Sunroom builder looks on the bright side

Amateur boxer Shaun Kennedy, fighting in May on behalf of the Suffolk County Police Department, beat his opponent, who was in the ring for the NYPD.

Chief executive Kennedy hopes to defeat his competitors in another ring entirely - the industry that builds sunrooms for homes.

Five years ago, Kennedy, a 34-year-old Scotsman now living in Plainview, and his brother Brian Kennedy, 49, who still lives overseas, bought a United Kingdom company that owned Holbrook-based Four Seasons, one of the largest designers and manufacturers of sunrooms in the United States. Four Seasons was struggling, the result of poor management, Kennedy said. The brothers righted Four Seasons and then watched as the recession ate into the industry. But, Kennedy said, the recession turned out to be a good thing for the company. Many of its key U.S. competitors went out of business, and interest rates remained low.

Four Seasons, Kennedy said, is now poised for some of the largest growth in its 37-year history.

The company, with about 400 employees, plans to take on another 150 on Long Island and 150 more in other states in the next few years.

So how can a company so closely connected with the hard-hit housing industry manage this?

"Most people are not moving, but improving" their property, Kennedy said.

Sunrooms that were once the province of the wealthy are increasingly being bought by the middle class, he said. The average 140-square-foot sunroom costs about $35,000. Many qualify for government tax credits because they are energy-efficient, Kennedy said.

Competition and the struggling economy remain hurdles for Four Seasons. But Kennedy, a cruiserweight, said he rarely loses. He has a 5-2 record in the ring.