Simon Roofing Grows Through Innovation
BOARDMAN – The boldly branded pickup trucks seen around town and throughout 66 other major markets across the United States don’t come close to telling the whole story of Simon Roofing. Over the past 115-plus years, the Boardman-based, family-owned business has evolved into a much more complex operation than a traditional commercial roofing company, says fourth generation family co-owner Allison Thomas.
The company as a whole boasted a 15% increase in revenue when compared to the year before, she reports. In fact, Roofing Contractor magazine ranked Simon Roofing among the 15 largest roofing companies in the United States in terms of revenue.
Thomas attributes a portion of that growth to Simon Surfaces, a division of Simon Roofing that specializes in commercial and industrial concrete repair and resurfacing as well as high-performance coating systems. Having experienced 115% revenue growth from 2018 to 2019, plans for this year are to expand further across the country to build business among warehouse/distribution centers, storage facilities, retail stores and restaurants.
Deeply rooted in science and technology, Simon Roofing works hard to be among the leaders of its industry in innovation, quality, safety and customer service, according to Thomas.
“It’s such a misconception that there’s no innovation in commercial roofing,” she says. “We’re living proof that investing in technology and research and development is how you stay ahead in this industry.”
Simon Roofing made additional significant investments in product development last year. The focus was primarily with its CLP+ Roofing Systems, which global testing standards have confirmed to be superior in performance to competitive offerings.
Simon Roofing’s business model of manufacturer/installer means the company manufactures the products it uses and installs those products with its own well-trained technicians. This approach has proven to be reassuring to customers because they know Simon is accountable for both materials and workmanship. It also allows the company to gather a vast amount of knowledge both in terms of products and installation, which has enabled it to redefine the current approach to roofing, Thomas says.
An example of this is its CLP+ that is partially factory fabricated and partially field fabricated, thus allowing for a final layer to be applied in the field. The result is a unique seamless membrane, which offers many watertight benefits.
“We have a team of advanced-degree scientists in our lab and at our Struthers manufacturing plant who’ve been working diligently on the formulation for CLP+. And we’re very pleased by its recent development,” Thomas says. “Given the response thus far, this is turning out to be a game-changer for our organization – and the commercial roofing industry.”
Simon Roofing expanded its presence in 2019 to include Washington and Oregon and plans are to continue expanding geographically in 2020.
“Largely, we go where our national customers are locating,” Thomas says. “Once we’re in a market, we work hard to deepen our roots and grow our regional presence there.”
Simon Roofing, founded in 1900, employs more than 750 nationwide; including approximately 300 in the Mahoning Valley among its Boardman headquarters, Struthers manufacturing plant and Lake Park Road office.
Last year, Simon Roofing again was awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification, which is given only to organizations that meet the rigorous criteria for assuring quality and continuous improvement.
The company was also recognized in 2019 with Youngstown State University’s College of STEM Employer Internship Award for its efforts supporting careers in math, science and engineering.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
