By Cass Jacoby, CRS Reporter.  

RoofersCoffeeShop® interviews California Polytechnic State University students in the Roofing Alliance competition. 

The Roofing Alliance hosted its eighth Construction Management Student Competition at this year’s International Roofing Expo (IRE). RoofersCoffeeShop was LIVE, interviewing the finalists of the student competition to learn what they are looking for in their future roofing careers.  

In this interview, Karen Edwards meets with students of California Polytechnic State University Claire Peters, Nick Reeves, Steven Zhang (team co-captain), Nathan Horst (team co-captain) and Chance Geiskinger for insight on coming to IRE for the first time and for them to tell us what the future of the roofing industry will look like.  

“This has really been my first taste of roofing,” says Claire about IRE. “Something that I'm super interested in is the ability to go out in the field and really be able to experience what I'm talking about...So seeing all the materials and getting a hands-on approach to all that has been awesome.” 

Chance echoes his gratitude for the warm welcome from the industry towards all of the students. “I thought it was really awesome how many people would give us the time of day, even though we're students, we're not contractors coming to this,” Chance shares. “It was a good experience.” 

As the upcoming generation of roofing professionals, these students have invaluable insight into what the next generation of roofers is looking for from their employers. These students talk about how they look for good company culture, diversity and opportunity to grow within their future jobs.  

“I look for the ability to grow with the company,” says Nick. He talks about how he wants to have a career where he can gain experience in different sections and become a valuable team member to a company. 

“I'm really focused on building with a purpose,” says Steven. "Being able to see economy growing and all that is something that I'm really passionate about.”  

“I like that Steven, building with purpose,” agrees Nathan. “I would also say diversity is something I do look for. Not a lot of construction companies, especially in the Bay Area, have a ton of diversity, but it brings a lot of different perspectives to a company when there is a lot more diversity in the company.” 

Watch the entire video for more insight from the students from California Polytechnic State University about the details of their project, what they want out of their roofing careers and more.   

You can watch California Polytechnic State University's presentation on demand at Roofing Alliance’s YouTube. 

Learn more about the Roofing Alliance in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory or visit www.roofingalliance.net. 

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

RoofersCoffeeShop® interviews the University of Florida students of the Roofing Alliance competition.   

The Roofing Alliance hosted its eighth Construction Management Student Competition at this year’s IRE. RoofersCoffeeShop® was on the beat, interviewing the finalists of the student competition and figuring out what they are looking for in a roofing company as they prepare to enter the industry.  

In this interview, Karen Edwards meets with the University of Florida student team, comprised of Ryan Freeman, John Zielinski, Ansley Spofford (team captain), Avery Tyndall and Robert Duckworth, for insight on the competition and what the future of the roofing industry will look like.  

“We started the process of selecting the team members in September. Then we started working on the proposal, which was 40 pages, including a full estimate site logistics.” says team captain Ansley.  “The presentation today was kind of an overview of what that was. Then that was finished by Christmas break December.” 

Team members reflected on the project presentations that happened the morning of the interview. “A lot of work went into it,” says John. “My favorite part was seeing it all come together at the end and delivering a product that we were all proud in.” 

For the students of the University of Florida , the best part of IRE in general has been “being able to see the trade show, really getting to learn a lot more about working,” says Ansley.  “It's just been a great networking event.” 

As the upcoming generation of roofing professionals, these students have invaluable insight into what the future of roofing will look like, and into what company culture is attractive to new roofers. “For the most part, we are all looking to work for commercial construction, general contractors for the most part,” says Ryan. “I think something to look for is definitely to be valued and see your work as valuable and to be treated in a manner that, what you do means something.” 

John agrees with Ryan’s described workplace, saying he wants to work in a place where his work is appreciated and where he has opportunities to grow and learn. “We can only learn so much in the classroom,” says Ryan. " So we got to learn as much as we can. So basically, I would say the opportunity to learn is what I was looking for.” 

“I want it to be somewhere where I'm not afraid to ask questions and can learn as much as possible,” adds Avery. “Also, I think the culture of the company is very important. You're going to be there all the time and I feel like that's the most important thing.” 

Ansley also agrees with her colleagues, adding that she looks for not only a place where she feels valued and can learn, but also can see her work itself as a valuable project and where she can be an asset to the company. 

Overall, these students are looking to work for companies where they are more than just a number, but a valuable part of a team in a company culture that fosters their growth and development.  

Watch the entire video for more insight from the University of Florida students on what they want out of a roofing employer, details on the competition and more.   

Learn more about the Roofing Alliance in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory or visit www.roofingalliance.net. 

By Leap.  

What is top of the mind of every roofing contractor after the tradeshow season? 

Tradeshow season has come and gone, and contractors are now looking to apply what they have learned during the slower season to their business. The Leap team was at IRE, attending sessions, presenting a few themselves and talking to hundreds of roofing contractors. Read on to learn about their takeaways from IRE.  

1 - How to hire and keep employees.  

“Technology alters your hiring pool. Drones allow you to hire successful sales professionals that have no interest in climbing a roof.” says Chief Revenue Officer of Loveland Innovations Kevin Wunder. “A roofing contractor in Texas hired a school principal as a Licensed drone pilot for their roofing company.”  

Director, Workforce Development at the Vinyl Rob Balfanz recommended connecting with trade schools and community colleges that have a Career Technical Education (CTE) program and give talks on why the industry is a good employer. He also said that other home improvement verticals may be hiring away the pool of contractors from roofing businesses, so an urgency is required. 

2 - Communicating timelines to customers.  

VP Marketing at Leap Shashi Bellamkonda’s takeaways are: 

• Keep the customers constantly informed about the supply chain delays  

• Educate the customer on the situation every business is facing with the supply chain issues  

• If you do not communicate appropriately with the customers, you run the risk of them thinking your company is delaying things and not supply chain issues   

3 - Creating good estimates and not losing money on them.  

COO Cotney Attorneys & Consultants John Kenney spoke about “Estimating the Right Way.” Estimating is a very key function that determines the profitability of the business. Top points from his talk:  

• Train your estimators well, wrong estimates can make you go out of business  

• Do not make estimating a multi-tasking function of another employee like a takeoff person  

• Create an estimating process and hand-off procedure to the project managers  

• Avoid mathematical errors and ask clarification questions  

• Be careful about bidding pricing in your contracts if the pricing is unknown. Use a resource to help you mitigate the risk of renegotiating pricing 

4 - Adding new products like windows and doors to your roofing business.  

Beacon Building Products’ Erik Zadrozny, Justin Powell, Greg Bloom lead a session for roofing contractors teaching roofing contractors to add windows and doors to their portfolios. 

Learn more about Leap in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.leaptodigital.com. 

Original article source: Leap 

By Lauren White, RCS Editor. 

Tesla solar tile systems, model-based estimating and VR headsets had these industry professionals and thought leaders oohing and aahing. 

While in New Orleans for the 2022 International Roofing Expo (IRE), members of the Roofing Technology Think Tank (RT3) gathered to learn how members are utilizing technology to advance the industry and help their companies innovate.  Discussions included Tesla solar tile systems and model-based estimating, and ended with these industry professionals experimenting with VR headsets to what the future of roofing holds. 

Tesla solar roof tiles 

Ken Kelly, CEO and owner of Kelly Roofing, shared the inside scoop of his work with the Tesla solar tile system.  While version 3 of the tiles is out now, Kelly Roofing is working directly with Tesla to create version 4.  After extensive training, Kelly’s crews are installing Tesla solar systems on residential roofs.  These systems are unique in that they’re not a solar system that’s installed over a pre-existing tile or asphalt roof, but instead they’re individual solar shingles.  Some panels are power generating, but not all, and you can’t tell the difference between the two.  Their sleek design and appearance are enough to enhance the curb appeal of anyone’s home.  

These tiles are designed to pick up any wavelength of light whether that’s moonlight, fluorescent light or sunlight. Another unique feature is that snow melts quickly off of Tesla roofs because of the amount of heat it generates, which means there’s less likelihood of ice dams.  Further, these tiles are self-cleaning.  It’s important that leaves, pollen and sea spray from coastal areas don’t cover the panels and inhibit power generation, so all it takes is a little rain to clean the roof.  

What really makes Tesla tiles different is the use of peel and stick direct to the deck underlayment.  Tesla tiles go through more rigid testing due to the electric components sitting directly on the roof deck as opposed to lifted on a stanchion.  They also have a Class A fire rating, which is the highest rating.  

While walking on any roof is dangerous, Tesla roofs are especially slippery.  Ken provided us with an insider tip, sharing that Skechers are the best shoes for contractors to wear when walking on the roof due to their gripping abilities! 

Model-based estimating 

Adam Oaks, CEO, and James Lee, business analyst, of Estimating Edge shared about their recent acquisition by Foundation Software and what it means for the advancement of technology in the industry.  Both companies have been around for 30 years and share similar company cultures, which made the integration seamless.  

Their newest program, Vector, hadn’t launched yet when they provided us with a demonstration, but contractors were already purchasing it!  This model-based estimating automates the takeoff process, allowing roofing contractors to spend more time estimating and less time measuring.  Some of the special features include adding notes to communicate directly with the team, and being able to log any activity throughout the process to keep everyone in the loop.  The diagrams and shapes provided in the program are the same ones that roofing contractors currently use, meaning there’s less of a learning curve for new users.   

Virtual reality headsets 

Prior to the meetup, John Kiesel, president of Division 7 Roofing and Imagine Technologies, sent four RT3 members Oculus VR headsets.  They also designed individual rooms for these members – RT3, RoofersCoffeeShop®, Imagine Technologies and Rackley Roofing.  These rooms demonstrated the ways virtual reality can be utilized by companies with various specialties, such as safety, service and sales and marketing.  

Members were encouraged to try the Oculus headsets and experience the VR rooms for themselves, exploring small building models, playing videos and “flying” on top of the building’s roof to check for cracks, flashings and other issues.  The room was filled with members excitedly saying “Woah!” “Look at that!” and “This is so cool!”  We discussed the value of this technology for training purposes, presentations when working remotely and inspecting the condition of the building and roof. 

These RT3 meetups provide thought leaders a platform to not only test out the latest and greatest technologies, but to also share how resources like these can be embraced in the industry and provide contractors with practical solutions. 

Learn more about RT3 in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory or visit rt3thinktank.com. 

ICP introduced a low-pressure spray polyurethane foam seal solution for low-slope commercial roofing at the 2022 International Roofing Expo.

Ensure protection from the elements during roofing job downtime with APOC® Roof Seal, a two-component low-pressure spray polyurethane foam (SPF) designed to provide quick, easy and reliable temporary seals during the install of new roofing membranes. APOC® Roof Seal was introduced during the 2022 International Roofing Expo (IRE), February 1–3, 2022. 

APOC Roof Seal delivers outstanding “night” or temporary seals for new roofing membranes to roof systems, providing exceptional protection against water intrusion or other elements until roofing jobs resume. It’s an excellent, reliable tool for professional commercial roofers to add to their arsenal, helping to ensure jobs don’t get interrupted by inclement weather during downtime.  

Additional key features include: 

• Effectively fills gaps and cracks of various shapes and sizes to reduce air leaks and thermal breaks. 

• Easily removable from most membranes, allowing for quick and easy startup following application. 

• No power required, allowing for easy transportation. 

• A portable and disposable kit. 

• Colorwise® Temperature Warning Nozzles clearly show whether the product is being applied at the correct temperature.  

ICP Building Solutions Group (ICP BSG) highlighted APOC Roof Seal, along with its full portfolio of roofing solutions for the modern professional, at booth 1627 at IRE.  

“We know that today’s roofing professionals need convenient, reliable solutions to keep jobs on track,” said Doug Caffoe, SVP of marketing, ICP. “That’s why we developed APOC Roof Seal, as a complementary product that pros can use to eliminate interruptions from inclement weather to in-progress jobs. This product and everything we offer are part of our mission to continuously bring innovative, easy-to-use products to the commercial roofing market.” 

For more information about ICP, visit www.icpgroup.com.  

About ICP  

ICP is the foremost supplier of professional products and solutions for building envelope, cementitious and sports surface needs. Comprising dozens of industry-leading brands across numerous industries and applications, ICP offers the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios to building professionals all over the globe, all backed by its exclusive Masterworks training and education program. For more information, visit www.icpgroup.com.  

By Evelyn Witterholt, RCS Reporter. 

These five students won the 2022 Roofing Alliance Student Competition at this year’s International Roofing Expo. 

The Roofing Alliance, the foundation of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) has been hosting their annual Student Competition for the past eight years. This year, RoofersCoffeeShop® editor, Karen Edwards, got to speak with the winning team from Texas A&M at the International Roofing Expo in New Orleans.  

The team was comprised of students studying construction management at their university. Team members included: Kyler Hardison, Blake Bocchino, Kyle Cahill, Canyon Martine and Alexia Palomares. For the competition, they had to submit a bid package for a new roof on the Four Points Sheraton Hotel on Bourbon Street.  

Kyler, who took on the role of project manager, says they began their project in fall of last year. “In the fall semester, we do our proposal and that portion of it. And then we pick back up in the spring with the presentation,” he said. “It's really a lot of work. We have to work around everyone's schedule, work and other extracurriculars.” 

Kyle, the project estimator, said that logistics and safety were the two most challenging aspects of the project. With the roofing project being located on busy Bourbon Street, the team had to consider the many pedestrians in the area. He also says the hurricane season was also brought into consideration. 

While they were in town for the expo, the team got to visit the hotel they did their project on. Blake Bocchino, the project superintendent, said, “It was also nice to see the hotel in function with people moving around, because I spotted a couple other safety concerns that I couldn't really catch just from Google Earth itself.” 

The team members expressed interest in working in the roofing industry and they all shared what they are looking for in a future employer. Canyon, the QA/QC director, said he wants to work for a company that cares about his mental health. Alexia, the safety director, said, “I hope to be able to fit in and somewhere I can make an impact in a way.” 

We can’t wait to see what the future brings for these students! 

Check out the Texas A&M winning presentation. 

Learn more about the Roofing Alliance in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory or visit www.roofingalliance.net. 

By Evelyn Witterholt, RCS Reporter. 

Learn from John DeRosa about how you can enhance your sales techniques and get a “closer’s mindset.” 

In Season 4, Episode 12 of Roofing Road Trips, RCS President Heidi J. Ellsworth speaks with John DeRosa, director of contractor training and business development for SRS Distribution, Inc., about his top sales strategies. 

John has been working at SRS Distribution for six years now helping their customers be more successful businesspeople. He works with contractors by helping them develop sales techniques and processes that increase the number of sales they make. Rather than calling the work he does ‘training.’ John prefers the term ‘coaching.’ 

“I did a talk at the IRE this year that was called Stop Training and Start Coaching,” John said. “I really have discovered that I think a lot of the weaknesses that we have on the sales side with our customers or the fact that we have entrepreneurial and strong business-minded managers, is that they're not coaching people.” 

John says that strengthening sales skills takes a lot more work than showing someone a PowerPoint. He’s all about coaching people by guiding them through their process and working with them to shift their mindset to that of a closer. One way he recommends getting into this mindset is by almost detaching from the close of a sale. 

“I know it seems like an oxymoron, because the outcome, the close is what we're all there for,” John says. “But really the more I focus on the customer, the more I focus on what they want, the more I focus on delivering and selling them the experience that they're saying that they wanted, the easier it's going to be for me to get that agreement.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to hear more of John’s tips and tricks on closing sales.

Learn more about SRS Distribution, Inc. by visiting their RoofersCoffeeShop® directory or visit srsdistribution.com.

Greg Morrow talks about the growth of FlashCo and how prefabricated accessories save contractor's time. 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Greg Morrow, the founder of FlashCo. You can read the interview below or watch the recorded livestream. 

Karen Edwards: Hello everybody, and welcome back to the RoofersCoffeeShop sound stage at the International Roofing Expo 2022 in New Orleans. And I am so excited to welcome Greg Morrow from FlashCo. Greg, welcome. 

Greg Morrow: Thank you, Karen. 

Karen Edwards: I just learned, I didn't know this, Greg founded the company and we were just talking about 20 years. 

Greg Morrow: Yeah, 20 years in 2000. It's easy to remember how long we've been around. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. So tell me that story. 

Greg Morrow: Yeah. So I was in the roofing business selling through another company and then they got acquired and I went to work for another company. It was in the lead business and lead's used quite a bit in roofing for tile roofs and also for built-up, which is still around. And then I went to work for another unrelated company that was selling other lead products and then that wasn't working out, so I started FlashCo in 2000. I called up my dad and I said, "Dad, what do you think about me starting my business?" And he's like, "Well, you're 35 now. You don't want to be 45 and be regretting that you didn't start your business." So, that was it for me. 

Karen Edwards: Right. Wow, congratulations. 

Greg Morrow: Yeah, thanks. 

Karen Edwards: That's a long time in business. It's good stuff. 

Greg Morrow: Started in Northern California. In Sebastopol, California, right outside Santa Rosa. 

Karen Edwards: So started with one location in Northern California, and where are you today? 

Greg Morrow: Yeah, today. So, we opened up in 2004 in Woodland, Washington, right outside Portland. We serve the Seattle area. 

Karen Edwards: Okay. 

Greg Morrow: We just announced our eighth location, which is in Fife, Washington, which is in between Seattle and Tacoma. We have other locations in South Carolina, in Texas, in Utah, in Illinois, and then down by you in Southern California in South Gate. 

Karen Edwards: So, pretty much wherever somebody is in the country, there is a FlashCo location not too far away. 

Greg Morrow: That's right. Probably one more to go in the Northeast, I hope. 

Karen Edwards: Okay. Well, good stuff. So if you do don't know, FlashCo makes prefabricated accessories for single-ply roofing applications, in any residential? You mentioned lead for some. 

Greg Morrow: We do, yes. Single-ply is not too prevalent in steep slope, but it is in low slope. We do a lot of steep slope lead roof flashings, which is how we got our start in 2000. We got into single-ply in 2008. 

Karen Edwards: Nice. Most commercial roofing contractors know that if they're in the field fabricating accessories, there are challenges that come with that, right? It's a windy day. Your membrane's flying all over the place. The cuts aren't exactly spot on. So prefabrication, you were like a pioneer, because this is becoming a thing now. Build it offsite. It's done in a controlled environment, so the quality is assured. 

Greg Morrow: Absolutely. That's absolutely right. You know, back in the day, roofers had to make all these accessories themselves and that takes a lot of time up on the roof. So we developed the single-ply prefabricated accessories, probably pretty much from the beginning. Now we do injection molded ones as well. In today's world with the challenges that we're having with labor, they really make sense. 

When I was first walking up on jobs, I remember one down in Phoenix where I walked up there and I saw a guy wrapping a T-top and I asked the foreman, I said, "Man, that's a lot of work. How long is he taking?" And he said, "Man, he takes about 45 minutes of penetration." I was looking at all these penetrations on the roof. 

Karen Edwards: How many penetrations were on that roof! 

Greg Morrow: And he's got his top guy doing it. I said, "You know, we sell those things pre-fabricated and all's you got to do is fasten it, weld the perimeter and you're in business." 

Karen Edwards: Pop it on and weld it. 

Greg Morrow: So, that's really a big thing. Saving the contractor time has been our motto from day one. Prefabricated is, like you mentioned, made in the factory, controlled environment. It just makes sense. And then the time savings. Roofer's time is very valuable and it helps them get off the job sooner. 

Karen Edwards: Exactly, and on the next one. Now I'm going to ask the question because certain materials have been really hard to get. There's shortages, there's shipping issues. How available are these? 

Greg Morrow: Yeah, that's a great question. We partner with major manufacturers, so we make warranted accessories for them as well. So we're a big buyer of all the different membranes. We deal with most major manufacturers and we sell the accessories back to them for a segment of our business, but most of our business is through roofing wholesale distribution. Our director of supply chain has a lot of sources to where he can buy membranes, so we've done very well through. We've grown 39% this last year. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. 

Greg Morrow: We've done that, I think, largely because we've had product on the floor. 

Karen Edwards: Right. 

Greg Morrow: Recently, in the past few years, we've gotten more and more are into injection molded parts. We have the universal boot, we have the sealant pocket, we have the universal corner. These are all readily available and shipping and they're actually spiking, I tend to think because we had them and others didn't. 

Karen Edwards: Right, yeah. You need the material, you've got. I'm glad you mentioned the other manufacturers, because I was thinking about how that would affect a, a warranty for a new roofing system, but you've got agreements in place. 

Greg Morrow: That's right. If it is a warranted job, then the job goes through the manufacturer. What FlashCo does is it partners with them based on trust and we sell the products back to them and then they sell it through their distribution chain out to the roofing contractor. But that doesn't preclude the roofing contractor from contacting us directly because they just want the stuff, and they want to know when they're going to get it. So they call FlashCo and they say, "When can we get it?" And we say, "Hey, we'll take care of it from here. We'll call the manufacturer. We'll handhold it through and get it to you when you need it." We typically ship our products in one to three days, standard or custom. 

Karen Edwards: That's fantastic. And contractors can order from your website? 

Greg Morrow: Yes, they can order from the website and then they can fill out request lists from our website as well. It depends on the job, if it's a discretionary job or if it's non-discretionary. 

Karen Edwards: If someone's not used them before, and maybe wants a little bit of hand-holding or a little bit of training, are you guys there for them? 

Greg Morrow: Yeah, that's a great question. Sample requests are available online, so we can ship out the sample. We'll call them, ask them what they're doing, give them tips on application. But the manufacturers mostly handle the application training, so we're not quite there yet. Maybe someday we'll be training, offering training. Nowadays, most roofers know how to do heat welding, but it was interesting back in the beginning, a lot of them did not know how. 

Karen Edwards: Right, yeah TPO, PVC, it's all becoming much more commonplace than it was when you started. 

Greg Morrow: That's absolutely true. Right. 

Karen Edwards: BUR is still all the old tried and true. 

Greg Morrow: That's right. 

Karen Edwards: It's been around for a long time, probably still will and so you've got the lead boots and drains that go with built-up roof. 

Greg Morrow: Yeah, most built-up contractors that I know of still like to use lead. Lead's a preferred metal. It expands and contracts with the membrane. You don't have to fasten it to the deck. On the residential reroofing contractor, the lead roof flashing is still very popular amongst the reroofing contractors. You have these shingle roofs that are lasting 40, 50 years. They want to put a flashing on there that's going to last. As long as a squirrel doesn't eat it then they're going to be okay. 

Karen Edwards: That's wonderful. So, your booth number is 1845. 

Greg Morrow: 1845. I knew I'd forget that. 

Karen Edwards: 1845. If you're coming to the show, you want to go by their booth, 1845, and see it, touch it, feel it. See it, get a sample, right? Have one sent to you. Try it out. If you're not able to be here at the show, you can go to FlashCo's directory on rooferscoffeeshop.com. We have recent podcasts, we have literature, information, we have how to order. Everything that you possibly need to know, links to the website, it's all right there. But, if you're here, definitely swing by. See him in person, say hi and see what's new. 

Greg Morrow: Yeah. Thank you, Karen. 

Karen Edwards: Thank you for being here and thank you all for tuning in. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you're not already and hit that little notification bell, because we're going live all day long and we want you to be there and to know about it. Until next time, we'll see you real soon. Bye bye. 

Learn more about FlashCo in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.flashco.com. 

Kate from Leap catches RCS COO Karen Edwards up on what all the new since last IRE.

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Kate Ratcliffe, marketing manager at Leap. You can read the interview below or watch the recorded livestream. 

Karen Edwards: Hello everybody, and welcome to the RoofersCoffeeShop Sound Stage at the 2022 International Roofing Expo in New Orleans. Boy, that's a mouthful. I am Karen Edwards. I'm your host for today, and I am being joined by my friend Kate from Leap. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Hi everybody! 

Karen Edwards: Welcome. So it is day two of the show, but for us it's more like day five, because Kate and I have been together since Saturday. We were on the same flight- 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yes, we were. 

Karen Edwards: ...up to the show, and then we went to National Women Roofing day on Sunday. What do you think of that? 

Kate Ratcliffe: I love it. This was my second National Women in Roofing and Leap after I started we really started taking it seriously. And as a company we brought another member on, Sarah. She is our newest member to National Women in Roofing, and it was awesome to share that experience with her. And we're going to start our own council in Baltimore. So if you guys are in the Baltimore area, stay tuned, I'm working on it. 

Karen Edwards: It's coming. 

Kate Ratcliffe: It's coming. And it was just so amazing. The keynote was phenomenal. Actually, I had bad day and I was like, "You know what? I don't have to prescribe to the rules that someone made for me." And that was the whole keynote was you can make your rules about your life, you don't have to follow these things that don't matter. 

Karen Edwards: Society or whoever says you should. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah, it was fantastic. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. I love it. Yeah, so day one of the show was yesterday. It's been a really good busy show. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. Yeah. It's actually funny. My booth is right there and I can see it and it is packed right now. So if you guys have stopped by and haven't gotten to talk to us, I do apologize, but come back, because we've got a bunch of staff. It's been busy. 

Karen Edwards: And fun swag too. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Oh yeah, lots of fun swag. We always have good swag. 

Karen Edwards: I know, you do. T-shirts, microfiber cloths. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. All that stuff. Drawstring bags, all of it. 

Karen Edwards: As someone sitting out here looking at your booth, I'm wondering what is Leap? 

Kate Ratcliffe: So Leap is a point-of-sale software. It is going to digitize your entire sales process, streamline it, help you scale. You can go from a three million dollar to $30 million company using our product. We integrate with the CRMs, most of them. And you bring your customer data in and then you can run your entire sales meeting right from the iPad. And you can get a contract, or estimate, or proposal created within about 30 seconds. You could have them sign right there. You could have them pay through the app. Also, we have financial lenders they can apply for financing. The possibilities are endless and we are constantly growing. 

Karen Edwards: And you said something to me the other day about contractors say, "Why didn't I do this sooner?" 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. Yeah. So at our booth this year actually, we have now just scrolling quotes from our clients. Because it's one thing for me to say this, but it's something to come from a roofing company and someone in your community saying, I can't believe I haven't done this before and I'm never going to go back and it's changed my life. And that's really honestly where it started was it was a roofing salesman who just wanted to make his life easier and now we're sharing that with all of you. 

Karen Edwards: You hear that story so many times in this industry about somebody that they were frustrated. They were tired of doing it this same old way. And they created a solution that has now helped hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. He had the option to not share it with the world. And he was like, "You know what? No." And he is here today. He stands on the floor. Every time we come to a show, he loves sharing his creation. 

Karen Edwards: That's fantastic. So you guys have a lot of new stuff. Tell me about that. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. So we're growing rapidly. And since last IRE since we spoke, we did a very deep integration with CompanyCam. I know everybody uses CompanyCam. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. They're very popular. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. And so really that just streamlined the whole process. You don't have to have those two platforms they live with each other now. We did a deep integration with Ingage recently. So your presentation, right in the app. We've got three or four new financial lenders coming on literally this month. February not January. So we have a lot of exciting moving parts and we have a podcast that's doing really well. We also are doing webinars that are education. They're not sales. So we want you guys to learn. So definitely join us for webinars. We've had Rooferscoffeeshop on it before! 

Karen Edwards: I talked about marketing and yeah, just truly a company that is not just trying to force the sale down your throat. They're like, "Let us help you be successful." 

Kate Ratcliffe: That's right. 

Karen Edwards: And in addition to how our solution does that, we want to bring you other speakers in education. And I think that's really cool. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. Thank you. Our slogan is empowering contractors. That's all we want to do. And it's interesting I wasn't in this community before. And I say community very purposefully. The people here are amazing and they've welcomed me with open arms. We've become friends and now what? I've known you for what? Six months? Something like that. 

Karen Edwards: It was yeah, the last National IRE. Yeah. We did lunches by region. So we had lunch together. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. That was just you and me and some salad. 

Karen Edwards: Our friends at Owens Corning were there too. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. This is an industry, definitely, as you all know if you're in it that you form lifelong friendships. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And even with other vendors, even our competitors, we are a really good industry to just have allies and friends. And I was just talking about making a dinner reservation and I'm struggling, because so many people all want to go to dinner I can't find a place that will host them. 

Karen Edwards: Big enough. That's funny. So if you are coming to the show and you want to stop by and see Leap, their booth is right there. So it's probably 300 something- 

Kate Ratcliffe: 337. 

Karen Edwards: 337. 

Kate Ratcliffe: You can't miss it. It's the one with the frog. 

Karen Edwards: It's the one with the frog. You've got it on your shirt. Yeah. Look for the frog, stop by and see Leap. If you can't be at the show, we know there were some people that couldn't make it and this is why we're doing these interviews. Visit the RoofersCoffeeShop directory that Leap has on our website, because it has all their information. It has links, videos, all that kind of stuff to help you get in touch with them and schedule a demo and try the product out. So Kate, thank you for coming by. 

Kate Ratcliffe: Of course. 

Karen Edwards: I'm excited. We still have lots going on tonight and tomorrow for the show. So we want to see you, if you can stop by say hi. We'll be broadcasting live throughout the day so subscribe to our YouTube channel, ring the bell, get notifications and we'll see you soon. Bye. 

Learn more about Leap in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.leaptodigital.com.

By Johns Manville. 

As more tradeshows and expos ramp up, Johns Manville is excited to return to some normalcy. 

This year's International Roofing Expo (IRE) in New Orleans was full of fun, education and networking.  The Johns Manville team enjoyed seeing so many people back at the show — residential and commercial contractors, builders, distributors, architects, engineers, suppliers, manufacturers and more. With more people in attendance at this year’s expo than IRE 2021 in Las Vegas, it felt more like the pre-pandemic days. 

As a Diamond Sponsor, members of the Johns Manville team attended the one-day National Women in Roofing (NWiR) conference. The event hosted seminars on marketing tips, highlighted mentoring circles, and fostered an open and honest conversation about how women can identify male allies and partner with them to impact change. 

JM's team is looking forward to getting back to in-person events with our customers and colleagues as more tradeshows, customer meetings and other events take place this year. We hope to see you at one of the many tradeshows in person in 2022. 

Learn more about Johns Manville in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.jm.com. 

Original article source: Johns Manville

About Johns Manville 

Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality products for building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing and roof insulation, as well as fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. JM serves markets that include aerospace, automotive and transportation, air handling, appliance, HVAC, pipe and equipment, filtration, waterproofing, building, flooring, interiors and wind energy. In business since 1858, the Denver-based company has annual sales over $3 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs 8,000 people and operates 46 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.