Noblesville contractor plotting growth

Specialty construction firm ProClad Inc. plans to expand its Noblesville headquarters staff by nearly 20 percent this quarter as the growing business extends its reach west.

The 10-year-old firm opened a sales office in Austin, Texas, last year, and founder Brad Hitzfield hopes to add two or three more regional locations in the next five years. By then, its 28-person corporate staff should top 50, he said.

“I’m really focused on hiring new people,” Hitzfield said. “We want to be in the position where we can exceed customer expectations.”

ProClad engineers and installs mostly metal building “envelopes”—functional exterior façades designed to withstand weather. Among its local projects of note: IU Health Saxony hospital in Fishers, the Axis apartments and parking garage in downtown Indianapolis, and the orangutan center at the Indianapolis Zoo.

It also has a growing roster of out-of-state work.

Last year, the company spent $350,000 to finish an additional 3,500 square feet of space in its Noblesville building, adding 12 offices, a 40-seat training room and a coffee bar area for casual interactions.

Most of its walls were constructed using a variety of ProClad products to showcase the possibilities to vendors and others who visit the facility.

ProClad has about $40 million in work under contract, Hitzfield said, bringing in annual revenue of more than $25 million.

Each new sales office will be expected to produce revenue of $6 million to $10 million a year, he said.

“Adding territories is where the real growth is,” he said.

Hitzfield overhauled the company in 2009, resulting in 100-percent staff turnover by the end of 2010. Using a technique called process-mapping, ProClad streamlined operations to keep employees focused and accountable.

The result: a business Hitzfield says is ready to scale up.

But he doesn’t want to sacrifice the company’s culture in the process. One of his “strategic thrusts” for this year is for ProClad to be recognized among Indiana’s top employers.