SPRING 1998
L-R: Randy Farmer">
SPRING 1998
Byrne Metals Corporation: 20 Years of Excellence as a Berridge Licensee
L-R: Randy Farmer, Berridge Salesman; Jim Byrne, Owner and Steve Black, Chief of Operations of Byrne Metal Corp
N
ot long after Jim Byrne graduated from college in upstate New York in 1976, he set his sights on Houston, Texas because the booming economy there offered him a wide range of opportunities. The high volume of new construction in Houston attracted Byrne's attention and his first job was with a firm involved in applying decorative sheet metal panels to mansard roofing and canopies. In just two years, Jim Byrne was ready to start his own company and in 1978 he founded Byrne Sheet Metal. Most of Byrne's projects in those early years were metal shingle mansards on Pizza Huts and 7-11 convenience stores.1978 was also the year Byrne Sheet Metal became a Berridge customer. At that time, the company founded by Jack Berridge eight years earlier offered a limited range of products consisting mainly of a couple of standing seam profiles, some deep vee corrugated panels, steel and aluminum shake shingles and soffit panels.
Even though Houston's economy slowed down considerably during the early eighties, Byrne Sheet Metal's growth continued as the popularity of decorative metal panels grew. When Berridge Manufacturing Company introduced its new Model SS-14 portable roll former which could be used at the job site to form both curved and straight standing seam panels, Jim Byrne was quick to grasp the potential offered by this new product and he was one of the first to purchase one of these versatile new machines.
Today, Byrne Metals Corporation, as the main construction arm of the company is know known, is a leader in the architectural metal roofing industry in Southeast Texas. Jim Byrne, along with Steve Black, Chief of Operations, have formed a skilled team of sheet metal professionals and have invested in the latest in sheet metal fabrication equipment. The scope of their work has expanded to include massive renovation projects such as the school projects pictured in this issue, along with many other major landmark installations.
As Jim Byrne notes: "In the twenty years I've been in business, I've seen a tremendous change in the metal roofing industry: Whereas before, this product was mainly decorative, now we see massive projects covering immense roof areas!"