How This Roofing Company Got Stronger During a Recession

By Evelyn Witterholt. 

We speak with Laurie Moore, president and CEO of Kreiling Roofing Company, about what their company learned during the 2008 recession. 

Kreiling Roofing Company has been in business since 1921 serving the Peoria, Illinois area. With 125 employees on deck, they can handle any roofing job, from industrial, single-ply, slate, wood shakes and more. In a recent podcast with Laurie Moore, Kreiling Roofing Company’s president and CEO, we learn about how this company thrives, especially when under the pressure of a recession. 

Laurie has been involved in the roofing industry since she was a child. She told us how her dad worked in roofing and she would visit the office frequently. After college, she started working at Kreiling Roofing doing accounting and communications work. 

“They let me take full control of the typewriter at the time, so it was all office work... But along the way, I really didn't understand the technical details of what I was typing. And so, I started asking questions,” she said. “I had to argue my way into this opportunity... but it was my way to understand what was happening and how things were done.”  

Her brother was previously a co-owner of Kreiling, but in 2005 decided to step down, which gave Laurie the opportunity to step up. Since then, Laurie has been at the forefront of the company, taking challenges head-on and making the best of them. One of these challenges was the 2008 recession, which Laurie saw as an opportunity for the company to grow.  

“It was really like the Titanic heading for an iceberg. And you don't know if you're going to hit it or not, so you just take a hold with both hands and really try to steer it, just look at everything,” she said. “I learned to just try to make small adjustments where I saw things that were necessary and could change easily, and just try to keep making those adjustments to help steer us and hopefully survive.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about the long-standing Kreiling Roofing Company.