CLP Resources sees first signs of recovery

Frank Troppe may have been promoted at just the right time.

Troppe, newly named president of Reno-based CLP Resources, a nationwide supplier of skilled workers to the construction industry, says the company sees stirring in some markets. And the company is increasingly confident, he says, that the free-fall in construction employment is near an end.

Formerly CLP's vice president of sales, Troppe takes the reins from Noel Wheeler, who was promoted to executive vice president of operations for CLP's parent company, TrueBlue Inc. Wheeler, who had been president and chief executive officer of CLP since 1999, still will be based in Reno.

The staffing business always bears careful watching among those watching for signs of an economic upturn, say Troppe and Wheeler.

Here's why:

Still feeling the pain that accompanied layoffs of staff members when the recession built steam, employers will be slow to add permanent staff once the economy perks up.

Instead, they'll turn to staffing agencies such as CLP, which specializes in skilled workers in construction trades that include carpentry, plumbing and pipefitting.

The company, coordinated by a staff of 18 at its headquarters in South Meadows, operates 63 branches from New England to California.

"I see that contractors are being more conservative in the way that they staff," says Troppe.

In some instances, he says, construction companies are deciding that they'll hire only the smallest possible core group of workers on their own payroll and will turn to CLP to provide all the rest of their staffing even when good times return.

Strangely, the abundant numbers of unemployed construction tradespeople who apply for openings in the industry also provides an opening for CLP.

Contractors now must sort through dozens of applications from tradespeople who may be stretching the descriptions of their experience in hopes of landing a job.

"It's becoming harder for contractors to hire because there is so much noise out there," Troppe says. CLP's screening services, he says, become more valuable in this environment.

Another opening for the company, Troppe says, arises from increased government regulation of the construction industry as well as employment.

And even though the number of unemployed workers in the construction trades has risen dramatically, Wheeler says some positions high-end welders, pipefitters remain difficult to fill for construction companies that are recruiting on their own.

The key question for CLP, Troppe says, is ensuring that the company is positioned to take advantage of the economic recovery as it begins to blossom.

For the past six months, Troppe has immersed himself in the details of the federal stimulus package in an effort to figure how federal dollars will benefit the construction industry.

The company also tracks the flow of stimulus dollars to individual markets across the country in an effort to position itself for increased demand for construction workers. So far, Troppe says, the flow of stimulus dollars has been slow.

Projections of construction recovery vary widely from market to market in the United States, Troppe says. Predictions are all the more difficult because the three major sectors of the construction industry industrial buildings, office and retail buildings and homes aren't marching in lockstep.

Troppe, who joined CLP late last year, has 20 years experience in the staffing industry. He also spent five years with Miller Heiman, a Reno-based sales management consulting company, and is the author of "Branching Out," a book that details best practices of branch-based businesses.

He's a graduate of Northwestern University and earned a law degree from the Loyola University of Chicago Law School.

Tacoma-based TrueBlue Inc., which acquired CLP from private investors, provides blue-collar staffing services through brands that range from the temporary labor firm Labor Ready to PlaneTechs, which specializes in aviation maintenance personnel.

CLP has been headquartered in Reno since 1994. It was launched in the San Francisco area in 1987.