About Us
A Journey Begins
When Gus Garcia first stepped onto American soil in 1971, he carried little more than a worn backpack and a spirit full of hope.
Back in Nepal, Gus had grown up in a tiny village at the foot of the Himalayas, where the mountains taught him early about patience, hard work, and the value of building things that last.
Durham, North Carolina, was vast, humid, and brimming with opportunities, provided one knew where to seek them. Gus didn’t have much — not yet — but he had his will.
Over the next two decades, he became a man of many hats: tourist guide in the Blue Ridge Mountains, postman weaving through Durham’s streets, and delivery boy dropping off groceries to families he soon knew by name.
Every job he took was a brick laid carefully on the path toward something bigger.
Birth of Proway Works
In 1990, that something took shape. Gus started his own business, Proway Works—a roofing company built on the promise that anything worth doing was worth doing right. It wasn’t glamorous at first.
His tools were secondhand, his truck had more rust than paint, and his “office” was the small back room of a rented house.
But Gus knew roofs — and he knew people. He knew that a roof wasn’t just wood and shingles; it was a promise to a family that their memories, their milestones, and their lives would be kept safe from the storms.
Building a Reputation
Word traveled fast through Durham. Homeowners liked Gus’s meticulous work — the way he measured every cut and sealed every joint like it was his own home on the line.
They liked the way he shook their hands, looked them in the eye, and never left a job half-finished, no matter how late the sun set. They liked that Proway Works didn’t just fix leaks; they built trust.
Over the next thirty years, Proway Works grew alongside Durham itself. Gus hired crews, trained apprentices, and kept the same stubborn standards he started with.
Some of his workers were newcomers like he once was — immigrants trying to find their footing in a strange new place.
Gus welcomed them, teaching them the trade and, more importantly, teaching them pride in a job done right.
Today: A Lasting Legacy
Today, Proway Works roofs schools, churches, historic homes, and modern businesses across the Triangle. The old truck has been replaced with a fleet of sturdy vans.
The rented back room is now a bustling headquarters on the edge of downtown. But every nail hammered, every beam lifted still carries Gus’s quiet signature: care, precision, and respect.
At 75, Gus still walks job sites with the same steady stride he had at 30, clipboard in hand, stopping to point out a detail others might miss — a loose flashing here, a misaligned seam there.
Conclusion: A Life Built to Last
Durham has changed, but Gus’s values haven’t.
Every roof tells a story, and thanks to Proway Works, thousands of families sleep soundly under stories built with the steady hands of a man who crossed oceans for a dream — and then spent a lifetime making it real.
When people in Durham look up and see a clean, solid roofline, chances are they’re seeing Gus Garcia’s legacy: a life made, one shingle, one handshake, one honest day’s work at a time.
