KROLL

Helping Your

Me Jean & Samuel Frankel
Center for Judaic Studies
congratulates
Dr. Mark Schlissel
on his appointment
as the 14th president
of the University
of Michigan.

tsA
rh

Three generations working together: Josh, Ron, Brian, Todd and Al Kroll.

Family Affair

Three generations have kept Kroll
Construction growing for over 50 years.

Michael Evers
Special to the Jewish News

Y

FRANKEL CENTER
FOR JUDAIC STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

1897260

I

HERALD WHOLESALE

PREMIER I3ATH, LIGHTING & HARDWARE

Tel 248-398-4560

1765 West Maple Road
Troy, MI 48084

IWI

HINKLEY.

LIGHTING

design • illuminate • enjoy

Hours: Monday & Thursday - 9:00 - 7:00 Tuesday - Wednesday - Friday - 9:00 - 5:30
Saturday - 9:00 - 4:00

www.heraldwholesale.com

18

February 13 • 2014

than 50 years."
That trust runs through their fam-
ily relationships and relationships with
ou know, ifs not easy canvassing clients.
and selling at the same time.
When I started out in 1961 I had Three Generations
to do both and no money for marketing
Growing up, sons Ron, Todd and Brian
either, so I winged it!"
always knew they would end up working
These are the words of Al Kroll, beloved with their father.
father, grandfather and founder of Kroll
"I remember being in seventh grade
Construction in Garden City. Al has many and having a vivid daydream of working
stories from starting the company in 1961
in the business:' Ron says. "A lifetime
until now, relating over 50 years of anec-
later, I'm still in the industry."
dotes along the way. His sons, Ron, Todd
Adds Brian, "I started coming into the
and Brian Kroll — now owners of the
office during summers while I was in
company — and grandson Josh Kroll, 25,
high school. That's when I knew I wanted
add details and laugh at some of his jokes.
to be here." He only left to get a degree
"I'm blessed," Al says, of working with
in building construction management at
his family. "It's never been a job to me; I
Michigan State before returning to work
love it!"
at the family business.
When Kroll Construction began, Al
Todd left to attend the University of
sold aluminum siding out of his car. A
Arizona, but he, too, came back. "I always
former shoes salesman, he had decided
knew I would; he says.
to try his luck in construction sales. His
Now a third generation of Kroll has
first trek was on a Saturday morning in
joined the company. Josh has been with
Lincoln Park. Al says he didn't have much
the company for about a year and a half.
with him on that Saturday but "a knack to "My dad wanted me to explore other
remember people's names and places:' he
options:' Josh says. "But this was always
says. He went to Edith DeLaney's house;
in the back of my mind."
she became his first customer. The success
His father and uncles have been
of his accomplishment felt "like lighting in watching him closely. "We had high
a bottle!" he adds.
expectations for him," Ron says, "and he
Using his ingenuity and natural charms-
exceeded those expectations in a very
ma, Al continued in sales, racking up one
short time. He absolutely carries his own
success after another. His backroom office
weight."
Is it difficult working with such family
in a typewriter store in Lincoln Park was
equipped with only a wall phone — but
scrutiny? Not for Josh. "The values here
that and his car were all he needed to grow are the values I grew up with at home," he
the business.
says. "It's not much of a challenge."
In 1970 he secured a small building in
Ron adds, "Sometimes we have to
Lincoln Park for the business, where he
mesh our egos to make it all work. It's not
stayed for 33 years, until 2003, when the
always easy, but we succeed because we
company moved to its second location,
learned from our father."
started in 1983, in Garden City.
Adds Todd, "Our challenges are also
From its earliest days, the company has
our advantages. We have five people here,
prided itself on securing its clients' trust.
ages 25-85, and we all see the business
Each member of the family seems to have
through a different perspective. That
a story about a customer who hosted a
helps us grow:'
meal, visited the house or gave a gift for a
child's birth.
Living Up To The Motto
The motto at Kroll Construction is
Kroll Construction has built its reputa-
"relationships built on trust; says Josh.
tion on respecting the customer. Al con-
"That's why we've been here for more
stantly emphasizes the importance of the