Firm seeks to raise the roof

Sutter Roofing will end the first quarter on a high note not seen in several years.

The heights stem from an industrial warehouse expansion project with Publix, the Lakeland-based grocery chain. Sutter Roofing, with a headquarters in Sarasota, installed a 600,000-square-foot roof on the complex, a dry warehouse filled with what the chain calls “low velocity” items, like shampoo. The roof is a $2.5 million project for Sutter Roofing, which had $30.2 million in 2011 revenues.

“It's very significant,” says Sutter Roofing President Doug Sutter. “There just aren't any jobs this size going on in the state.”

Indeed, the roof is equal to the size of about 13 football fields. It has taken 100 truckloads of materials, says Sutter, and crews of 12-20 people, all Sutter Roofing employees, have worked on the project five days a week since December. The project is ahead of schedule, adds Sutter, and should be mostly completed by the end of March.

The roof, moreover, isn't just large, it's high-tech. It utilizes the Sarnafil roofing system, a low-energy emitting roof designed to last longer than traditional roofs and withstand more natural elements, from birds to hail.

Sutter Roofing, says Sutter, has withstood the recession because of jobs like this one. The relationship with Publix goes back to 1998, when the grocer chose the firm as one of four roofers it will work with in the state. Says Sutter: “It's a great way to start the year.”