Roofing company needs employees; Granite completes a project

Ken Dillon, president of D & D Roofing and Sheet Metal, is happy to have a full roster of business. He just doesn't have the roofers to complete all the work efficiently at a time when construction is booming.

After October's record month of $2.2 million in business, Dillon is looking toward $2.4 million in new jobs. The shortage of qualified roofers has caused delays, which has irritated his customers.

"I am totally frustrated," said Dillon. "We take pride on finishing our jobs in a correct and timely manner and the last thing I want to do is get some of our old steady customers angry at us because we can't seem to catch up."

Customers are calling Dillon and wondering when their jobs will get completed.

"Right now I have a crew of 240 roofers, more than I have ever had, and they are all working hard to properly finish one job and before quickly moving on to the next one. I desperately need 40 to 50 more roofers just to keep up with things."

Dillon has even gone as far to advertise for employees in newspapers along the Gulf Coast area hit by the hurricanes, hoping that some out-of-work people would want to relocate here.

The new contract jobs for D & D in Reno include: Mission Car Wash, Morrill Hall at the University of Nevada, Reno, Longs Drug on California Street, DP Partners Business Center and Creekside Apartments.

In Sparks: Wildcreek Golf Course, Teco Westinghouse (Southern Wine and Spirits) and Spice Island Distribution. The company is also working on a job at MSC Tool in Fernley and Gallagher Fish Hatchery in Elko. It takes residential and commercial roofing projects.

D & D Roofing and Sheet Metal is ranked 37th on the list of the top 100 roofing companies in America and 579 on ENR's Top 600 list of specialty contractors in the United States. It's headquartered in Sparks and has offices in Elko, Carson City, and Portola, Calif. Contact the Reno office at 685-5555.

Granite Construction Co. completed a $3.3 million contract to carry out site improvements for the Truckee-Tahoe Airport District. Work at 10356 Truckee Airport Road began August 2004.

Improvements to the site will allow access for commercial and retail merchants. The project included the addition of a new roadway, hangar site, taxi lane and drainage system. In order to complete the project, Granite added 15,000 cubic yards of cut to fill, 20,000 tons of aggregate base, 9,000 tons of asphalt and concrete, and 19,000 linear feet of underground utilities.

Its staff: project manager Jason Fenhaus, project engineers Ryan Floyd and Tim Miner, and project superintendents Bernard Smith and Dave Funk.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism signed a Spirit of Friendship agreement Tuesday with China's Liaoning Province to further develop and promote tourism with the People's Republic of China.

Tourism Director Bruce Bommarito welcomed a 12-member delegation of province tourism officials to the department's Carson City offices for the signing of the agreement. This signifies that both agencies intend to work together in a spirit of friendship to build tourism and promote cultural exchange and understanding.

The tourism department's campaign to attract the rapidly growing Chinese travel market received a Travel Industry Association of America Odyssey Award.

Bommarito and Marketing Manager JoLyn Laney accepted the award Oct. 27 for the tourism agency's marketing campaign in China, where it is the first U.S. entity licensed to market, advertise and promote tourism in that country of 1.4 billion people and the world's fastest growing economy.

Charlie Kitchen, broker of Charles Kitchen Realty in Carson City, was honored as the Nevada Realtor of the Year for 2005. Kitchen was recognized by his peers during the Nevada Association of Realtors Annual Conference at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe.

He served as the president of the association in 2005. His contributions to the real estate industry and to the association have spanned 25 years.

- Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.