Volko Supply Company is the place where you’re mostly likely to find what you won’t find in most other building supply outlets.
That’s the sort of refrain co-owner Ron Volpe said he most often hears from his customers: “If anyone’s going to have it, it has to be you.”
A walk through the large warehouse behind the storefront at 205 Herricks Road provides evidence in the form of orderly stacks of old Spanish tiles, cedar shingles and aluminum siding, valuable remnants that testify to Volko’s 56 years at its present location. They also have custom wooden window frames, slate roof tiles and copper gutters.
“We keep every possible kind of discontinued materials that nobody else carries,” Volpe said. “Sitting here is what you can’t find anywhere else.”
The older products, common at their peak of popularity, are much more expensive today than their more contemporary alternatives. Aluminum siding sells for $3 a square foot at Volko versus 80 cents per square foot for vinyl.
The store was first opened in Floral Park by Vicktor, Ron’s father, who Volpe started working with in 1972 before eventually taking it over four years later. He learned the business from the outside in, driving trucks and operating fork lifts in that warehouse.
Often, Volpe said, he hears his father’s mocking voice in his head.
“I hear him laughing at me constantly,” he said.
Volpe, 61, is now working with another Vicktor, his 30-year-old son, who earned a degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and had embarked on a career in real estate. Vicktor was working as an executive for First Boston in Europe when his father called and asked him to come home and help run the business three years ago.
“It’s nice to be back in a small-business environment,” the younger Volpe said, recalling younger days when he was just running around the store rather than helping to run it.
He said he knew he was destined to play a role in the business that had sustained some of the best opportunities of his life, including attending Chaminade High School.
“How could I turn my back on it?,” he asked, saying he feels a strong sense of pride about the family’s business legacy.
“I always knew I’d be back here. I just got here faster than I thought I would,” he said, smiling.
The father and son formed a bond in this family business that brought their relationship to another level.
The Volpes already shared a bond as rifle marksmen, shooting together in high-powered competitive rifle contests.
In his free time, Vicktor also races competitively in modified Miatas on circuits such as Watkins Glen and also test drives cars for racing teams.
“I think we’ve learned a lot about each other,” the elder Volpe said.
They’ve also become better acquainted with what has been a difficulty stretch in a business where the average sale they make to a homeowner is $100 lately.
“But we’ve managed to hold on,” Ron Volpe said. “We didn’t suffer from the Home Depot and Lowe’s invasion. Once people realized the difference in quality we were able to work around them.”
That’s because it’s a long-standing business that draws on generations of customers, and because it has used its Web site (www.Volko.com) – and its reputation – to land some big clients in recent years, like the Ritz-Carlton in Hawaii.
Volko has seen an “uptick” on commercial products, according to the younger Volpe.
“After the winter season, it’s mostly repairs and materials,” he said, adding that people aren’t expecting advice, but they get it. “They’re looking for the best way to get things done. They’re not willing to close their eyes and let a contractor go ahead.”
The building supply business itself, he said, has shifted from being contractor-oriented to homeowner-oriented. Either way its management remains home-grown, with a third generation to maintain the franchise.
Reiner Scherzinger, although not a family member, is considered one by the Volpes after his 22 years in the business. He started working there as a summer helper during high school, gathering nails that had mostly galvanized together in the intense heat of a warehouse blaze at the site. After college, it was still a good fit for the Mineola High School alumnus.
“I guess it’s just a home location. I guess I’m just a fixture,” Scherzinger said. “I guess it’s a comfort zone. Everybody’s family. Everybody has respect for everyone else.”
Ron Volpe and Scherzinger have been fishing buddies for years, and Volpe is currently teaching Scherzinger’s son about deep-sea fishing. They couldn’t say how many fish they’ve caught together over the years.
But Volpe offered a conservative estimate of 71,500 as the number of roofs the company has helped surface or resurface over the years. Volko draws its business primarily from Queens to Huntington. Ron’s cousin John runs the Volko business in Port Jefferson.
Volko has a solid base of customers cultivated over time.
As Ron Volpe recalled customers saying, “My father did business with you. My grandfather did business with you.”
He understands the dynamics of maintaining that business.
“I like helping the folks that come and go. It’s never the same,” Volpe said. “You don’t keep a business without understanding it’s a two-way door.”
