The Semper Fi Story
Two Marines and a roofing truck. Semper Fi Roofing was founded in 2003 by Vito Schwartz who was joined on the roof by his best friend Brad Jungbluth. In a very serendipitous turn of events not knowing each other Brad and Vito both enlisted in the United States Marine Corps out of Milwaukee and were assigned the same MOS. Then both men married sisters and became brother in laws.
After being honorably discharged Vito formed Semper Fi Roofing, named for the Marine Corps Motto Semper Fidelis and the Marine Corps values instilled in both young Marines. In true American dream fashion Vito spent all he had on two trucks that barely ran, ladders and tools. With a pair of twin boys to feed, failure was not an option. Vito and Brad spent the next 2 years learning every possible lesson the hard way. Thank God for the Marine Corps for teaching these two young men how to “suck it up” because where they lacked skill they made up with grit and determination.
Vito carried on by himself after two years in business when Brad left to pursue a career in law enforcement. Both men remained best friends while learning very important lessons that would later combine to create an exceptional company culture.
Vito carried on roofing, becoming a technical expert and learning that contracts are only as good as the contractor. Character and reputation meant everything. When the company was founded in 2003 there were over 400 contractors in the phone book next to Semper Fi Roofing. Today only a handful remain.
Brad spent 12 years of honorable service in law enforcement where he gathered a lifetime’s worth of experience in dealing with people. But Brad’s burning desire for continuous growth coupled with a need for a creative outlet led him back to the world of professional contracting.
In 2017 Vito and Brad joined forces once again and later became partners in the business. They re-imagined what an exterior remodeling company could be and realized that company’s are just collections of people and the company with the best people has the competitive advantage. So they changed the focus of the company and set out to create a really great place for people to work and it proved to be a winning strategy.
It was Brad and Vito’s values are what kept the company alive in the early years. And those values became the company’s people filter. Soon it became a self fulfilling prophecy and good people being treated well attracted more good people. Today the company continues to corner the market on good people cut from the same quality cloth in Roofing, Siding, Windows and Doors, and Masonry.
The men and women of Semper Fi truly live to serve each other and their customers. They are the proud people of Semper Fi and you can count on them to keep you safe, warm, and dry.
