Kristin Beck - Elevating Sustainability in Construction - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Kristin Beck of Elevate Commercial Roofing Systems. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: 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.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road trips from Roofers Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth, and today I have to tell you, I know I say this all the time, but today I am so excited and honored for our guest. We spent some time last week together at the NRCA meeting. She is a leader in this industry and really taking the industry to new levels. It's really fun to be a part of that. I am so proud to introduce Kristin Beck, the president of Elevate. Kristin, welcome to Roofing Road Trips.

Kristin Beck: Oh, thank you so much, Heidi. It's just an absolute pleasure to be here.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It's so awesome to have you. Let me tell you. We spent an amazing week last week at the NRCA meetings. We were in many of the committee meetings together. It just was so great to see you there and to see the commitment that Elevate has to giving back to the NRCA and to the industry overall. What'd you think?

Kristin Beck: Yeah, it's just such a valuable association and they have such a wonderful group there. I love this industry to be able to spend the week with so many customers, valuable members of the industry, the NRCA in general and talk about what's meaningful, what's sustainable, what we should all be focused on. It was just wonderful. You and I were talking. One of the topics that came up this last week that perhaps surprised a few, but I think that you and I were both in agree is such an important topic is mental health and the fact that they had the courage to bring that up and even have a speaker on that, that really took me back and warmed the heart because that's something that we all need to definitely be focused on moving forward

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Was so proud of the industry. I'm so proud of the NRCA board. So proud to be there and to be a part of that conversation discussion. And there's going to be a lot more coming out on that as you and I both know and saw along with so many other great initiatives. But I'm very curious about what is happening. I know everyone is with Elevate and Holcim. But before we launch into that, let's start with an introduction. If you could introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about your company.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. So Kristin Beck. As shared I'm the president of Elevate Commercial Roofing Systems and Lining, formerly Firestone Building products. Been in the industry. So I started in manufacturing and engineering early on in my career. Held just about every position imaginable. And what's very unique and interesting is that when I joined Dow Chemical, the first business that I was in was Dow Building Solutions, which is geared towards the roofing and wall industry. It was just my absolutely favorite business. Just wonderful people. But it's the industry itself. It's one of the really meaning industries that's so family focused. It's generational where you see a grandfather to father to son or to daughter. And it's really rare to find that these days. It's a relationship-based industry, which I love because I'm a people person. But it also, I would say provides those opportunities for people.

Some of my favorite examples are customers that shared with me that they were roofers. First-gen roofers up on a roof and they saw some subs come in or they really had a passion for the business and thought, well, why can't I do this?

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kristin Beck: I remember first discovering that quite a long time ago. And then to be blessed to have the fortune to lead a commercial roofing company, it's truly been a dream. So I feel very blessed to be involved in such a wonderful industry with such wonderful people. Our goal inside of Elevate is not to be the biggest, but we want to be the best. We want to be the manufacturer with the biggest heart. And our goal is to make a positive impact out there. So when it comes to our customers, all of channel, our people, of course, because you've got to have really happy, thriving, empowered people in order to deliver that amazing experience and then have a really positive impact on our local communities and industry associations as well.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And that's what I'm seeing all the time. So I just have to say Kristin seeing you in this leadership position and all that you are doing with Elevate and your team overall ... I know a number of your team, they're just spectacular folks. And so it's fun. It's fun. It's fun to be in the roofing industry right now as far as I'm concerned.

Kristin Beck: That's right. It's just such a cool industry. We need to get the word out there and let people know what amazing opportunities that it affords us all.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Exactly. So let's talk about ... This has been a big shakeup in the industry the last couple of years. Let's just put it on out there. With Holcim and the acquisition that happened and have been happening. And now Holcim's North American business is going to be a separate entity. How is that impacting Elevate and just all of the Holcim brands? Maybe give us a little insight.

Kristin Beck: Sure. Sure. So maybe a bit about Holcim. Maybe we'll start with who we are and how we got into the roofing space. So Holcim is the world's largest cement, concrete and aggregates producer in the world. So we operate in almost every country out there. And our mission has been to ensure that we provide safe and sustainable infrastructure to support the world. And we sometimes forget that the ground that we're working on, the sidewalks, our base infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels, what's it all made out of? It's all out of concrete. And no matter what's going on in the world, you need safe infrastructure. So challenging economic conditions, let's say high interest rates. You still need safe roads. We still need safe bridges. So Holcim and our head at the time, Jan Jenisch he came up with this amazing plan to diversify it. He said, "We have been leading the way. So proud to become a part of a company that leads with sustainability. That's really, really mindful on our footprint." And so he decided, what's next? We're going to get into a space that number one allows us to further our mission when it comes to sustainability, protecting the environment, protecting our people, just when it comes to different raw materials, obviously when compared to cement and concrete. And also go into an industry that really correlates well, especially when you think about, again, safe roads and bridges.

No matter what's going on, people need dry buildings and homes. And so it's one of those areas where there's always a need. It's one of those mission-critical areas. So we were extremely fortunate a few years ago to acquire legacy Firestone building products from Bridgestone at the time. And that's so exciting. Oh gosh, 16 years ago, I remember viewing Firestone. Such an iconic, well established, coveted business. They had waterproof shipping materials. I remember all of us in the industry like, "Oh, they're so good." And then [inaudible 00:08:14] them under our umbrella we were just absolutely tickled. Absolutely tickled. And then since then, we've not only acquired Elevate, but we acquired Malarkey, which is in the residential space. Super cool. Polymer technology shingles. The very best. Sustainable. They've got the reducing granules. They're so awesome. We all want them on our houses.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: They are very cool.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. Yeah. We advanced in our spray foam as well as our coatings business as well. So we now have open and closed cell spray foam with the acquisition of SES combined with our existing Gaco business, which is super well-known and awesome. And then we also acquired a portion of a coatings business from ITW. It was called PSNA. Now, our Enverge brand. And that really helped us solidify our standing in the coating space. And then lastly, we were so proud to bring on Duro-Last, which was our CDC-focused business. And they've really been a wonderful addition to the Holcim family.

So going back who Holcim is, we get into this space and then a lot of people are saying, "So what's going on? Why are you guys making a change?" Well, we're a bit too successful for our own good. It's a bit bittersweet because the name Holcim and all the people around the world that we're connected to, they mean the world. They truly mean the world to us. But from an investor point of view as well as a board and leadership point of view, we're able to stand on our own. By this time next year, we are going to be traded publicly within the US, which is so exciting. We'll be headquartered in the US. We've got this big campaign. We've always had that buy American, build American and that's going to be us. We're going to be US based and ready to go. But it is very exciting to actually be headquartered here now as well. So that's really the secret. That's the whole reason behind it. We've essentially become too large of an entity.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is an amazing story. And for you to go public. And you know what? I have to tell you, the companies that are part of that Holcim acquisition, the who's who. Top-notch companies. It's just so exciting to watch. From the outside, from a marketing stance, I'm just like, oh, this is fun. This is fun to watch. And it's so brilliant. How do you see the leadership of the respective companies and that overall new entity, how's that going to work?

Kristin Beck: Sure. It's going to be truly business as usual for the businesses. There will be no change to our current structure. The businesses will continue to move on and focus on their respective areas. The new entity will have a new name that is yet to be announced. So that will be coming out sometime soon. Probably when we schedule our investor day. And it will have its own head, so it'll have its own CEO that's yet to be announced as well in a separate board. So it will be a true separation, what we're calling a pure play. And so the difference that you will see is a new CEO as well as a new board. But beyond that, the current businesses and what have you, everything will stay the same.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Well, I tell you what, on that investor day, we're going to be excited to have that on the front page of Roofers Coffee Shop. So that will be a fun thing.

Kristin Beck: We can't wait to ring that bell.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I know. I know.

Kristin Beck: That will be a day to remember. And again, to be afforded that opportunity, it's just such an exciting time for all of us. People are extremely excited. It's going to bring a lot of opportunities to all of our people and just really, really good times to come.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so great. That is so great. So okay. We know we're going to be headquartered. Is that Nashville?

Kristin Beck: We're not announcing so that will all come out with a new company name. And we do have for everyone's knowledge, so we're huge. Holcim in general is absolutely huge in North America. So in the US alone, on a cement side, we have over 106 terminals. We have a location in Chicago, we have a location in Dundee, Michigan. Of course we have the location in Nashville that came with building products. Duro-Last is in Michigan. We've got Malarkey out in Portland, we've got Texas. We truly have office locations all across the country. And one thing that I think it's important for everyone to know is that we are building in construction and we understand the importance of the local nature of this business.

So we are not a company that's sitting in a corporate headquarters and big glass offices. We are a boots on the ground company like you and I were talking. I'm somewhere different multiple times a week. Every week I'm out in market. I'm meeting with all elements of channel. From our customers to our architects, consultants, general contractors. I spend a great deal of time of course at corporate and Nashville Tennessee. And then with our plants. It's important to be with our people. So I think that's what you can expect when they do announce the new location is that that's just a location. We've got locations all across the country. When you think about us, you can think of us actually being in the field. You'll probably see us at a manufacturing location or a customer or at a really important conference like you and I were just at with the NRCA.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is great. I love that. And that is today. That is how it is. You're not stuck just in one place anymore. It is out in the field, being with the industry. And like you said, it is so true, roofing and the whole building envelope is really a relationship industry. And people know people and they want to be together and they want to have those conversations. So cool. Speaking of locations, let's talk a little bit about the opening of your new LEED certified facility in Salt Lake City. How cool is this? Tell us all about it.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. She's an absolute beauty. She's our pride and joy. She's the first of her kind. So LEED certified, which is not easy to do. But it really aligns with who we are and where we're going. So we're not just talking the talk, we're walking the walk when it comes to sustainability and we're also willing to fight for it. And what by that is ... I'll talk a little bit about our roofing systems on there. But the actual infrastructure. So the concrete, the cement that went into that building, that's our green cement and concrete. So that's part of our eco line. And at the time when we were building this new building, it wasn't commonly used within the Salt Lake City area. I think that's really something that we all think about and have been challenged with when it comes to sustainability is that it's very hard sometimes with customers to pallet that additional cost or to push to use those more sustainable products.

But this is a perfect example where we worked with a wonderful, wonderful general contractor and we pushed for them to use our green cement. And yes, that's what this building is made up. It's all Holcim products, which is super cool. Everything from ground stabilization to the cement and concrete that went into the building and then our roof. So we've got one of our beautiful white TPO roofs-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yes.

Kristin Beck: Building. And yes. And so she's really a first of her kind, I think in the industry to show our commitment that when we build, we want to do it right. And then to hear then the general contractor's feedback and the locals' feedback with working with these products and how easy they were to use it just shows that it just takes one company, one person to take the lead and then everyone else will follow. And so now they're using these products that they hadn't used before. It's a super success story where we're taking into consideration our planet. Generations. I think it's definitely something that we are extremely proud about. And you will see us model in future new construction to come.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And consumers care. They care that you are building LEED certified buildings. That you are caring about the environment and creating products that will help save it. I think that's so important that there was a time that people were like, "Does anyone really care?" But they do. Across the board. And I also love the fact that this expansion into the western states ... Of course I love the western states. But it's great to see Salt Lake. Just the availability of product. Throughout the western state Salt Lake is perfect. What was some of the strategy of that overall expansion for Elevate?

Kristin Beck: It's all about location to market. So whenever we look at building new or putting in a new warehouse location, it's making sure that we can service our customers extremely timely. And we want to find locations where this specific location ... We have rail access, so it's wonderful for all of our raw materials, smooth in and out. We wanted to make sure that it was an area from a people standpoint as well where we could really make a positive impact to the local economy, bring in new work, bring in new jobs and giving back. And we've got just some absolutely amazing customers located right in the heart of Salt Lake City and all around. And so this has just been really exciting, not only for us but for our customers because in addition to building a new plant warehouse where we're producing ISO, where we have all of our membrane products and we've also installed a new metal line, we also have an on-site training center there.

And so Elevate's known in the industry where we have these really cool travel training trailers. You'll see them coming down the road. Elevate all around them. They've got every product that we make. And we bring them throughout the country. We've got quite a few of them, and we travel around the country and we bring them right to customers. Because it's so nice to have on-site but also when you're not perhaps close to one of our plants or warehouses, it's so nice for the training to come to you. It's got a brand new training room to it. So our customers are coming in, they can play with the products, they can see how easy they are to use. Yeah. It's just been nothing but excitement since the launch. I was so sad that I couldn't be there, but the pictures and then the excitement and the joy that came from this launch, it's something that we won't forget for a very long time.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's so great. Training centers are so important. I love the training trailers that are going through. But one thing that just made me think about this too is with everything that's going on with transportation, how long it takes and the gas and the effect on the environment, just on transportation, again, having that strong hub in Salt Lake City, that in itself is helping with sustainability.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. Agreed. And I will also do a call-out or a shout-out to our amazing supply chain and logistics teams as well. Because we are very aware of the CO₂ impact when it comes to transportation. And so the network optimization that we go through to make sure that we are reducing our footprint, to make sure that we are only partnering with the very best, that have upgraded equipment that is very environmentally friendly, very environmentally conscious, even when it comes down to the aerodynamics of equipment and it comes to fuel savings and what have you, they just do an amazing job.

And they're a team where we consolidate our loads, we do multi-stops, we use rail. And on the greater Holcim side, water whenever available. And so when it comes to sustainability, not only are we looking at our raw materials, are we looking at our packaging? Are we looking at our finished goods? But we're looking at transport. We're looking at our buildings, our infrastructure like we're talking about here with our new Salt Lake City LEED building. So we truly have a scope one, two, three end-to-end plan where everything's on the table. We're looking at everything and we really want to make a positive impact in all buckets.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love that. I love how inclusive. Looking at the whole picture. That is something I think does get lost. And to know and to see that is really inspirational. And so, okay, one of the things I love to relate is I think for the roofing contractors, sometimes this gets lost because it's so big. It's like, what can I do? Is there really anything I can do? But when you are looking at how you are manufacturing your products, the green and the sustainable products that you're bringing to market along with all the other thing in transportation, what's some of your advice to contractors on how to really message this to their building owners and to their homeowners? Obviously Elevate building owners. Of the importance of sustainability and what they can bring to the picture?

Kristin Beck: So for a full end-to-end ... And this is what we often talk about during my customer visits. It actually starts with every company having a supplier code of conduct. So being very, very conscious of who you're doing business with, making sure that they're good people, that they're using the right labor, that they're meeting all guidelines. We have a wonderful supplier code of conduct that we've actually shared. We openly share ... Like we were talking about NRCA. We're a very open company. Leverage what we've done. We want to help. When it comes to sustainability and these types of topics, it shouldn't be used as just a differentiator. It should be something that we all do together and we're openly sharing to bring everybody with us.

So again, starting with a really powerful supplier code of conduct. We vet all of our suppliers that we use within Elevate to make sure that they're not involved in anything that doesn't align with not just our policies, but with government policies as well. We actually are undergoing an EPD process where it's really important that we have our own environmental declarations for easy access to all of our customers as well. There's so many different questions that can be asked. Everything from the recycled content that's included in products today, to packaging. And then even the aftermath where depending on what type of supplies they're getting in ... So maybe it's roofing materials or maybe it's even smaller objects or office materials. Everything can be recycled at the end of the day. And our ultimate dream, Heidi ... Jamie Gentoso, near and dear, she's our group head. She's led the charge and all of this. Our dream is that when it goes to doing a re-roof, right, and we're pulling the old materials off, the dream is that together as an industry, we're able to pull all those materials in and then recycle them back in either to our products or into other sustainable products that are needed out there, either within the same industry or other verticals.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is the dream. And it's getting so much closer. We've been talking about it for decades but it seems to be everyone is so committed.

Kristin Beck: And we need to be right because it's something new and so we've got to push forward. And we find these examples in so many different ways too. Let's think back in the industry. Remember when ballasted roofs were super popular. They're still out there. We've even found ... So Omar Rekkas, he's my GM over in Canada for our Canadian operations. These guys partnered with Aggregate Industries, which is the rock side of our business. We're actually recycling the ballast. And so instead of ... I know this sounds wild, but you're thinking, oh, what do they do with that ballast? Well, they actually landfill it. And that's the last thing that we need. Actually now have a new program that's going to be all throughout the country soon and it's all about vicinity and what have you, where we're partnering internally and then we're taking that rock and then we're reusing it and things. We're putting it back into the roads safely and what have you. Our goal is zero landfill. And that's something that I absolutely love just with Elevate. We have a zero landfill goal. We're almost there. We're getting really, really close. So we are super conscientious on all of our waste and our byproducts right now, and our goal is to have zero landfill as quickly as possible and we're almost there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is tremendous. That is great. And landfill ... And going back to the contractors who really are every day dealing with landfills, but you hear this all the time, that landfills may stop taking roofing. Because it's just too much. And so if we don't get in front of it may be one of those days where they're telling us, you got to do something. So congratulations. That's exciting.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. Agreed. And there's a couple other comments. So now you're seeing states come out with new regulation, and this is going to be really interesting to see how this works, where it's about end use of the product and even the packaging materials and there's going to be cost for these types of things. And luckily, we've been super proactive where we're already using recycled cardboard for shipping and plastics. We have a really wonderful procurement team that's had that focus for a really long time. And so we've been ready for this. Quite frankly, we've been waiting for it because it's the right thing to do. But yeah, I think there is going to come a day where you're absolutely right. They're not going to want to take our materials in. And that's why we all need to be very proactive in this space.

We've already got roof recycling programs. So you go to our website, you can see there's a number you can call anywhere within the country and we can align you with roof recycling. But we need to figure out exactly how to reuse these products. And even our Duro-Last business. They've been really wonderful in this space into roof recycling. They've got some really great ... going on as well as Elevate.

And then a lot of people don't know ... And I'm not sure what it's going to be called in the future in North America. But a lot of people don't know that we're actually one of the biggest waste recycling companies in the world. So everyone thinks about waste management and things like that. We have a business unit called Geocycle. It's a global business unit and we joke that it's turning trash into treasures. And so we can essentially take anything from tires, plastics, you name it and we can turn it into emissionless fuel.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Love the collaboration and the resources that you bring. So far you've talked about so many of your sister companies and what they're doing and how to make that happen. I just think there's so much to that. The roofing industry is just starting to understand and thank you in this because I'm going, wow, that's so cool.

Kristin Beck: We're super open like I said. This is something as an industry that we all need to band together on and quite frankly, do the right thing.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Exactly. So we're going to have to do this again, Kristin, because I tell you what, there is so much good information going on here and we've got more that we didn't even cover. So part two, everyone stay tuned. We'll do this again maybe in a month or so. But before we go, I do want to ... How can contractors get involved with Elevate? Because that is, people are going to be out there going, Ooh, I want to do this. How do I get involved?

Kristin Beck: Yeah. So look, we have absolutely wonderful teams supporting us in every state out there and in most cases, we have multiples per state. We have a wonderful sales rep group that supports us. They are absolutely fantastic. The best of the best industry and technical knowledge. So you can reach out to any of our local sales reps. Each one of our regions also has regional business managers. So we have RBMs, we have strategic account managers. We have a real open door policy here at Elevate. And so it's one of those where you can reach out to anybody, including me. I hand out my business card. I think people get surprised by that, but we really have an open door policy. So Frank Palmer is our SVP of sales. I think he's been in this industry for a few years and-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: We know Frank.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. But yeah, anyone that's interested in us, obviously on our website, we've got all kinds of contact information. But we'd welcome. Just reach out to us either via website or via local contact. We're super excited to grow and expand and find some new wonderful contractors out there. It's all about quality. It's all about craftsmanship. Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Sustainability.

Kristin Beck: Yeah. It was interesting. I was on a call just this week about this really cool new big infrastructure project, and I was talking about our customers and we have the best of the best. We have such quality installers out there. We work really, really closely with all of our customers and the craftsmanship and the work that they do. It's superior. It's the best out there in the industry.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so great.

Kristin Beck: So super excited to hear from anybody and everybody, existing non-existing and yeah,

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I'm excited. We will continue this conversation down the road a little bit on Roofing Road Trips. Because I'm so excited about you're ringing the bell, going public, all the great things that are out there. And Kristin, I can't tell you, thank you so much for being on Roofing Road Trips. This has been so enjoyable and I can't wait for our next conversation.

Kristin Beck: Heidi, this has just been so much fun and we have a really good time together.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yes we do.

Kristin Beck: Many exciting conversations to come.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: A lot to come. Yes. A lot to come. And I want to let everyone know out there too, we are so proud to have Elevate on all of our sites, along with all the Holcim companies are on Roofers Coffee Shop, check out their directories, get the information, also articles, videos, podcasts. A lot of great information that you can get right there on Roofers Coffee Shop and Coatings Coffee Shop too. So again, Kristin, thank you so much for being here today.

Kristin Beck: Thanks Heidi. Thank you for being you. You're so important to our industry and you make such a positive difference and impact, so just know that we all really appreciate you.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. You just made my day. Thank you so much. Thank you everyone for listening. What a great podcast. What a great Roofing Road Trips. Be sure to check out, like I said, all the directories. The Elevate directory, you can find such great information. And then be sure to check out all of our podcasts under the read, listen and watch navigation on Roofers Coffee Shop. Be sure to subscribe and set those notifications on your favorite podcast channel so you don't miss a single episode. We'll be seeing you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

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