Columbus Business First - Crane Renovation Group Article

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Revolution is comingIndustry changing fast for better.PEOPLE TO KNOW IN HEALTH CARE, 18

COLUMBUS

BUSINESS FIRST

April 22, 2016Vol. 32, No. 34, $4.99

303 WestNationwide Blvd.Columbus, OH 43215

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Hamilton Local tops for

enrollment increase among public

school systems in 2014-15.

PAGE 15

Central Ohio’s largest private schools.

PAGE 14

IN THE NEWS

Luxury is backHigh-end car sales in Central Ohiolagged national pace last year, butthe trend has made a U-turn.DAN EATON, 8

After the dealUptivity’s acquisition has led to morjobs in Columbus, additional startuinvestments by founders.CARRIE GHOSE, 12

Automotive parts distributor

from New Jersey setting up

operation in developer’s

Whitehall industrial building

EVAN WEESE, 7

HAMILTON ROAD

TAGGARTLANDS PARTSSHIPPER

EVAN WEESE, PAGE 4

MEET THE NEW

CRANE GROUP You might be thinking ‘plastics,’

but the family of companies has built a newand growing identity – in roofing.

DAN TRITTSCHUH

HEADLINE GOES IN HERELY XX

DON SCOTT

OHIO STATE AIRPORT PLANS TAKING OFF 10

BIZSMARTS

TOY STORE OWNERS:BATTLING ‘A BEAST’


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4 COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIR

COVER STORY

BY EVAN WEESE

[email protected]

6142205450, @EvanWeeseBiz1st

The more than 250 employ-ees of Crane RenovationGroup gathered early thisyear at Franklin Park Con-servatory for a first everall-staff meeting, with

some traveling from as far as exas onthe company’s dime.

It likely won’t be the last get-togetherfor the new umbrella company of CraneGroup Co., known in Central Ohio for itsubiquitous Able Roofing brand, and insix other markets by Able’s sister roofingoutfit, Mr. Roof.

With yet two more companies in theCrane Renovation fold - ContractorsInc. and Responsiv Disaster Recovery -Crane Renovation President Jim Zimin-ski felt the meeting was needed to fostercohesion.

“We had them stand up, and 176 were(with the company) three years or less.Tat’s the kind of growth we’ve had andthat’s why we had the all-in,” said Zimin-

ski, who joined the company in August

2014 to lead an aggressive growth planfor the newly aligned units. “Most peo-ple didn’t even know one another. So wesaid, ‘No cell phones, unless it’s a breakor emergency. alk to people. We spenta lot of money to bring you here, spendtime together.’ ”

Of course, Crane Renovation isn’t why

the Crane family is among Columbus’most successful business empires.

But it may be how it’s recognized forgenerations to come.

Crane of a different breed

Crane Renovation’s parent, Crane Group,

traces its start to the 1920s, when fam-ily patriarch Robert S. Crane designed

imaginative light fixtures, including forthe Ohio Teater.

After the Great Depression left him jobless, Crane in 1947 launched aytecCorp., a plastics maker that later wouldbecome Crane Plastics, establishing hisfamily name in Columbus for the nextseven decades.

But under the watch of the founder’sgranddaughter, CEO anny Crane, theCrane Group has boldly shifted awayfrom its original business and into newhigh-growth industries selected by its

Crane Investment Co., similar to the waya private equity firm makes and shapesits investments.

“It’s a gradual diversification of ourportfolio, we’ve moved a little bit awayfrom just building products and justvinyl plastics to more healthy and diver-sified,” said Crane, who is ingrained inColumbus’ business community as adirector for Huntington BancsharesInc., the Columbus Partnership andthe Fisher College of Business AdvisoryBoard, among others.

It’s a strategy outlined amid the GreatRecession that’s now taking shape, withvarious businesses plucked from orsprouting up on the company tree overthe past several years.

Crane Group shed a siding company,for which Ziminski previously served asCEO, for $72 million in 2011. It then solda decking business the following year for

an undisclosed amount.Sensit echnologies, a gas leak detec-

tion business based in Valparaiso, Indi-ana, was bought in 2014.

And last year, the holding companyquietly sold off its remaining 25 percentstake in its legacy business, Crane Plas-

tics. It still operates on Columbus’ southside but under separate ownership andthe name Engineered Profiles.

he diversification strategy is notunusual for high-net worth families orprivate equity funds, said Bob annous,managing partner of the Columbus office

of law firm Porter Wright, which servesas outside counsel to Crane Group, han-dling acquisitions and investments.

o be sure, it’s bold for a family soclosely tied to plastics manufacturingfor nearly 70 years.

“hey came to the determinationamong family members. anny was thearchitect behind that. It was just reallylooking for different opportunities,”

said annous, a securities, mergers andacquisitions and corporate attorney who

also works with White Castle SystemInc.’s Ingram family of Columbus. “Itmakes sense to diversify away from onecore area of the market, it helps avoid...the up and down. In the 2008 downturn,

I’m sure as construction slowed downit would have impacted the (buildingtrades) business.”

Te evolution continues, with Craneeyeing purchases in health care and petservices in particular.

BOLD MOVES MAKE ROOFINGWith plastics company gone, familycentered on Able Roofing andnational expansion of Mr. Roof sistercompany as diversification takes off.

CRANE INVESTMENT CO.

Based: Columbus

Diversiies the holdings of Crane Group’s private shareholders, overseeing aprivate equity portfolio, real estate holdings and other investments.

COMPANY TREE

BEYOND PLASTICSThe modest plastics company started in 1947 by Roberhas grown and evolved into a portfolio of brands in divindustries across the U.S.:

CRANE MATERIALS

INTERNATIONAL

Based: Atlanta

Develops technologiesfor the constructionindustry, includingloodwalls andbarriers.

SENSIT

TECHNOLOGIES

Based: Valparaiso, Indiana

Designs gas-leakdetection instruments.

SCREEN MACH

INDUSTRIES LL

Based: Etna

Manufacturesmachinery to crscreen and stocaggregates and

FAMILY LEGACY: Chairman’s civic engagement carries on Crane tradition. PAGE 6


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APRIL 22, 2016

anny Crane notes pet boarding, forexample, is recession-proof, unlike those

Crane Renovation Group brands tied to

residential real estate.“Tose are both high-growth oppor-

tunities that are fractured, they’re maand pa,” she said. “We were looking atin-home (health) care aids - there’s alot of those. Our idea was to be able toassemble and scale ... a little bit of what

Jim is doing with Mr. Roof... really devel-

oping a concept like what Able Roof does

here in Columbus, replicating that in dif-

ferent cities.”

Unlike some investment companies,Crane Group provides more than justfinancial backing.

With only 35 employees at corporate

offi ces in the Arena District, it provides

administrative services such as informa-

tion technology, accounting and hum

resources to its four majority-owncompanies - Crane Renovation, CraMaterials International, Sensit echn

ogies and Screen Machine Industrieserving 600 employees in all.

As that pool of companies changand perhaps grows, Crane Renovatiwill provide the model to emulate.

“Right now, it’s our largest (subsiary),” Crane said. “It is probably onethe most promising in terms of overgrowth.”

Renovation as growth engine

Te plastics maker’s foray into the ro

ing business came in 1997, whenacquired Columbus-based Able, then

Roof of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 200

With strong name recognition Central Ohio, the Able name isn’t go

anywhere.

But its success will be spread to n

markets through the Mr. Roof branwhich already has been introduced in

new markets, including most recently

Raleigh, North Carolina.

As a company only doing business

Central Ohio, Able didn’t register amo

the country’s largest roofing provider

But combined with Mr. Roof, awith that brand expanding, Crane Re

ovation Group’s brands have climbto sixth largest in the roofing induswith more than $100 million in sales l

year, according to the Roofing Contr

tor trade publication.

Te combined revenue of Able a

Mr. Roof is growing at a double-diclip, anny Crane said, and accounts

more than half of Crane Group’s roug

$200 million top line.

Te Mr. Roof brand will grow apace of about one new market per ye

Ziminski said, with a focus on midscities in the Midwest and mid-Atlanti

Crane and Ziminski said key to texpansion strategy was rebrandiunder the Crane Renovation umbretouting the company’s service raththan price.

Columbus already knew the Aname.

“I asked people their impressions a

they said, ‘You’re everywhere,’ but no

ing after that,” Ziminski said. “We tacare of people, but we do a really go job of keeping that a secret.”

Te new marketing message, inclu

ing websites and advertising designed

Baltimore creative agency Planit, is re

nating with employees, too.

“All these separate companies feel l

‘Hey, there’s something more than jour own company down here in exa

or what have you,” he said. “And thawhy we had this all-in meeting. Tthing I heard most from 250 associawas, ‘Wow, I now know what we’re t

ing to do, and I didn’t realize how big

were and all the opportunities that w

available to us.”

THE RANKINGS

WHO’S ON TOP OF ROOFINGCrane Group’s Able Rooing hasbeen a mainstay in Central Ohio.But only since the parent company’sacquisition of Mr. Roof in 2005has Crane Group been among thetop national players. The top 10,according to the Rooing Contractor trade publication:

1 CentiMark Corp.

(Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania) $508 MILLION 2015

REVENUE

2 Tecta America Corp.

(Rosemont, Illinois) $397 MILLION

3 Baker Rooing Co. (Raleigh,

North Carolina)

$140 MILLION

4 North American Rooing

Services Inc. (Asheville,North Carolina)

$132 MILLION

5 Nations Roof LLC (Lithia

Springs, Georgia) $122 MILLION

6 Mr. Roof/Able Roof

(Columbus) $115 MILLION

7 Kalkreuth Rooing and Sheet

Metal (Wheeling, WestVirginia)

$95 MILLION

8 Beldon Group of Cos. (San

Antonio, Texas) $90 MILLION

9 American Dream Home

Improvement Inc. (DownersGrove, Illinois)

$82 MILLION

10 Saratoga Rooing &

Construction (Oklahoma City,Oklahoma)

$82 MILLION

RENOVATION CHIEF AT CRANE

DAN TRITTSCHUH

Tanny Crane, left,and Jim Ziminskiare leading change

at Crane Group.

ABLEROOFINGHome

renovationand rooingcompanyoperating onlyin Central Ohio

MR. ROOFSistercompany to

Able Rooing.Locationsin Ohio,Michigan,Kentucky,Tennessee andNorth Carolina

CONTRACTORSINC.Exterior

and interiorrenovation andremediationcompanyoperating in12 cities.

RESPONSIVDISASTERRECOVERY

Mitigation andrestorationcompany

CRANE RENOVATION GROUPBased: Columbus | Includes four brands:

CRANE PLASTICS CO.

Based: Columbus

The former Crane PlasticsCo. began operating

as Engineered Proiles LLC after a stake was sold in 2009.Crane Group’s remaining stake was sold off in 2015.

Crane Plastics,the company

so well-knownin Columbusfor decades,

was shed by thefamily in 2015.


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6 COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIR

Columbus Partnership members vary

widely, from executives of national

financial conglomerates to founders of

small manufacturing outfits.But in the growing, evolving coalition

of business leaders, those with a deep,

multi-generational knowledge of the

region aren’t easy to come by.“It has become more and more diverse

over the years, a reflection of how

Columbus has grown and, specifically,

as Columbus’ economy grows,” said Ste-phen Lyons, executive vice president forthe Partnership. “Our CEOs tend to be alittle more transient, coming from differ-

ent parts of the country. Only a handfulof CEOs can call Columbus their origi-

nal home.”Crane Group CEO anny Crane is

among those providing that familiarity,

carrying on the company legacy startedby her late father, Robert S. Crane Jr.

“She in particular brings a different

appreciation for the community, the

place she was born and raised,” Lyons

said. “What it offers in terms of the Part-nership - one of her roles is she serves asa mentor to up-and-coming CEOs.”

What Crane brings to the Partner-

ship also extends to the broader busi-

ness and philanthropic communities,

said Doug Kridler, CEO of the Colum-

bus Foundation.Crane and her family have maintain

a 40-year relationship with the nonpr

philanthropic adviser at the indiv

ual level and through the Crane Fam

Foundation.Millions of dollars have been given

various causes, especially the rejuven

tion of Columbus’ south side and to O

State University, the alma mater of maCrane family members.

“It’s really hard to exaggerate t

value to Columbus of such a multi-geerational success story of such high ch

acter,” Kridler said. “Tey’ve been a

to show that conscience and profit c

beautifully coexist.”Perhaps most impressive, Lyons sa

is Crane Group’s willingness to evol

from Robert S. Crane’s light fixture co

pany in the 1920s to Crane Plastics a

now to a portfolio of brands.“I think what people don’t reco

nize is... anny’s innovation to be a

to continue to evolve and transfo

and expand her company,” Lyons sa

“hey’re probably one of our gre

est home-grown startup companies

today. I would suggest that Crane Grois one of our original startup companI think it will be here for (generation

–Evan We

PHILANTHROPY, COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

Measuring the Crane effec

Loann Crane, wifeof Bob: An artist,Mrs. Crane’s ideasand involvementhelped build theColumbus Museumof Art andColumbus Collegeof Art and Designinto the institutions

they are today. Crane founded theWomen’s Fund of Central Ohio and haschampioned equal opportunity and rightsfor people from diverse walks of life.

Tanny Crane: President and CEO, CraneGroup (daughter of Loann and Robert SCrane Jr.)

Mike Crane: President, CraneGroup Cos.,managing CraneGroup’s operatinbusiness units (soof Jim, cousin ofTanny)

Tim Miller: Vice president and generalcounsel (brother-in-law of Tanny)

CRANE

DYNASTY

THRIVINGFAMILY TRE ETanny Crane heads afamily business withroots from the 1920s.

Tracing the CraneGroup’s beginningsto current familyexecutives:

COVER STORY

Robert Sellers Crane Sr. (1889-1967): After losing his lighting fixture business to theGreat Depression, started a manufacturing company in 1947 called Taytec Corp., thegenesis of Crane Plastics.

Robert S. Crane Jr. (1922-1992) and Jameson Crane: Under the tenure of RobertCrane Sr.’s sons Bob and Jim, the company became a specialist in extruding rigid vinyldifficult feat at the time, and grew into an important employer in the Columbus area.

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Columbus Business First - Crane Renovation Group Article