The end result, Madsen explains,
is a roofing quote that meets the
exact needs of the customer, the building
and its tenants. As printed on the
back of its business cards, Madsen's
mission statement proclaims: "Emphasizing
personalized service, Madsen Roof
Company provides quality roofing,
repair and maintenance that exceeds
industry standards."
Peter attributes the company's success
to its very high standards. In every
employee, he looks for a similar philosophy
of high standards that matches his
own.
He believes teamwork is vital in
achieving a company's success, and
therefore maintains a business size
that facilitates that ability to work
together and help each other. Peter's
management style is based on training,
delegating and empowering employees
to grow and succeed.
Peter's son, Christian Madsen, followed
him into the roofing business at an
early age. He started doing odd jobs
when he was 13 and is now, 22 years
later, a vice president.
To make those all-important first
impressions on customers as positive
as possible, Madsen employees wear
uniform shirts and jackets. These
red tops have the company name printed
on the back and the employee's name
on the front. A uniform service handles
the weekly laundry chores to keep
the clothing in top form.
"It's all part of presenting
yourself and your company in a professional
manner," notes Christian. "While
a roofing installation could be technically
perfect," Christian believes,
"customers do judge your work
by how it and your employees look."
Employees who do maintenance and repair
work also wear company identification
badges so that businesses
know at a glance who they represent.
Madsen Roof Company is understandably
proud of its excellent safety record.
On-going safety and training programs
continue to enhance these efforts.
Moreover, the company's safety policy
statement points out that the responsibilities
for safety and health are shared by
both the employer and the employees.
Ultimately, Christian says, "The
safer you and your employees are,
the more competitive you can be."
High ratings from suppliers John McLoughlin,
president of Olympic Supply in Sacramento,
has high praise for Madsen Roof Company.
"We have worked with Peter Madsen
since he opened his doors, and his
company is a real quality contractor."
Diversification for Growth
There's only so much volume of work
at the quality level we want to perform
it at," Christian explains. We're
not willing to compromise quality
for dollars. Instead, we're willing
to put time into analyzing more technical
situations and examining building
envelope issues as a whole.”
As a result, the company is focusing
on increasing its activities in the
repair and preventative maintenance
market. This work enables us
to take our knowledge, Christian notes,
and formalize it into a program customized
for each building owner. Madsen
Roof Company in the top 2% of all
commercial contractors in the State
of California.
"Madsen Roof Company stands
behind everything they say and backs
it up," McLoughlin adds. "You
can take Madsen at their word."
And those words come in both Spanish
and English. A number of Madsen Roof Company employees are bilingual, which has been a great asset in facilitating
communication at the company.
Besides offering a number of essential
company materials in both English and
Spanish, Madsen Roof Company also makes
use of computer software that translates
information from English into Spanish.
This open-minded company also emphasizes
its acceptance of cultural diversity.
"We believe we are working with
friends no matter what the language,"
says Christian.
Madsen Roof Company's Total
Roof Management
Madsen Roof Company chose to name
its preventative maintenance service
the "Encompass Total Roof Management
Program" because everyone involved
felt the name accurately summed up
how all-inclusive they want their
services to be. These services include
leak investigation and repairs to
all aspects of the exterior building
envelope, including below-grade waterproofing,
along with detailed inspection reports
and updates. While everyone helped
develop and critique this program,
the initiative was led by Christian
and Operations Manager Sandy Nelson.
Roofing Technologies: Software-Based
Service Reports
Specially prepared software enables
the company to track information about
every customer, repair and maintenance
project, as well as process reports,
job costing and invoices. A unique
feature of the service call reports
is a coded system that makes them
easy to read and fill out by all employees,
no matter what language they’re
comfortable in. Clients can then apply
the information Madsen provides to
develop more accurate budget numbers
and forecast future capital expenditures.
Furthermore, Christian says he has
found his involvement with the Roof
Consultants Institute to be useful
in getting to know even more about
the various technical conditions involved
and who to refer his building owner
and management customers to. Christian’s
other industry activities include
serving on the Board of Directors
of the Western States Roofing Contractors
Association (WSRCA).
Madsen Roof Company: Community
Service Dedication
Participation in local activities
and charity projects is also a cornerstone
of the company's values. With the
help of product donations from Olympic
Supply, Madsen Roof Company recently
reshingled, for free, the first of
three buildings owned by Kidopolis,
a local children's home founded in
1867. The other two buildings in the
complex will be reroofed in the next
two years. All three are tearoffs
that are then topped with 30-year
shingles. Madsen Roof Company is committed
to providing a strong roof over these
needy children's heads. Peter Madsen
learned of Kidopolis' needs through
his longtime involvement in Sacramento's
Rotary Club.
A Charitable Sacramento-Area
Contractor
Madsen Roof Company has also donated
labor and time to the local San Juan
school district. Likewise,Madsen continues
to be involved with an organization
called Paint the Town, a charity that
helps low-income, elderly and handicapped
people fix up their homes. In all
that it does, the family business
works to create a family atmosphere
for its employees and successful outcomes
for its customers. |
