When Robert Warko began his career in the trades 63 years ago, he never could have imagined where his path would take him.
He started as a roofer for a company, Luppold, that did institutional and commercial work, and would, over a few years, add sheet metal, plumbing, mechanical divisions, and a seven-person service department.
“They owned five different companies but they kept each company separate,” Warko said. “I would do roofing, then sheet metal. They moved me around for a while but I stayed with it. In the 70’s they made me an officer with the roofing division.”
It was toward the end of the 1980s that circumstances led the company to put it up for sale. Warko saw an opportunity.
“The company was for sale and I asked them if they were interested in selling it to me,” Warko said. “They said absolutely we would be interested in selling to you. I left that meeting thinking, ‘What the hell, I’ll do it’. At the time, I barely had two nickels to rub together. But I went to the bank, they gave me a loan and I bought the roofing company. There were also four or five people from the sheet metal company who came to work with me.
“We were a small company. We had a small fabrication shop, and we started to grow. Then, DMI, a mechanical contractor in the area, went bankrupt overnight. That left a lot of people looking for work. We brought those people on board and started a mechanical division.”
Warko built the main location at 18 Morgan Drive in Reading, which houses a 40,000-square-foot shop, in 1992, four years after buying the company. Today, The Warko Group, which has a second location in Allentown, is one of the most respected names in the construction industry, servicing commercial, industrial, institutional, medical, educational, and multi-family housing customers with its contracting services in roofing, architectural sheet metal, HVAC, ductwork, mechanical, process piping, plumbing, plant maintenance, and HVAC service.
“We always stayed in the Reading area and Berks County and some of the counties around Philadelphia,” said Warko whose company is not only a Local 19 signatory contractor but is also a union signatory for the roofing, plumbing, and pipefitters trades as well. “We’ve branched out to the Lehigh Valley. It’s changing on a daily basis.”
The Warko Group’s list of projects, both completed and ongoing, is vast and varied. One of its more recent, high-profile jobs is the Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem.
“We started out doing roofing and siding,” said Vice President Matt Mountz. “Right near the time the job was finishing up, another contractor filed for bankruptcy, and they just said get Warko to finish it. So, we finished the HVAC and sheet metal work. “
Warko is also currently involved in the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s conversion to an Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, a new clubhouse at the Jeffersonville Golf Club, and a new bus terminal in Lackawanna County.
“We are working on the (utility) buildings on the turnpike installing aluminum panels and metal roofs,” said Matt Mountz, Vice President. “Jeffersonville Golf Club is building a new clubhouse and we’re doing all the stainless and metal work. At the COLTS (County of Lackawanna Transit) transportation authority, they’re building a huge bus terminal. We’re doing a lot of siding work. We’re also doing a lot of work with Targets, and a lot of other architectural work.
“For UGI, we’ve installed all the wall panels at their new corporate headquarters. We’re also doing a lot of school jobs. At Maple Point we’re installing columns and panels; at Indian Valley, all composite wall panels; and at Parkland, all panels and siding. Some of the panels we are fabricating. Some are manufactured. Most of the cutting is done in the field. It is a variety of situations, depending on the scenario.”
Jerry Kuhns, Vice President of the Mechanical Division, added to the list of projects with several he oversees. At B. Braun Medical Inc., a major medical manufacturer located in Bethlehem, they are installing kitchen and cafeteria equipment, a job requiring expansion and architectural work. They also do a lot of work for the Lehigh Valley Health Network and are one of three HVAC contractors on the PPL bid list. Currently, they are working on bids for the Penn and the Wilson School District.
“We have a good reputation. It’s what we strive for,” Warko said. “People know us by the work we have done over the years. Every job we do, we do it right. (That philosophy) seems to work out pretty well for us.”
