Jesus Manriquez grabs another piece of metal to spot weld at the Rooftop Metal Products factory in Lodi on Tuesday. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

Roof Top Metal company relocates to Lodi, bringing new jobs

Inside a nondescript blue building in the industrial section of East Pine Street, workers at Roof Top Metal Products fashion several hundred tons of galvanized steel into vents, gutters, flashings and other roofing products each day.

In the move to Lodi from the Bay Area city of Pittsburg in April, the company brought 30 existing employees and added 20 new manufacturing jobs to the city's employment pool.

For city officials attempting to build the local economy while adjusting electricity rates — a selling point in attracting commerce — such moves can mean a lot, as evidenced by the mention Roof Top Metals Products' relocation received in the State of the City address last week.

"Any job we keep in Lodi or bring to Lodi is a huge economic benefit," Councilman Larry Hansen said Tuesday. "Employees will earn a salary, spend money here and some could move here."

Roof Top Metal Products, founded in 1990, left behind a 15,000 square-foot manufacturing building for a 132,000 square-foot plant and warehousing complex, said operations manager Chris Tatasciore.

Two years ago, the company began a search for a plant that would put it closer to Highway 99, which serves as its main shipping artery from Visalia north, Tatasciore said.

After increasing its manufacturing plant tenfold with the move to Lodi, Roof Top Metal Products is still looking toward further growth, Tatasciore said.

"The sky's the limit," Tatasciore said. "We're definitely in a growth mode. The company's always been in a growth mode and will continue to do so."

New jobs in a community can greatly expand the amount of money that flows into its economy, said Pat Patrick, president and CEO of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

"Thousands of dollars become millions in that respect," Patrick said.

Growth is good for employment as well, Patrick said.

Jorge Bermudes pushes two pieces of sheet metal through a machine that will cut it into many strips at the Rooftop Metal Products factory in Lodi on Tuesday. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

"Eighty percent of the job growth in any community comes from existing businesses," he said. "So that's really one of the things we need to foster in Lodi. We need to make sure that the business climate is good for growth and expansion."

In the past, the city has touted its electric utility's low rates to help attract businesses. But even as the city council decides tonight whether to increase rates charged to businesses, some companies considering relocation choose Lodi simply because of the high cost of doing business elsewhere, said Janet Hamilton, Lodi's management analyst.

Meat processor Miller Packing and design and printing firm Golden Graphics moved to Lodi from the Bay Area within the past five years. Additionally, Kubota Tractor moved from Stockton to Lodi in recent years.

Still, Hansen said, the effect rising rates could have on local employment is something council members should study further.

"The city is really having to come to grips with how our electric rates translate to job retention," he said. "The question that begs an answer is should we pay a little higher residential rate to keep jobs in Lodi?"

Contact reporter Jake Armstrong at jakea@lodinews.com.