he’d intended to install the unique water management system before he went up to clean out leaves. But he hadn’t gotten around to it, and now here he was with a broken leg. No more risky ladders for him. He wanted to place an order right away. Brenke sings the praises of his company as he leans forward in his chair in the cozy office that’s filled with fishing and golf memorabilia. “You asked if I had 45 minutes to talk? Heck, I could talk about my company for 45 hours! I’m a salesman, you know.” He actually started with the company 42 years ago as an accountant, fresh out of the Army and commercial college. Then in 1981, he and Gary Schmidt bought the company from Gary’s father, Robert J. Schmidt. Gary Schmidt sold his share to Jim Hockert and Steve Beetch in 2003, although Schmidt’s still active as a salesman. Making it seamless In 1971, after more than two decades in business, Robert Schmidt had moved his company to its present location, the former Heil’s Grocery Store at Fifth Street and Madison Avenue in Mankato. The original brick structure has been added onto several times. Soon after Brenke and Gary Schmidt took over the business in 1981, they bought their first seamless gutter machine. Five years later they acquired the ABC Seamless Siding franchise, and Gutter Helmet was added in 1989. Today 30 percent of their business is siding, about 25 percent is windows, roofing (including 50-year-warranty steel roofs) accounts for 20 percent, while their most popular
product, Gutter Helmet, represents about 15 percent of business. Keeping them for life In one warehouse off of Fifth Street (there’s a second warehouse on Third Avenue), 900-pound rolls of steel siding coil sit on pallets. It takes about two of those to side an average house. Dale proudly points out to a visitor the slogan posted on every door: “Exceed expectations, Create customers for Life!” “We want to create customers for life,” Brenke stresses. “We want them back!” Several hundred customers typically flock to their annual open house, donating a buck for lunch, which the company then forwards to a charitable cause. They’ve been everywhere If you turn on the radio in 2013, you might hear a parody of an old Beatles’ song. Pete Matejcek, a salesman for Schmidt, is also a talented musician. The company got great feedback a couple of years back when Matejcek rewrote the old Hank Snow classic, “I’ve Been Everywhere, Man,” rhythmically fitting in the name of nearly every town and village the company has served in a 60-mile radius from Mankato. With Schmidt poised to celebrate its 64th anniversary this year, Matejcek is expected to rewrite Paul McCartney’s lyrics — “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?”
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Tony Tarjeson fashions siding at Schmidt Siding & Window.
MN Valley Business • jANUARY 2013 • 25