Rossmoyne Inc. has seen and done it all: damaged building revamps, tenant build-outs, home remodeling and apartment construction projects. Rossmoyne President George Pondella, 54, started the Glendale contracting firm in 1975 as a way to pay the bills and start growing up following a period of too much partying during his youth. Today, the company employs 71 full-time workers and inked $13.5 million in revenues last year, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Rossmoyne has managed to succeed, even during tough economic times, by adjusting its business model to reflect the market trends, Pondella said. Key to last year’s revenue growth was the company’s installation of special siding products on single family homes, new apartments and other buildings. “It’s all siding,” Pondella said. The segment grew by about 15 percent in 2011, he said, noting a hot market for apartment construction has helped the company to drive sales after muddling through a drop-off in business that came when the economy soured. President David Frymer of Santa Monica-based Frymer Construction hired Rossmoyne to install the exterior cladding on three Santa Monica apartment projects. He said he selected the firm because he was impressed by Rossmoyne’s attention to detail. “They are professional,” Frymer said. “Often times, you get guys that aren’t really strong and into the details.” Adapting for success Pondella, who grew up in Glendale, founded Rossmoyne in 1975 after he moved back home from Newport Beach, where he lived in a beach home with three roommates. “These guys were going nowhere, and I wasn’t one to be sitting around,” Pondella said. He started direct mailing and pulling in odd jobs, and eventually focused on public works projects such as city sidewalks, curbs and gutters. He often agreed to work on a project and then later found a way to get the job done. Through the years, Pondella said, the company added numerous offerings to its construction services. During the recession in the early 1980s, Pondella said he latched onto banks and finished single-family tract homes in Simi Valley and San Dimas after the projects went back to lenders. In 1985, the contractor added on insurance restoration. While that work has decreased since the downturn, it remains a “staple” service, Pondella said. Those continuous adjustments have allowed the firm to remain steady throughout the years. “If you don’t adapt, you are not going to be successful,” Pondella said. “You got to figure out ways to continue to drive your business.” About five years ago, Pondella said about 70 percent of Rossmoyne’s business came from restoration projects through the insurance industry. The company cleaned up and rebuilt after fires, deaths, water damage and break-ins. “I had a job where lightning had stuck a roof and it melted this roof and it shrunk the roof — what a trip,” Pondella said. But when the economy took a dive several years ago, so did the insurance work. That line of business, which Rossmoyne started in the mid-1980s, now accounts for about 40 percent of the company’s business, Pondella said. Installing exterior wood, metal and special cement siding on apartments and other projects accounts for another 40 percent of the business, while tenant improvements make up the remaining 20 percent. ‘Cautious’ outlook Amid the economic downturn, insurance policy holders pocketed the funds they received instead of hiring a contractor recommended through their insurance company and fixing the damage, Pondella said. Because of that drop and declines in other segments, revenues fell about 30 percent to $12 million in 2009. To blunt that drop, Pondella said he and his team began reaching out to old contacts in the commercial building community, which fed business to the firm. Pondella also began offering insurers some consulting services for free in hopes of gaining projects down the road. Despite Rossmoyne’s growth last year, Pondella said he remains “very cautious,” because the recovery hasn’t been as robust as hoped. Given the firm’s long history and diversity of business offerings, however, Pondella said he still expects to grow 15 to 20 percent a year. Rossmoyne’s specialty siding installations likely will continue to be a major driver of business, Pondella said. Such installations have grown over the last 15 years as cities have pushed alternatives to stucco, which can often look drab. Realtor James Clegg hired Rossmoyne in late 2010 to install a type of cement siding on his Burbank home that gives the impression of wood panels. Siding manufacturer James Hardie referred the company, Clegg said, noting Rossmoyne installed the panels quickly, on budget and cleaned up at the end of each day. Particularly pleasing, Clegg said, was that Rossmoyne siding specialist Bill Kennally knew when to push back, suggesting a gray color scheme with white tint. “We were looking at a dark hunter green with a brown trim because that’s what we thought would look good,” Clegg said. “But I am glad we didn’t.”
