In
David Hesse
Profile
Dave Hesse came to WVU thinking his career path would be an Air Force pilot. He joined AFROTC and decided to major in Aerospace Engineering. During his freshman year, he heard a presentation on Industrial Engineering and said to himself: “That’s me.” But the decision to switch to Industrial Engineering wasn’t easy. What eventually led Dave to IE was a realization that he didn’t have the math skills for AE. Also, his eye sight had dropped below the level required to be a pilot.
While at WVU, Dave was provided an internship at Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal (KRSM) in Wheeling, where is family is from. During the internship, he developed a roof maintenance and inspection program that is still a cornerstone of Kalkreuth’s maintenance program today. In fact, Dave’s work is now in the form an app which Kalkreuth uses for inspections. During his internship, Dave also wrote a 25 page analysis to justify the purchase of a PC. This was in the early 1990s.
Dave had another internship with UPS. Both UPS and Kalkreuth made Dave job offers when he graduated. Dave’s father wanted him to go with UPS since it was much more established. Dave chose Kalkreuth instead for two reasons. He felt he could make more of an impact at Kalkreuth. UPS at the time required all new employees to drive a truck for a while to learn the business. Dave couldn’t drive a stick shift vehicle, so Kalkreuth became his choice.
Dave started his career in sales and would call on companies up and down the Ohio River Valley. The company was growing rapidly and Dave had settled into his role. He had just bought his first home in Wheeling when the leadership of Kalkreuth asked him to go to Baltimore to fill a key position. Dave agreed. While this was a tough decision, it had a major impact on Dave’s career.
While in Baltimore, the company added estimation to his duties and later project management. In effect, he had taken three of the most important jobs at Kalkreuth. As a result of a corporate personnel change, Dave was named a Vice President of Kalkreuth in 1997. He was not yet 30. In this role, Dave has continued to grow Kalkreuth’s presence in the Washington DC/Baltimore region.
Dave is a huge Mountaineer sports fan. As divine providence would have it, his daughter was born on Thanksgiving evening following a football victory over Pitt. There could not be a more fitting entry into this world for a Mountaineer family. Since his daughter was born, she has never missed going to a Mountaineer football game.
Bio
David Hesse
Vice President
Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, Maryland Division
David Hesse leads the Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal Maryland Division as its Vice President. He is a WVU graduate earning his bachelors in industrial engineering. With a total of 26 years of roofing industry experience, Hesse assumed his current role in 1997 after working in both the sales and estimating departments. Hesse previously served on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Roofing Contractors Association and is currently serving on the board of the National Roofing Contractors Association. He also is active with several of its committees. Additionally, Hesse is an active member of the WVU Alumni Association, Frederick, MD Chapter.
