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The leaders of Nationwide Exteriors Inc. focus on ensuring that all projects are executed flawlessly. Shown here are Tim Pinkevich (left), Owner and President, and Lex Semenenko, Vice President.

The team’s EIFS and custom molding craftsmanship on display at Do-Cut Sales & Service, an operation serving the outdoor power equipment needs of northeast Ohio since 1947.

For Tim Pinkevich, Owner and President of Pennsylvania-based Nationwide Exteriors Inc., standing out in the construction business is all about being reliable. In his mind, you gain a client’s trust, repeat business and referrals by always working hard, working smart, and working with integrity.

For over two decades, Pinkevich has led his company with these simple yet exceptional principles in mind, and with a consistent commitment to outstanding customer service, workmanship and building materials.

“We care, we strive for quality and we act with integrity to create good experiences for our customers,” says Pinkevich. His strong, deep voice resonates with the rich East Slavic accent of his native Belorussia, now known as Belarus, as he continues, “The client is always right, and deserves the best!”

Pinkevich, who in 1991 immigrated to the United States knowing no English, speaks with the calm, confident cadence of someone who has obviously worked hard to overcome the language barrier. Today, he is fairly fluent in the tongue of the country he now proudly calls his home—and is excited to share the expertise of the specialty contracting firm he founded in 2000.

But first, here is a deeper glimpse into the remarkable journey that led him to become an expert in working with exterior wall cladding solutions for building envelopes.

A Bold Move

Pinkevich was only 14 years old when he came to America, just before the former Soviet Union was dissolved. At the time, his family’s Christian beliefs were repugnant to the government leaders and authorities of the federal socialist state, so they moved to Chicago, Illinois, to escape religious persecution.

“Freedom for our belief was important to my parents,” Pinkevich explains. “My mother’s biggest fear was for her two boys to go to Soviet army when we turn 18. When Christians go to Soviet army, some people didn’t come back [or] came back as disabled people.”

When asked if he was anxious or upset about being uprooted from his homeland, Pinkevich responds without hesitation. “I always dreamed about coming to the U.S. because I knew it was the land of opportunities and the best country in the world,” he says. “When this opportunity came to our family, I couldn’t wait to leave!”

A Strong Work Ethic

While adjusting to his new life in America, Pinkevich found that good old-fashioned hard work helped him feel grounded and fulfilled. He often helped his father, an electrician by trade, with maintenance and janitorial duties at the family’s local church. “We came from the heritage of a hardworking family,” he says with pride. “My grandparents and my parents, they were always hardworking people, and they were always teaching us how to work.”

Pinkevich ventured straight into the workforce after graduating from high school. His church contacts helped him find a job at a nearby company specializing in EIFS (exterior insulation and finish systems) construction, where he started out in the field doing installations. A fast learner and industrious worker, he rose through the ranks and was promoted to foreman, then manager, and ultimately regional manager in charge of the firm’s office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

‘Why Don’t You Stay?’

Pinkevich dedicated five years to that company, honing not only his craftsmanship abilities but also soft skills such as problem-solving, communication, leadership and teamwork. While the work was steady and pay was good, he says he grew weary of the toxic workplace culture steeped in “office politics” and “broken promises,” and eventually decided to leave.

He had every intention to return to Chicago and find another job…that is, until he spoke to his father—the man who had watched his hardworking son over the years grow to become a knowledgeable, multitalented, highly respected building facade specialist.

“My dad asked me, ‘If you stay and go out on your own, do you feel comfortable that you’ll make money?’ ” Pinkevich recalls. “I said, ‘Of course I will.’ Then he goes like, ‘So then, why don’t you stay?’ ”

It was this encouraging attitude that gave Pinkevich the confidence he needed to stay in the Pittsburgh area and go into business for himself. His bold career move, though, was not easy—he had to start from scratch to build his operation.

“Pretty much the only equipment I had was myself!” he says, laughing. Starting out, he had something more useful and valuable than any tool or piece of equipment: solid relationships with many industry professionals and organizations, including suppliers. “Before opening up, I called a few suppliers and told them my plan, and they all said, ‘Just go ahead and we’ll support you any way we can.’ They gave me lots of support because they see me in action before.”

As his organization’s positive reputation grew, the resulting word-of-mouth referrals helped him build a steady stream of projects. Soon, he says, the clients were chasing him, instead of the other way around—affirming that he was on the right track to building successful operations in Pennsylvania—and beyond.

Building Facades Across the Nation

Today, Nationwide Exteriors, located in the northwest suburbs of Pittsburgh, specializes in installing, maintaining and repairing exterior cladding products such as stucco, brick, stone and EIFS. The skilled staff also performs exterior painting, and works on a diverse range of residential, commercial and industrial projects across the nation.

“We love to work everywhere!” Pinkevich adds.

When it first launched, Nationwide Exteriors primarily handled midsize hospitality and retail jobs. While these markets continue to be a main focus, the specialty contractor now has extensive experience in virtually every building sector—including restaurants, medical offices and hospitals, apartments and townhouse complexes, high-end residential, K-12 schools, community colleges, fire stations and other municipal buildings, storage units, and warehouses and manufacturing centers. Local, state and government facilities are also part of the company’s impressive portfolio of work.

In 2016, Pinkevich opened a sister company, Total Mould Inc., which designs and manufactures crown molding. These customizable products, he says, make Nationwide Exteriors even more versatile and expedient in meeting project needs.

When asked to list some examples of signature projects, Pinkevich hesitates at first—there are just too many to count. Then he quickly notes several “bread and butter” projects in the hospitality sector, which include work for Holiday Inn Express, Marriott, Hilton, Hampton Inn and Cobblestone Inn & Suites. Crews have also performed jobs for retailers such as Walmart, DICK’s Sporting Goods and AutoZone, and fast-food chains and restaurants like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Arby’s, BJ’s Restaurants and Buffalo Wild Wings. And the list goes on and on.

Lex Semenenko, who serves as Vice President of Nationwide Exteriors, notes that the business is proud to work with building facade product and coatings manufacturers such as Sto, Dryvit and Senergy. Also, the team has developed strong relationships with a variety of developers, general contractors and other trade partners, including Graciano Corporation, CoreStates Construction Services, Inc. (CoreStates), CJ Betters Enterprises, Inc., Penntex Ventures and BriMark Builders, LLC.

“The client is always right, and deserves the best!” Tim Pinkevich, Owner and President,
 Nationwide Exteriors Inc.

Making an Impression

At the time this article went to press, Nationwide Exteriors—as a subcontractor to CoreStates—was in the midst of working on one of its biggest contracts to date. This ongoing job for one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains is taking place at sites being remodeled as part of a multiyear effort to overhaul store operations.

“As experts in regional and national rollout programs, CoreStates is always looking for subcontractors with excellent communication, bandwidth for multiple projects and the ability to travel,” says Tom Kelley, Area Manager at Core States Group, the parent organization of CoreStates. “Tim expressed the desire for his team at Nationwide to partner on multiple concurrent projects across multiple states, and they rose to the occasion.”

Between November 2020 and February 2021, Nationwide Exteriors crews traveled to more than 100 existing drugstores to install and/or repair EIFS and provide exterior painting services. These locations spanned from California, Oregon and Washington on the West Coast, to Colorado, Ohio and Michigan in the Midwest, to Pennsylvania on the Eastern Seaboard—a great illustration of the team’s coast-to-coast foothold in the building and construction market.

Nationwide Exteriors’ capabilities and diligence on this major rebranding project has made quite an impression on CoreStates. “Nationwide’s crews were professional, delivered quality workmanship and always did what they said they would do,” Kelley says. “CoreStates Construction looks forward to working with Nationwide for many years ahead.”

Always Improving

No matter where they go or who they are working with, the dedicated employees of Nationwide Exteriors aim to deliver exceptional service. To support this effort, the leadership is focusing more heavily on establishing reliable workflows and processes.

“We’re using technology, databases and all kinds of tools to be more reliable,” says Semenenko, his charming Russian accent filled with excitement. He notes that he is spearheading this initiative in order to help the company grow so it can take on even more large-scale projects. He adds, “When it comes to getting projects, that is not a problem. Our focus is making sure that the whole project gets [completed] flawlessly, exceeding the customer’s expectations and creating painless experiences.”

Prior to joining Nationwide Exteriors last summer, Semenenko worked as a software developer for a large construction firm, and before that he was a freelance website developer. He says he appreciates being able to use his love for technology to develop systems that keep the projects at Nationwide Exteriors organized and streamlined. By keeping closer tabs on project data, he adds, the company can more easily identify and improve any weak points in its processes.

“We always try to see if there is something we can improve,” Pinkevich affirms. “Whoever pays the bill, he deserves the best. That’s pretty much our goal—to do better than what is asked for.”

According to Pinkevich, listening to clients is essential to fulfilling their project needs. When appropriate, he also takes the initiative to offer more practical design recommendations to help reduce job costs, speed construction, bolster building envelope durability, or reduce future maintenance needs.

The Friendship Connection

Semenenko moved to the U.S. about 12 years ago and has been friends with Pinkevich for years. Even their wives and children are all very close, which is gratifying to both of these family-oriented men.

Last year, when Semenenko was suddenly laid off from his previous job due to COVID-19, he reached out to Pinkevich to discuss the potential opportunity of working together. For Pinkevich, inviting his friend to join Nationwide Exteriors was one of the easiest decisions he has ever made.

“Lex is my right-hand man,” he says. “Seeing him as a person, friend, father, husband—knowing him in all these aspects, I knew that it’s going to be nothing but success to bring him into the team.”

Semenenko describes his colleague as a visionary leader, someone who is always thinking of the future and planning for the next steps forward. “One thing that I love about working with Tim is [how his] team is open-minded. He is for growth and development, and I have enjoyed finding solutions [for his business],” he says.

Pinkevich feels confident about the company’s future prospects, knowing that principles such as reliability—and a willingness to go above and beyond—truly resonate with clients.

“We never say no to whoever knocks on our door with a need for a job done,” he says. This zeal to serve others speaks volumes about the company leader—a hardworking man at heart—who says he lives life more fully because of his exceptional family values.