C. William Savitz Former Pizza Cook Heads Metal-Building Manufacturer

When the top officers of Garco Building Systems chose a new president from among their ranks three years ago, they picked a former pizza cook with no four-year college degree.

But what C. William Savitz lacked in diplomas and influence, he had, in 21 years with the company, more than made up in leadership and sagacity.

“I call him the boy genius,” says Paul Millar, vice president of administration, who is a decade older than Savitz and holds a master’s degree in accounting. “He picks things up quick and he’s a go-getter. Bill was the best person to take us to next level. He’s the kind of guy who wanted to be president.”

As the top executive, Savitz oversees 132 employees - with a $5-million payroll - who assemble the I-beams, sheeting and other metal components for more than 300 steel buildings per year. The company in 1997 will ship 13,000 tons of steel from its 700-foot factory, generating more than $20 million in sales.

“We send it out as a giant erector set,” says the red-headed Savitz, a spunky 41-year-old graduate of Shadle Park High School and Spokane Community College.

Garco “sets” have been erected across the western United States and Canada, providing viewing rooms for car dealers, production facilities for steel mills and storage stalls for hay growers.

Seattle ice skaters, grocery shoppers at Yoke’s Pac ‘n’ Save and worshippers at Valley Bible Church are among those recently sheltered by new Garco buildings.

“It doesn’t look like a steel building because Garco rounded the corners and eaves to soften the look,” said pastor Paul Winslow at Valley Bible, whose congregation of 300 moved into the building in December. “We are very pleased with what they did.”

Garco, a 39-year-old company named after founder Wayne Garceau of Spokane, was purchased late last year by Savitz and four other officers - production head John Pargman, engineer Mark Radmaker, salesman Joe Loomis and Millar. The five bought the company from retired owner Terry Middaugh of Spokane.

The company is often confused with its largest customer, Garco Construction, the general contractor that built the Spokane Arena. The construction firm was spun off nearly 20 years ago to Tim Welsh and Robert Carter.

But the building company continues to buy the bulk of its steel structures from Garco Building Systems, Savitz says. One reason is Garco’s seal of approval from the American Institute of Steel Construction Inc., a Cleveland-based group that sets standards for uniform building codes.

“A large part of our growth has been because of Garco Construction’s success,” says Savitz, who drives a ‘97 GMC Yukon and owns a condominium at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort.

Garco this summer will add another 30 employees and acquire an adjoining 14 acres of vacant property for future growth, Savitz says. That will create a 33-acre site at Garfield Road and McFarland Street, between Highway 2 and Spokane International Airport.

The expansion should be useful as Garco fulfills an exclusive contract announced in April with Placer Dome Inc., the giant Vancouver, B.C.-based mining company. Placer said it plans to buy up to $10 million a year in Garco-fabricated mining mills, repair shops and warehouses.

All of Garco’s structures are custom made, Savitz says. Welders and fabricators, who are represented by Boilermakers Union Local 242, meld slabs of steel into unique I-beams that are lighter, stronger and less expensive than standard, single-piece supports, Savitz says. Crews have built beams spanning up to 183 feet.

Savitz, who joined the firm in 1976, almost ended up in Mississippi, according to older brother, Ken Savitz, a civil engineer with Spokane School District 81.

While building a power plant in Jackson, the elder Savitz persuaded his little brother to leave his job flipping pizzas at Chico’s restaurant to become an ironworker in Mississippi. But the heavy lifting, dizzying heights and hot, sticky climate made Savitz homesick for Spokane.

“He stayed one week and hitchhiked home,” Ken Savitz says. “I think that convinced him to get on with his life.”

Savitz quickly earned a community college degree in civil engineering technology and joined Garco, where he learned all he could from Radmaker and others in the engineering and sales departments.

Now that Savitz has worked his way to the top, he continues a Garco tradition of meeting monthly with all employees to discusses the fortunes of the company. It’s a practice Savitz believes enlists support of employees and reminds him that anything is possible, even for a pizza cook.

“Coming up through the ranks,” Savitz says, “I understand the human potential.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo