News & Press

Adam Quenneville in the News

The Republican "Best of the Best"

August 31, 2005

A local man has a roofing business that does about $5 million a year in business.

By SANDRA E. CONSTANTINE

Adam A. Quenneville has been in the roofing business since he was 8 years old and just recently got recognition on a national scale from a Dallas, Texas, roofing manufacturer.

Elk Premium Building Prod­ucts Inc. gave the local man an award for being the top seller in New England of its roofing ma­terial for April, May and June. Elk's president, Richard A. Nowak, said 700 to 1,000 roofers from around the country com­peted for the awards.

"He did an outstanding job," Nowak said. "Without a doubt he exemplifies how to really market and manage a small business."

To get the honor, the compa­ny did 167 roofing jobs in 90 days, according to Quenneville.

Quenneville won two round-trip airline tickets for anywhere in the country as his prize.

The local man said during an interview at his 160 Old Lyman St. office that he is able to offer a 30-year warranty on roofing jobs with Elk materials. The first 15 years are for 100 percent of the job and the remaining 15 years are prorated, according to Quenneville.

He said most roofers cannot offer a warrantee beyond five years. Quenneville, who has been using Elk products for the last three years, said he has fewer problems with them than with other company's products.

A 1989 graduate of South Hadley High School, Quenne­ville started helping his father, roofer Keith P. Quenneville, at the age of 8 by cleaning up job sites. By the time he was 12, Quenneville was already work­ing on the tops of roofs.

"I liked the idea of working hard and making a few bucks," Quenneville said.

By age 14 Quenneville worked summers in his father's business, Quenneville's Sons Roofing, at $3 an hour.

Ten years ago, Quenneville started his own business be­cause he wanted to expand be­yond the residential focus his father's business has.

He estimates about 25 percent of his business is commercial, about 25 percent is windows and siding, and the rest is residen­tial.

It took Quenneville about five years to have his first year of sales over $1 million. He esti­mates his business, which em­ploys 35 people, will do $5 million in sales this year.

Quenneville started his first business, a sports card shop, in 1989, running it for a couple of years while doing roofing full-time with his father. He said he prefers to work for himself rather than for someone else.

"I wouldn't trade it for $1 mil­lion a year," Quenneville said. "It's tough to put a price tag on that freedom."