Who We Are

Decades of History

Crane Renovation Group was born out of Crane Group, a private, family-owned holding and management company based out of Columbus, Ohio that began as a modest plastics manufacturing company in 1947, and continues to grow through the entrepreneurial spirit of Crane family members and trusted associates.

1929
The stock market fell. New construction came to a halt, and no one needed a new lighting fixture. The Crane family lost everything.
1930
With his sons at war, Robert Crane reinvented himself and entered the burgeoning plastics industry.
1947
Robert Crane forms his own plastics company, known as Taytec Corporation, and gave birth to what would later become Crane Plastics.
taytec-begins-selling-the-hula-hoop
1958
Taytec begins selling the hula hoop, which helped the company turn a recession year into a profitable one.
1962
Mr. Roof starts as a small, family-owned residential roofing company based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Crane Forms The Vinyl Siding Materials VIPCO
1977
Crane forms the Vinyl Improvement Products Company (VIPCO) to sell vinyl siding under its own brand.
1981
Able Roof is founded by a chimney sweep in Columbus, Ohio.
1997
Able Roof joins Crane Group family.
1998
Contractors Inc is founded in Memphis, Tennessee.
2003
Tanny Crane is named President and CEO of Crane Group.
2007
Crane Group acquires Mr. Roof, a residential roofing company based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
2007
Crane Group acquires Contractors Inc, a specialty building services company based out of Memphis, Tennessee that provides maintenance and repair work to multi-family housing, commercial, and hotel markets.
2013
Responsiv Disaster Recovery is formed as a mitigation and remediation provider for Contractors Inc.
2014
Crane Renovation Group is founded to include Able Roof, Mr. Roof, Contractors Inc, and Responsiv Disaster Recovery. Jim Ziminski joins as President.
Crane Renovation Group Reaches Over 300,000 Happy Customers
2019
Crane Renovation Group reaches over 300,000 satisfied customers.

Leadership

Meet the team of leaders guiding the next generation of Crane Renovation Group.

Jim Ziminski

President

Jim joined Crane Renovation Group as President in August, 2014 to lead the company on an aggressive growth plan.

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Chris McIntyre

Vice President, Finance

Chris McIntyre joined Crane Renovation Group in January 2012 after four years as the Director of Finance at The Crane Group Companies.

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Greg Kirby

Vice President, Human Resources

Greg Kirby joined Crane Renovation Group in January 2013, after seven years in Human Resources leadership roles with Crane Performance Siding and TimberTech, Crane Group Companies.

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Greg Kirby

Kirk Graven

Vice President, Marketing

Kirk joined Crane Renovation Group as the Director of Marketing in 2014 after seven years as Marketing/Media Manager for a regional furniture company.

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Drew Vennemeyer

Executive Vice President, Contractors Inc.

Drew joined the Crane Renovation Group in 2018 to lead Contractors Inc as the Executive Vice President.

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Ryan Huyghe

Executive Vice President, Able Roof/Mr. Roof

Ryan joined the Crane Renovation Group in 2019 as the Executive Vice President of Able Roof and Mr. Roof.

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The Latest News

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What it means to live out core values

December 19, 2019

How do people describe you? Do they say that you’re creative or kind? Maybe they describe you as honest or thoughtful? In a sense, they …

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Smart Business Magazine Columbus Names Jim Ziminski

CEO Jim Ziminski on empowering the Crane Renovation Group staff

October 23, 2019

Smart Business profiled Crane Renovation Group CEO Jim Ziminski for the October 2019 issue. The magazine features insights, advice, and strategy from entrepreneurs and senior …

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United Way Book Drive

Employees Give Back to United Way

October 4, 2019

Crane Renovation Group seeks to improve the quality of life for people in the communities in which we live and work. Our goal is to …

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Jim Ziminski, President of Crane Renovation Group

Jim ZiminskiPresident

Jim joined Crane Renovation Group as President in August, 2014 to lead the company on an aggressive growth plan. Jim has experience in rebranding and growing companies. In 2000 he joined Crane Group as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing of their siding group that was called VIPCO at the time. Jim led the rebranding of the company to Crane Performance Siding and became President in 2002. The company continued to grow and ultimately was rebranded as Exterior Portfolio by Crane.

In February of 2011, he led the successful sale of the company to Georgia Gulf Corporation (now Axiall). Jim was able to keep his entire key management team intact during this process. In fact, when the decision was made to merge Royal Siding and Exterior Portfolio’s sales and marketing teams, Jim was chosen to lead the group. He eventually also led the merger of Royal Trim and Mouldings into the group as well.

Jim has served on several boards including Crittenton Community School as Vice Chair, VSI as Chair and has been a Big Brother since 2006.

He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a B.S degree in Marketing.

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Chris McIntyreVice President, Finance

Chris McIntyre joined Crane Renovation Group in January 2012 after four years as the Director of Finance at The Crane Group Companies.

In his current role, Chris is responsible for strategic decision making and leading the company’s financial community. In addition, Chris leads the installation and integration of technology platforms generating key indicators on business performance. He also manages all internal/external financial and insurance audits throughout all of the companies as well as strategizing for future growth.

Chris is a graduate of Miami University with a BS degree in Accounting and is a certified Black Belt in Six Sigma lean enterprise activities.

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Greg Kirby

Greg KirbyVice President, Human Resources

Greg Kirby joined Crane Renovation Group in January 2013, after seven years in Human Resources leadership roles with Crane Performance Siding and TimberTech, Crane Group Companies. In his current role, Greg is responsible for providing vision, strategic decision-making, and leading the company’s Human Resources, Leadership and Development, and Safety and Risk Management programs in support of all employees representing Crane Renovation Group’s four brands: Able Roof, Mr. Roof, Contractors Incorporated and Responsiv Disaster Recovery.

Greg partners with the business unit’s executives and management to ensure an unwavering commitment to leadership development, compliance with ethical and regulatory standards, all personnel-related decisions are made in the best interest of the company, and the Human Resources department is completely aligned to serve the requirements of the business today and expected growth and expansion in the future.

Greg currently serves on the board of trustees for Ohio Wildlife Center. He also is an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and Human Resources Association of Central Ohio (HRACO).

Greg is a graduate of The Ohio State University’s Max M. Fisher College of Business with a BSBA in Human Resource Management and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) with Human Resources Certification Institute and with Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-SCP).

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Kirk GravenVice President, Marketing

Kirk joined Crane Renovation Group as the Director of Marketing in 2014 after seven years as Marketing/Media Manager for a regional furniture company. As the Director of Marketing for Crane Renovation Group, he led the re-branding of Able Roof and Mr. Roof, including the creation of the Roof Crew. He headed the progression into digital media, including a new website, media buying practices, and an expanding marketing team. His efforts culminated in Mr. Roof and Able Roof being recognized as the National Roofer of the Year in 2016.

In 2018, Kirk was promoted to the Vice President of Marketing where he will oversee the Crane Renovation Group company brands, including customer experience, consumer insights, digital marketing, creative development, social presences, reputation management, media, and communications.

Kirk serves on the PR & Marketing Committee of the Central Ohio Diabetes Association. He is a graduate of the University of Findlay with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Graphic Design.

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Drew Vennemeyer

Drew VennemeyerVice President, Contractors Inc

Drew joined the Crane Renovation Group in 2018 to lead Contractors Inc as the Executive Vice President. He has a long history in the design and construction industry working on a variety of project types and forming strong relationships with clients, contractors, designers and community leaders. Drew leads the growth and development of CI’s dynamic team of 150 professionals across twelve offices that service the Midwest, Midsouth, Southeast, and Southwest regions. He guides the company’s vision to be an industry leader providing exceptional service to all of our customers.

Before joining the Crane Renovation Group, Drew led the Ohio operation for Quandel Construction Group serving as President & COO for five years. Prior to that Drew held senior leadership roles with Pepper Construction Company and DesignGroup.

Drew graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and also earned a Masters Certificate in Facilities Planning and Management from OSU. He is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP BD+C) and also has his Healthcare Construction Certificate (HCC) from the American Society of Healthcare Engineers.

He is an active member of the board of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP).

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Ryan HuygheExecutive Vice President, Able/Mr. Roof

Ryan joined the Crane Renovation Group in 2019 as the Executive Vice President of Able Roof and Mr. Roof. He is leading Able Roof and Mr. Roof towards bold growth goals by leveraging the company’s legacy, brand, and unmatched quality of service. All the while, upholding the Crane core values and protecting Able Roof and Mr. Roof’s unique company culture.

Prior to joining the Crane Renovation Group, Ryan was an owner at Petrol, Inc. During his time at Petrol, he had the opportunity to appear alongside his business partner on an episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank Season 9”. Before that, he was the Chief Operating Officer at Controlled Products Systems Group, Inc., the leading wholesale distribution platform in the gate automation and perimeter access control market. He is an experienced leader who loves to promote ideation that supports and encourages company values.

Ryan Graduated from the University of Dayton with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting. During his time at the University of Dayton, he led the varsity football team as their captain! He later graduated from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law where he got his Juris Docter (JD) Degree.

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