Business Spotlight: C&R Metalworks LLC/Copper Manor Architectural Products LLC

All that glimmers is not gold.

For Copper Manor Architectural Products LLC, a Springfield-based supplier of building accents, what glimmers is jewelry for the home: classic copper products adorning the area's most refined dwellings.

The company, owned by Roy Cleous and Clint McAlister, markets an array of handcrafted copper products, such as outdoor light fixtures, copper mailboxes and guttering. Local builders also rely on Copper Manor for copper roofing materials, cupolas, chimney caps and downspouts.

"Roy helps me with the design phase and offers suggestions about what would look good," says Doug Pitts, owner of Doug Pitts Construction LLC, who has sourced copper chimney caps and awnings from Copper Manor. "He's one of those guys that you can call and they are going to be on time and (high) quality."

Copper Manor Architectural products is a division of C&R Metalworks LLC, which opened in 1999. The 10 employees at the welding and fabrication shop, 1342 N. Nias Ave., perform custom metalwork for a diverse group of customers in the building, chemical, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Clients include Webco, K.O. Manufacturing, Brewer Science, Kraft and a number of area home builders.

Donna Cleous, Roy's wife and marketing director for C&R Metalworks, has a background in real estate and was working in the 1990s with a builder who was developing French country homes largely in the Millwood and Waterford Estates developments. The builder was going out of the area to buy copper products for the homes.

"My husband built a couple of copper finials, and the builder said it was what he was looking for," she says.

Seeing a marketing opportunity, Cleous and McAlister formed Copper Manor Architectural Products in 2003 to help sell their products directly to builders.

"At the beginning, C&R did not do any marketing because they did not want to grow too fast," Donna Cleous says. "Through word of mouth our builder list grew to several of the notable builders and Home Builder Association members in the Springfield area, and word spread throughout southwest Missouri."

Copper Manor offers production and installation of its products throughout Missouri and Arkansas, and the company also ships copper accents to building professionals across the country. While custom orders make up the majority of its business, the supplier also fabricates popular pieces, such as copper finials, in bulk to help bring costs down for its customers.

Copper Manor does not have a showroom, opting instead to display and distribute its products online through www.coppermanor.com and a handful of building products companies in Kansas City and northwest Arkansas.

Homeowners and builders, including Ron Middleton and Roger Tiller, choose copper architectural accents to create a high-end, custom look, according to Cleous. Copper's warm, bright color adds richness to building exteriors and can take on a pretty patina over time. It's a long lasting, hard-wearing metal that is also lightweight and malleable for bending and styling into a variety of shapes.

"Copper works on a lot of different styles of homes, and we've used it on a lot of French country, federal, and arts and crafts styles," says builder Arlan Campbell, owner of Arlan Construction LLC in Stark City. "I've worked with (C&R Metalworks) since they started about 10 years ago; they use a lot of heavier-gauge copper."

Copper has a reputation for being a luxury product, and its price fluctuates with market demand.

"Our copper prices almost tripled from 1999 to 2008," Cleous says, noting, "we have seen prices go back down."

While Copper Manor lends itself to Old World architecture, C&R Metalworks also is pursuing more contemporary opportunities. The company recently fabricated decorative stainless steel tabletops for Metropolitan Grill on East Battlefield Road.

"There's a trend in decorating now that is going more modern and sleek," Donna Cleous says. "Our metalworkers also make stainless steel countertops, range hoods and backsplashes that work with that."

The slowdown of the builder market has affected business, but Cleous says diversification has helped the partners stay busy. In 2008, the combined annual revenue for C&R Metalworks and Copper Manor exceeded $1.5 million, she says.

"Our plans for C&R is to continue to diversify and focus on the industrial and commercial side of metal fabrication and to meet the demands of changing decorating trends," Cleous says.

"We want to get the word out that we not only do Old World copper but can also assist with more modern elements of the home and business."[[In-content Ad]]