For Chris Hale, working in the construction and building materials industries is a dream come true. He began at Sunpro in the spring of 2020, using his sales background to sell insulation and garage doors.
“Then, about a year ago, there was an opportunity for me to take over as the location manager in Lindon,” Chris said. “When I did that, I realized that some additional education would be beneficial. It would help me dive further into some of the management strategies to help me in my new position.”
Chris is actively pursuing his MBA in an online program with Boise State to complement his bachelor’s degree in marketing & advertising from Brigham Young University.
“I’ve always loved the idea of building and doing things with my hands,” Chris said. “I consider myself somewhat of a do-it-yourselfer. I’ve always loved it — tinkering with things to figure out how they work. I always had a hankering to get into construction and building, but I didn’t ever really think about it in college. One thing led to another and a friend invited me to interview for a pharmaceutical company. I got the job and just stayed there.
“I realized one day that I was unhappy doing that and didn’t like it anymore. I guess you could say I had a midlife crisis. I really wanted to evaluate what makes me happy, and I remembered that I wanted to be in construction. I wanted to do things with my hands to be part of building something from nothing. I wanted that.”
A career shift has brought Chris plenty of happiness in life. However, there are still plenty of challenges at his new position, including with the bidding process.
“Some of our bidding was done six months to a year in advance,” Chris said. “We had no indication that some of the recent price increases and supply challenges were coming. All of a sudden, we’re contracted to do work, but we can’t get material and it’s costing us much more than we initially thought. Something we’ve worked on is how we go about being a good partner in these challenging times. In conjunction with the salesmen and everyone involved, we’ve been able come to an agreement with concessions on both sides.”
Making necessary adjustments on the fly is just part of the job. Figuring out solutions is one thing that Chris loves to do and helps him stay invested in the company.
“I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the problem, coming up with the solution, and watching it being implemented,” Chris said. “I don’t dread coming to work at all working with the people that I do. I couldn’t say that before joining Sunpro.”
At Sunpro, we value people. As one of the company’s core values, Chris has seen firsthand the importance placed on making sure employees are satisfied.
“The first time I interviewed, I met with Greg Templeman (current Sunpro president),” Chris said. “I realized then that Sunpro was a special place. I have 15 years of work experience at a myriad of different companies, and never once have I been around a group of people that cares about everybody that they work with. The coworkers care about the culture here as much as anyone.
“It’s not just senior leadership that has that mentality. Everybody that I run into really is interested in making sure that the people they work with and those around them find success and are happy working together. We make sure that people feel valued. It’s seen every day. It’s really one of the biggest reasons that I love working here.”
