Born and raised in Idaho, Dirk Sorensen and his family moved to Utah nearly four years ago to pursue the perfect opportunity with Sunpro.
“I am an Idaho boy at heart, but we’ve met a lot of great people here in Cache Valley,” Dirk said. “It’s been awesome to move here and explore somewhere different. I’m a Jeep fanatic, so being able to take my Jeep down to Moab two or three times a year on different trails has been perfect for me. We just keep exploring.”
His interest in construction began from an early age.
“I graduated from high school and immediately went to work with my brother-in-law building houses,” Dirk said. “I wasn’t really sure where I was going or what I was doing in life, but I knew I liked construction.
“When we finished building that first house, there was just so much gratification and satisfaction knowing that it was livable for a family. Being part of creating that and seeing the end result just hit me, and I knew I wanted to continue on this path.”
Dirk came to Sunpro with a wealth of experience in the building materials industry. He had previously worked for Building Materials & Construction Solutions (BMC) for 24 years but was beginning to feel stalled in his career.
“I just kind of hit a ceiling at my position,” Dirk said. “I love to be challenged, and I felt like I had gotten to the point where I could do my entire job with my eyes closed. I said to myself that I had to make a change. So, I took a job in the metals industry with a friend’s family business in Idaho Falls, but after doing that for a short time I realized that that wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. I learned a lot from it, but my love was in the building materials industry.
“I put some feelers out there and got in contact with the manager of the Logan Sunpro store. It just seemed like a good opportunity for us to make a change and provide a new challenge. It’s been the perfect move for our family.”
Hired as an operations manager, Dirk soon progressed to the location manager position, specifically overseeing everything on the lumber side of the business.
“I see myself as the coach of our Logan lumber team,” Dirk said. “I love to win, and I love to build and be part of a winning team. We have a great team here in Logan. I love our employees here – especially when customers notice and are appreciative of our team. That’s my reward. That’s what I live for.”
Despite having a desire to do most things himself, Dirk quickly learned that he had to depend on others to do their jobs.
“A big part of my position is keeping our employees trained and up to speed on what they need to do,” Dirk said. “I’ve learned that if I don’t delegate, I won’t be able to do my job effectively.”
Dirk knows there are ample opportunities at Sunpro, already proven by his recent promotion. He believes his next step would be to advance to an area manager role to be involved with multiple teams.
“I am just so impressed with Sunpro’s senior leadership,” Dirk says. “I’ve learned so much, and I’ve been in this industry for a long time now. I couldn’t have drawn up or asked for better leadership than we have in the company.”
Looking to the future, Dirk believes he’s on the right path for continued success.
“We all know that things can change, so who knows what tomorrow, let alone five years down the road will bring,” Dirk said. “I’ve never really told myself that I can’t wait until retirement. I just don’t really look at it that way. I’m hopeful that I’ll have the mind, health, and strength to keep going because I’ll probably push myself as far as I can.”