VA Outpatient Clinic Lansing

Synthetic Plastering, Inc. of Livonia, Michigan has been impressing building owners throughout Michigan and the Midwest with high quality commercial and industrial exteriors of all kinds—EIFS, stucco, stone, thin brick and more—for over 25 years.

With the building in operation and the aesthetics speaking for themselves, DiVitto notes that the quality of the EIFS material and related systems—including the Senergy Channeled Adhesive Design System with Senerflex Fine Finish; as well as Senershield-R, used to provide an effective air/water-resistive barrier, from Sika Facades—were instrumental in achieving outstanding results. Equally important, he says, was the steady support he received from Sika Facades, a long term partner, which helped his team stay on track through the highly detailed work, while benefiting from easy product workability, great technical and product support, reliable delivery, and, ultimately, beautiful results that have pleased the VA as well as the General Contractor.“It’s a good feeling to have a materials supplier that we know is always looking out for us,” says DiVitto. “We have a great trust factor with Sika Facades, and they’ve been a phenomenal partner for our business.”

Backed by Sika

However, according to DiVitto, having a trustworthy materials supplier wasn’t always the case for him and Synthetic Plastering. In fact, in his first few years in business, he found his success hampered by materials partners who were less than stellar. “Back when we first started in the 1990s we suffered through a couple of years of poor support, bad communication and unreliable delivery before finding Sika Facades, it messed us up on a number of jobs back then,” DiVitto recalls. “You need to be able to trust and rely on your partners or they can make you look bad and hurt your business and your reputation. Sika Facades is reliable, has outstanding resources to tap into, and always has our backs.”One of the most important value-adds for DiVitto is technical support. “To have access to someone’s brain I can pick who is an expert in the field, that is huge! Sika Facades’ technical service team is #1 over any other manufacturer I have ever worked with, and that helps optimize the success of every job,” he says. “My experience is that some other manufacturers barely have an assigned sales guy who is expert enough to give you technical insights, much less a whole team from our local Distributor and Sika Facades corporate who will come out to the jobsite and work with you,” he says. “On big projects it’s always valuable to tap into that product knowledge and bounce ideas back and forth to confirm the best approach on everything—like get expert insights about control joints, flashing or sealants to optimize aesthetics, or if there’s a new substrate to ensure optimum application for the long term. It helps the job go smoothly and ensures long term results for the client, as well as gives us added assurance on warranty issues. Plus, often the GC or the client will see all the added support we bring to bear and gain even more confidence in our capabilities and contribution.”

A great fit—together delivering hundreds of buildings over two decades

Over the years, DiVitto notes that the ease of application of Senergy by Sika Facades products have been a big boon to his workflow, as has the reliability and timeliness of their delivery capabilities. “The Senergy base coat makes it easier and faster for the installer to spread the mud and the guy behind him with the Senergy finish coat can float it out consistently with the aggregates and can get that nice smooth look evenly over all the walls really quickly and easily with their product,” DiVitto explains. “That helps us keep things moving and get the job done faster and makes it a lot easier to get the high quality look you want to get around the whole building.” Also helping keep them on schedule is Sika Facades timely and reliable delivery, especially important on a big job like the VA Clinic, and even more challenging during the age of COVID. “In these times, materials are harder to get sometimes and lead times can be longer, but if Sika Facades says they have it in stock and tells me what time it’s coming, I am fully confident that it will be there when they say, every time,” said DiVitto. “In the rare cases there is an issue they call me early and give me plenty of time to go to a plan B if necessary. They never leave me in the lurch—and believe me, that’s not true for every materials supplier I’ve worked with. ”DiVitto also appreciates that Sika Facades cares about continuing education for contractors. He was pleased to participate in the Wall Systems by Sika Facades Applicator Training Program, a unique opportunity to gain the latest industry knowledge and expertise as well as learn about innovative solutions and application techniques to help improve project outcomes, jobsite safety and project profitability. DiVitto was proud to achieve Master Contractor status in 2021.The bottom line, says DiVitto, is that he wishes he had started working with Sika Facades right away, but, nevertheless, he is glad to have found a partner that has been so valuable to his business success. “Senergy from Sika Facades has been there for us on just about every one of the hundreds of buildings we’ve done since 1998,” he says, “and, we plan to have them onboard with us for every building we can well into the future. They are always our first choice.”