In 16 cities, they've got you covered

The local company employs 1,000 peoplein 10 states.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
BOARDMAN -- A homegrown roofing company is growing rapidly by placing its crews on top of Pizza Hut, Toys "R" Us and Kmart stores throughout the eastern United States.
Simon Roofing can handle such work because of an expansion program that has created 16 offices in 10 states. Its 1,000 employees are a far cry from the one-man roofing company that was started in Youngstown in 1900 by Alex Simon, a Lebanese immigrant.
While the company was sucessful for decades, the growth beyond the Mahoning Valley started in 1988, shortly after Simon's three grandsons took over.
"Everybody wanted to be the biggest. Nobody wanted to be No. 2," said Anthony Vross, 39, who now owns the company with his cousins, Alex, 50, and Jamie Simon, 42.
History: It was a major change of direction for the company, which has its headquarters at 70 Karago Ave.
The founders' sons -- Paulie, Jimmy, Sammy, Johnny and Joey Simon -- led the company through decades of growth with just local work. They switched from residential to commercial work around World War II and enjoyed a booming local economy that led to plenty of roof work.
They created a strong local reputation.
"We have a great name," Vross said. "My uncles did a good job. They treated people right."
They had no desire to expand, however. Vross said they abhorred credit and wouldn't even buy a piece of equipment on credit, let alone borrow to expand operations.
The third-generation owners saw things differently when they took over in the 1980s. The Youngstown economy had slowed, but other parts of the country were booming with new offices and new manufacturing plants.
The new owners received contracts to install roofs at industrial plants and military bases in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. They opened an office in Charlotte, N.C., to take advantage of the growth there and bought a plant in Cleveland that makes coatings for roofs, floors and ceilings.
The expansion worked so they kept opening new offices, mostly after training local people in the business. When the trainees were ready, the owners asked them where they wanted to go and turned them loose to build a business.
Challenge: Vross knows what the branch managers face because he started the company's office in Tampa, its first Florida branch. He returned to this area after five years.
Getting business in the Youngstown area is pretty easy because of the company's reputation, he said. Businesses with roofing problems often call Simon for help.
But as Simon was entering new markets, no one knew the Simon name.
"It was scary," Vross said. "You could succeed or fail. It was your choice."
Vross said the key is starting small, taking repair jobs and doing them well. Simon's work ethic will win business, he said.
"They're not used to it. Word gets around," he said.
Simon is well known in corporate circles now. Other major companies on its client list include Sony, Georgia Pacific and Lucent.
Simon just opened offices in Indianapolis and Detroit and plans to open one or two new branches a year. The company intends to have 35 branches within five years, Vross said.
He said the Boardman branch remains one of its best performers. The company has 75 employees in the area.
Diversification: Simon's expansion is more than just geographic, however. The company has moved from being a contractor to being a manufacturer-installer, Vross said.
It makes coatings in Cleveland, metal panels in Charlotte and all sorts of roofing equipment in Boardman at its adjacent subsidiary, NTE Equipment.
NTE makes a variety of common items, such as wheelbarrows, but it also has patented devices that have arisen from specific needs in the field.
In 1994, for example, Simon was roofing a brewery in Tampa when Anheuser-Busch asked if the fumes from the work could be captured so they wouldn't enter the plant. Simon officials searched for such a device and when they couldn't find one, invented their own. They put some of their own people on the project and brought in outside experts. The fume recovery system hooks onto the machine that holds the tar on a roof and uses a series of filters to capture the fumes.
To boost the sales of its equipment, Simon has developed what it calls a mentor program. It intends to partner with one small but growing roofing company in many of the areas it doesn't serve, such as Harrisburg, Pa., and Syracuse, N.Y.
These roofers would agree to buy Simon's equipment and in return would receive advice and help from Simon in growing their business.
Simon also is working to improve the services it provides its larger customers who have multiple buildings. It introduced a software program last year that provides a database for roofs of all of a customer's buildings. Customers can use the Internet to check a roof's repair history or see pictures of roof work that is needed.