BUSINESS LEADERS OF THE YEAR:
Brian Haire | PRC, Property Renovation & Construction
The path of the entrepreneur is rarely, if ever, that of a straight line. Instead, it looks more like the irregular track of the S&P 500 or the Dow. But with successful business owners, this seemingly erratic course consistently tracks upwards, despite setbacks and dips.
Such is the case with Brian Haire, who owns and manages Property, Renovation & Construction, LLC, (PRC, LLC), one of the largest residential and commercial roofing companies on the Space Coast. Subsidiaries of the company, which position it as a one-stop build shop, include Ability Windows & Doors – the oldest window company in the county – and another legacy firm, Smitty’s Welding and Metal Fabrication, which has been in business since 1956.
“We are now a family of companies. We install roofs, we make and install the fascia, we install the windows and doors, all with the same trusted care and workmanship people have come to expect.” With the recent addition of Smitty’s, he added, “Now we can make and install unique decorative metal work, which we also manufacture.”
With both those subsidiaries, Haire could have chosen to start anew instead of acquiring them, but he wanted to continue the legacy these companies represented and take advantage of the institutional knowledge found within them through their master welders, metal fabricators, and installers, who he hoped could serve as mentors to a new generation of much needed, skilled craftsmen.
Haire, who comes across as a focused yet compassionate and engaged leader, describes himself as a [previously] troubled teen. He spent time at a wilderness camp, he said, “only because I was too young for prison.” Afterwards, he left his home in North Carolina and moved to Defiance, OH, which he said, “perfectly matched my personally at the time.” There, however, a faith awakening transformed his life and he moved back to Wilmington, NC, where he got into the water treatment business while serving as a youth pastor, eventually settling in Myrtle Beach.
At just 25, he was the youngest Rainsoft dealer in the world, out of some 5,000 dealerships at the time. He later transitioned out of water treatment when he was introduced to the owner of Baker Roofing Co., one of the largest roofing contractors in the nation. He began working for them and after the memorable 2004 hurricane season, convinced Baker to open a branch in Florida, which he led.
When Baker decided to close the Florida office, Haire launched PRC. Fortunately, he was able to carry over many of the relationships he had forged while working for Baker. Soon, what began in a small office in Suntree scaled quickly, nearly doubling in growth every year in the first five years and employing as many as 180 employees. During this time, he launched a 501(c)3 called Random Acts of Jesus that targets a needy family or charitable organization each month for construction-related needs, such as making a house ADA-compliant or replacing windows or doors.
Haire’s latest entrepreneurial endeavor, scheduled to launch in early 2021, is the Welcome Home Design Center, a 15,000-square-foot showroom on US 1 just south of Historic Downtown Melbourne. Haire has created a place where architects, builders, and designers can bring their clients, or homeowners to see what a roof, window, door, railing, or gate options would look like at full scale. It is an immersive experience that he conceived when trying to show clients roofing samples by laying them out on their front lawns.
The Design Center also features beautifully crafted gathering spaces for meetings and events. Once he has beta-tested the showroom in Melbourne, he plans to expand the concept to other locations throughout the state.