Latest / RoofersCoffeeShop / The Future of Roofing Productivity
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- Karen Edwards: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on-the-road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations, and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. So fasten your seat belts and join us as we embark on this exciting roofing road trip. Hello and welcome to Roofing Road Trips from Roofers Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth, and we are live at the Building Envelope. Center in outside of Dallas, Texas. And guess what? It's Suprema. Check it out. We are here. It is a beautiful building and we are talking to the people who make it happen. The people who make it happen at Suprema every single day for the contractors, the architects, for everyone out there. And so I am so honored today to have my friend Greg Williams here to talk to me about The labor shortage and what's going on with labor efficiency and all the great things the Supreme is doing. So welcome. Thank you, Hadi. It's I'm happy to be here. Welcome to our facility, by the way. I t it's beautiful. It is absolutely beautiful. we have already been out, we've been looking around, we're gonna be doing here f tomorrow for some trainings. It is just so cool. So, but we really wanted I you know, this is a top topic that we hear everywhere about what's go going on with the labor shortage. Before we really dive into it, I would love it if you would introduce yourself and tell us what you do with Suprema. Okay. Well, thanks for the introduction. I'm Greg Williams with Suprema and I'm the National Sales Manager for Commercial Roofing. I handle SBS and APP and our PvPC lines. So that includes performance roof systems. So you see a lot because you have the whole US, you have a a beautiful history within the industry. you know what, I'd like to just get pick your brain a little bit on what you're seeing around the country with what's going on with the labor shortage and how that's affecting contractors and the industry as a whole. Well, in many cases the labor shortage is it can be deceiving. Yeah. Because there are people out there that want to work. Right. Yes. But we've got such a tr a tremendous opportunity right now with data centers across the US. If everybody's talking about right, either building or shutting them down. Which way? But they take a tremendous amount of labor. It's not like you're throwing, six or seven crews up on a roof to do a data center. You're throwing sixty, seventy, eighty people up on a roof to do a data center. So it ties up the labor. the the labor force gets stretched then is what happens. Yeah. But there are there there's plenty of people out there that want to work. There are. And you know, it's it's interesting as we automate, as the industry continues to improve with the products, with the machinery, there is not a problem for people finding jobs. Agreed. And I I don't I don't think the labor s labor force should be intimidated by the new technology and new equipment. Right. It's to help them be more efficient. It's to help them put down a better quality roof and to install product properly. I mean at the end of the day we're all in the business to make a roof and a building watertight. Right. And any anything that we can present to them that helps them do that is is is a benefit. Really anything that we can do to make that job easier for the laborers to put on a very high quality roof and safer. Absolutely. Safety. Safety is priority. Safety is number one, one hundred percent. So okay, as you're kind of looking at this, where are some of the area because really it all comes down to productivity, right? You don't need as many people if there's already a shortage. You don't need as many people if you're being highly productive. Correct. What are you seeing out there of some common mistakes or common problems with efficiencies on the roof and how can contractors kind of be aware of that? number one is product availability. Scheduling the jobs. Contractors have to always be aware of product availability because it can change on a dime. Yeah. It can change on a dime. we're we're all very aware of what's going on in political landscape. We hear it all the time, right? Social media, we're we're very up to date with it. it it affects that business. Yeah. And so if contractors aren't don't pay close attention to how they phase their jobs, when they order product, are they listening? Mm-hmm when when you're you're told you have a six or eight week lead time. Yeah. Are you paying at are you adhering to that? Are you are you falling back in your old ways and say, Hey, I need it on Friday. Right. Yeah, so there's there's that. So You may have a problem but we want you to f fix it. And just product availability is is is probably the biggest thing that that that can Slow a project down. Well it's interesting too, 'cause when you really think about it, it's not just roofing or construction that is looking for quality people and constantly hiring. It's also trucking. Yes. It's also manufacturing. And so it's across the board. which can cause delays. Well that was the second point I was gonna make. You know, product availability, now it's logistics. Right. It's it's getting the the the drivers in the tr in the seats, in the trucks to deliver the product is is challenging. Yeah. and then again These large projects across the US, they take more drivers, they take more trucks. So what it does is it it makes it harder to get drivers for the smaller projects and so forth. And it's it's it's a vicious cycle, basically. It's kinda i isn't that interesting. That's a great correlation between the data centers taking so much labor and so many people that the smaller jobs are having problems. The same thing with the trucking. Same thing with with logistics that keep going on. And as as you're kind of looking at this, is It seems like and this is really where Suprema's been a leader is looking at the products and how efficient those products are on the roof. Absolutely. I I feel like we're an innovator when it comes to products on the roof that benefit both the contractor and the owner. our our STPE products, our co our Coply EF. You know, that allows to put down a membrane on a on a on a concrete deck, you know, much sooner than you would do in a traditional vapor barrier. Our self-adhered membranes, whether whether requiring primer or not. Yeah, that's a big step, having to put primer down. So if you a self-adhered membrane that doesn't require primer, it it speeds up the process a lot. And really that innovation, I I I want to talk a little bit, I want to kind of dig into what you just said about the steps. Because you're right. When you think about if you have to put a primer, that means ask all the way across the roof or to sections. It has to dry or it has to do whatever it's gonna do before you can apply the product. Whereas if you don't have a primer and it's still you get the same quality, the same performance, look at all the time. Exactly. And it's not just about it's about all the other stuff that goes up on a roof. Now you've got roller covers, now you have sticks, now you have buckets of primer and so forth. So you've got all this other stuff that goes up on a roof that just is in the way. Yeah. So you know, the more efficient, the more fluid the install can go, the better. Yeah. As you were talking to contractors about simplifying Installation and improving it. What are some of the things you're talking to them about and w and staying on that theme of innovation as you're looking at that, it's you have a great contractor base who is constantly giving you feedback. Yes, yeah. So it's it's about being solution based and making sure that the contractor is aware of their of their project and and what their their opportunities are at the moment. Yeah. 'Cause it it's They're all every project is different. There's not one there's not two projects that go the same. They all have their different their different roads that they go down, basically. and you also they also have to be aware of the crews. Right. Who do they who do they have on that side? Who is capable? Right. You know? you know, you've got your traditional roofing crews that are are still wanting to mop h hot asphalt. they might not do so well putting down a single a single pine membrane. So they've got they've got to be aware of their the labor they have available. Right. Right. And a lot of times that will dictate the products that they use and the type of jobs that they that they that they that they bid on. Yeah. And it's interesting when you're talking about the crews because that's where I think training and you have a world class training center out here. that's where training is so important. because sometimes we do need to teach old dogs new tricks. Yeah. I've heard that more than once in my career. But yeah, training is a huge part and it it can be in the field training and it can be training at any of our facilities. And w you can also do training at the contractor facility too. Right. But training is huge and there you can never get enough training, enough refreshers, you know, I mean that's that's huge. Yeah. Yeah. so let's talk about the things that help and we we kinda touched on this, but helps our professionals up on the roof as they're installing. But that is really the equipment and some of the technology that is happening right now. And of course, if anyone out there has not heard of the Mini Macadin, you're kind of living under a rock, probably. Probably. talk to us about the d and and this isn't anything new. We've been doing this now for very long time. Very Let's talk about Yeah, the Mini Macadin is something we're very proud of. It was voted most innovative product of the year last year at IRE. It was displayed, and everybody got to see it. Yeah. And it's it's a product that excuse me, it's a a piece of equipment that is will work today and it'll be great in the future as well. Yeah. it not only speeds up production on a roof, but it also maintains the integrity of the installation. It creates a very uniform inst installed product that's to the specifications and it takes all basically all the the human element out of it. Wow. It's And you and we've been seeing that. I mean, we're right here in Dallas. I know one of your Suprema contractors K Post, we're gonna talking with them tomorrow. Yep. they I think have a couple mini Macadins. They have more than a couple and they've been they've been they've been there from the beginning with us on mini Macadins. you know, right now our our mini Macadin fleet is completely leased out. If you know, we don't have a piece of equipment available right now. That's that's how engaged we are in the industry and how how much how much the contractors have recognized what an asset it can be. Yeah. you know, it's it can be a little intimidating at first to a crew. Mm-hmm. You know, does it mean I'm gonna I'm gonna lose my job? Does it mean there's not gonna be anything else for me to do? But what it does is it frees up labor on the roof to do other tasks. and so not only is it speeding up the process of putting the membrane down but speeding up the process of completing the whole project. Yeah. Because you can re you can y utilize that labor in other places. Right. 'Cause there's always there's always work that's going on on the roof to try to finalize and finish. And it it helps it go through. I think, you know, as the contractors out there are listening to this, really one of the things too is to be looking for wh whenever there's a gap. a labor shortage. You know technology's gonna come in and try to fill that gr gap. It's just how our country works, it's how we've always been. so looking at equipment like some of the heat welding robotics that are going on out there, you all have been working a lot with that too. Talk to me about that. We we now we now are providing material for sale through through through Suprema. It's we've got hot air welders. We also have the traditional gas welders. but the robot welder has been around for a a while. Yeah. thank you single plywell for introducing that to us. And we now we've introduced it into the Modbit world. it's a little bit more mobile, a little bit more agile than a mini Macadin. Okay. but it's it's definitely been a been a game changer on the roof, but we we now supply those through our our equipment and services department. And you've actually seen where crews have become so much more efficient between the product and between the equipment, that they've been able to grow their business. absolutely. I mean that's you know it it takes a long time for a legacy contractor to have you know to get where they're at today. You know th some of these contracting firms have been built generational, you know, ten, twenty, thirty years, right? Yeah. The technology now allows a new contractor to h hit that trajectory a lot faster. You know, they can utilize and they're they're more tech savvy, they're more open to it. Yep. they're they're hiring younger folks that the that they they grasp the technology a lot faster. So it allows the trajectory of the firm to to ramp up a lot faster than the traditional roofing. I think there's almost an expectation of this next generation that they will have technology solutions on the roof wherever they're going. And we have to as an industry, we g have to cater to that. If we want to continue having people join our industry and want to work in our industry, we have to cater to that. We have to make more available via the iPhone, more v available via the iPad. Yeah. you know, whether it's tutorials, whether it's installation manuals, whether it's ticks and tri tricks and tips. Yeah. Yeah. So s you know, that's what we need to be doing. You know what's funny? And we can probably you and I both can look back on this opening I'm telling you. Is that do you remember the days when they were like, no you can't bring your phone on the roof? Yes. Yes. And now we ask don't just bring your phone, bring your iPad. Yeah, bring your iPad. Bring your phone. Bring your, your laptop. Take a picture of it and send it to me. Go FaceTime me on the roof so I can see you know what the issue is. And now the metaglasses are coming out. And and we're seeing all of this and it's all around labor savings. But I think there's another part to labor efficiencies is what I want to say. When you think about labor efficiencies, I think you also have to talk about that crew and some of those expectations of everyone out there but definitely the next generation and that is safety and then it's also cleanliness. Yes. And a lot of this is really making those changes. Absolutely. You know it when you talk about material going up on a roof, you know, is is it in boxes? Yeah. Is it b is it wrapped? Is it in paper? Is there pu is there a a a a burn off film? Is there a tear off film? Is there a separation sheet? All this stuff accumulates up on a roof and can get it can c it can cause trouble. So yeah you know w we talk about adhesive in cans, we talk about blowing agents, we talk about, the recyclable containers and so forth. All that stuff is an issue on the roof. So the the labor has to be aware of what they're dealing with so they can ha properly dispose of those materials when they're finished and they don't get in the way. you know, I think we're seeing a a it's not as dirty as it used to be. yeah. It's not as dirty as it used to be. I'm seeing I'm seeing a lot when When we get up on roofs now, we're seeing a lot more orderly, we're seeing roofs a lot more organized, we're seeing roofs a lot cleaner. Yeah. I was I was just on a roof down in downtown Los Angeles a few weeks ago and on s on Skid Road and the roof was not indicative of where the job was located at. The roof was probably the cleanest roof on the street. It was a new n it was a it was a new build, a new construction. But yeah, I just think that it's about taking pride. Yeah. And so and that could be the difference sometimes between having company employees putting the roof down or sub labor. Sub labor is required, but I think there's a lot more ownership taken when it's an employee putting down the roof. I wanna kinda bring that back around to the manufacturer because I think what we're talking about really a lot of that starts with the manufacturers and in their product innovation. And you have been very involved in that product innovation of looking at efficiency, safety, you know, re su sustainability. Suprema has just been a leader in this area. talk to us about some of those innovations that you've seen recently and what you It starts with a brand, Heidi. It starts with a brand and then it starts with a with a cracker jab marketing team that can promote that brand one hundred percent. Can't go without mentioning that. And then it's about presentation of the product too. Yeah. How is the product wrapped? How is the product presented on a pallet? How is it delivered to a pallet? Does it have a shroud on it? Is it laying on its side? All these things set this the table. Yeah. my gosh. When that truck shows up and that product is tied on the truck, it came from the factory that way. I think people take a step back and look at okay, they've got their act together. Yeah. But it starts it starts from the branding, and it starts from the marketing, then production and so forth. And and and that delivery. Yeah. And then working hand in hand with those contractors to make sure that the products are working for them and creating those efficiencies. Absolutely. I mean the way the product ar arrives on a job site and the way they're trained and how our sales team and how our technicians carry themselves, you know, are they presentable? How do they speak to the people when they're on the roof, the crews and so forth? How do they how do they communicate? Yeah. that's sets the standard from day one I think of how a finished project ends up. As you're as you're looking to the future, what are some of the areas that you see with Suprema and just the industry overall with product innovations that you're excited about? Well one of the mo one of the things that I'm really excited about for Suprema is we've always been known as an asphaltic company. Yes. And so we are we are building a business right now in the P V C world, the synthetic membrane world and and we've been doing that for quite a few years now and we've finally have the business where we believe we can support building our own plant. my gosh. So we'll be built we'll be yeah thank you, thank you. thank you Pierre at Tien too for doing that for us. but we will be it's in it's going up right now it's right here in Innis, Texas. And we'll we'll be producing membrane by the end of twenty seven, early twenty eight is our goal. That's and talk about a progressive product. It's a press progressive product yeah P P V C's been around a long time. True. But it hasn't for Suprema. It's relatively new new product for us now. I say that in the United States because we do manufacture it in Europe and have for a while. Right. But manufacturing in the United States is it's gonna be a game changer for us. Yeah. and what we were seeing the need for resiliency, redundancy, all of those kind of things, we're starting to see Well, that's what we take pride in. Yeah. And so we're gonna make we're gonna put a product out there that is indicative of that. Yeah, that's what we stand for. That's what our our logo stands for. That's what our our our our brand stands for. And that's what we're gonna you're gonna get that with our synthet synthetic membrane. I think from what I've seen and what I've witnessed too is Suprema has also done a really good job of taking more difficult roof systems garden roofs, different things. And bringing the efficiencies to that. Can you talk a little bit to that? Yeah, I can. We've we've got a new product that we've just introduced. It's it's it's made in France for us and we bring it to the US. It's our it's our paper pedestal system. Okay. what's unique about that is one, it's it's readily available guys. We have it in stock everywhere. The other thing is it's it's an adjustable pedestal. So it can be adjusted from one inch high up to ten inches. wow. And that's that that that that is huge because you're not having to change pedestals, you're not having to make manual adjustments. It's it's it's it you can adjust it on the job site. Wow. That is. Talk about efficiency. Yeah, exactly. We love it. I was just just in DC this week walking through our our B E C there and we've got pallets of it available so it's ready to go. Well and you put that together with your Sopra Tendra boxes. Hopefully I said that right, right? You got it right. Yeah I which I just think are so cool. Yeah. I just love those. I know. When you put the whole thing together again now you have this Roofing system that's beautiful, efficient, sustainable, and you've made it easy. Yeah. We we've hired people that have that knowledge. Angie Derman is a great asset to the company. And we brought I brought her on two years ago and she's flourished with the company. I mean it's it's it's an open it's an open canvas for us. Yeah. And we've had Sopranature around, but we've never really had anybody focusing on it the way she does, from the specification to the installation. She's done a fabulous job, really proud of what she's done the last couple of years. That's cool. You do you bring experts. That's yeah, we're we've we've become very intentional with our hiring practices. Yeah. you know, hiring people in that field, hiring people in synthetic membrane fields. Right. So that's that's that's that's the way we're going to progress and grow in the future. We have very, very lofty goals for the company and I think consistent hiring practice and bringing the right folks in is gonna be a key to our success. Yeah. And when you have the innovative products that solve problems, that helps. That helps a lot. I I like to think that Suprema probably has one of the deepest portfolios as far as solutions for any any issue on a roof. Yeah. If if if it's not already available, it's there, we've made it, it's somewhere, we'll go find it. Right, right. I love that. Okay, so if you were to give advice to contractors today on how to really look at their products, their systems, and really looking at labor efficiencies for them to be more profitable and not need as much labor. What's some of your advice? Be bold. Be bold, I think. Be willing to be willing to try something new. You know, I think we are w relying on the tried and true. And sometimes we lean on that too much. But for a contractor, be bold, be be willing to to to try something new. Step out out of your comfort zone because the products are out there. Yeah. And you know, I I don't think any manufacturer introduces something that's not going to be good for the industry. I think we're all in it together and we're all in it for for for one goal. And yeah, just be willing to do to to do that. You know, be willing to to take a take a take a leap of faith on a new product or or or or a new piece of equipment and you know, whether it's a a spray rig, to spray adhesive or whether it's a mini Macadin to install. Right. coding maybe, yeah. Yeah, is one hundred percent. Well and I sorry, but I just have to say this too, 'cause I think it's a lot of people may not realize just how long Suprema has been in Europe, in Canada, and the wealth of innovation, product knowledge, history that then gets absorbed into the US market is pretty amazing. It is pretty amazing. We're really proud of of our ownership. Yeah. This 1908. Yeah. Same family. Same same family. Our our our our owner is third generation, Pierre Timbed Shuttler. started with four plants and now we have over a hundred global. Wow. Okay. I didn't even know you that's impressive. Wow. Greg Morgan, our new CEO, can tell that story when he started with a company was four plants across the whole globe. That's so well, I'm hoping to have another Greg, as in Greg Morgan on the show coming up soon too. So yeah. I know. Well this is so great. Okay, so information wise, if contractors are looking to you know, how does the mini macadin work, the pavers, the pedestal pavers, getting more information, w how would where would you direct them? Go to our website, go to suprema dot us. and everything's there. Yeah. our again, I can't not mention the marketing department has done a great job revamping the website. we weren't we weren't we we weren't there a few years ago. And now that now we're there, everything's available on the website. I love it. That is so great. thank you. You're welcome. I enjoyed It's good to see you again. please check out the Suprema directory on Roofer's Coffee Shop. All of this information we talked about today is on there. You can get this information on how to get you know how to be start using the mini macadin, what's going on with the Sopra garden roofs and all the pedestals, all of that kind of stuff and just labor savings with the self-adhesives and looking forward PVC. Absolutely. So check out that directory. Thank you again. Thank you Audi. Thank you. Thank you all for being here today. We are so excited To be here at the Building Envelope Center with Suprema, and we are going to continue. We have our coffee conversations tomorrow, so join us. Also, be sure to check out all of the podcasts under the Read List and Watch navigation. Be sure to subscribe and set those notifications so you don't miss a single episode. We'll be seeing you next time on Roofing Road Trips. If you've enjoyed the ride, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and join us on every roofing adventure. Make sure to visit RoofersCoffeShop.com to learn more. Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you on the next roofing road trip.