Chris Tremberth has been around the building trades his entire life.  He grew up in a union tradesman household.  His father was a sheet metal worker.

As a child, he looked forward to weekends with his family in northern Michigan. Four-hour car rides ensured he had plenty of time to talk, and to listen, to his grandfather’s stories. They hunted and rode snowmobiles, and Chris remembers euchre games with his grandfather’s insulator buddies.

“You listen to grandparents in ways you won’t listen to your parents,” he says. The messages were so subtle, he had no idea he would one day end up in the same trade, loving the work the way his grandfather did.

After graduating in 1999 with an engineering degree from Michigan State University, Chris began a career in mechanical insulation. He worked for national conglomerates and small mom-and-pop companies before creating Rival Insulation in 2011.

In the beginning, Chris saved every penny and called in favors from friends and family, including a lease-free building for the first year and daily lunches at his parents’ house until he could build the company enough to take a salary. Rival turned a profit in year one and has been on an upward trajectory ever since.

Today, Chris serves as CEO of Rival Insulation, managing technical operations, providing estimates, and supervising projects. He is also responsible for forecasting and sales. He is a current participant in Leadership Macomb, a network of community leaders working together to build civic leadership, community and organizations.

A 2018 graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business entrepreneurs program, Chris lives in Harrison Township, Mich., with his wife and children. When he’s not working, you can find him outdoors, snowmobiling, hunting, boating, watching his kids’ sports teams, or hanging out with colleagues all over town at a variety of venues and events.

Contact Chris at chris@rivalinsulation.com.