Lee Purkey is adept at doing more than one thing at a time.

While he serves as president of Seamless Systems in Memphis, Tenn., he also owns the Purkey Farm and Ranch two hours away in Arkansas. Having been around agriculture for most of his 60-plus years, Purkey wanted another farm.

So he acquired 800 acres in Hazett, Ark., and when it came time to buy a new building for his farm and ranch, it's not surprising that he wanted a storage shed structure to serve more than one purpose.

Today, the farm boasts a 40- by 70-foot Allied Steel building that houses equipment and vehicles, serves as a workshop for the farm - and also is used to store rice, one of his major crops.

"We've always stored rice in our silos, but it's nice to be able to store it in the new building too if we need it," Purkey said. "Allied was great in providing us everything we wanted."

With this, the second farm he's owned, Purkey's current land is used for growing soybeans in addition to rice. He also raises more than 200 head of cattle on the acreage.

"My family was always around farms, and I have been my whole life," Purkey said. "I bought this place a couple years ago-it's the second farm I've actually owned."

From his home base in Memphis, Purkey visits the farm as often as he can. In 2003, he realized there was a need for a building on the property to serve a number of uses.

He looked into his options and was particularly happy with the price of the Allied Steel building he was considering. So he placed an order in late summer of that year.

In October, the building arrived from Bristol , Va. He had the foundation slab laid and about a month later, he had a local erector set the building up for him. The building was completed in November of 2003.

Initially, Purkey had tried to put up the building himself with a small crew, but then decided to hire out the job.

"We figured that was the best way to go," he said. "It all worked fine once we hired a local erector and got going."

Purkey said that there were no problems at all with local planning or zoning boards in getting the structure approved and built. He said that Allied Steel provided the architectural renderings for the space.

"That all worked out fine and we're really enjoying our building," Purkey said. "And when it came to the cost, I think we got a great deal."

Purkey admits that he doesn't get out to his farm and ranch as much as he'd like. His "day job" as president of Seamless Systems, a commercial roofing company that has provided roofs for such clients as Wal-Mart stores, Frito-Lay and the University of Tulsa, keeps him plenty busy.

"Even though I'm not out there as much as I'd like, it's good to get over to the farm whenever I can," Purkey said. "The building is working out great too."