Les Burch - Sharing Knowledge About Family Run Businesses

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Sashco’s new multimedia production will be providing sealant technology education, innovation and more. 

In Season 3, Episode 25 of Roofing Road Trips, RoofersCoffeeShop® Partner, Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Sashco President Les Burch to discuss his new show, Les’s Corner. The new production initiative will deliver educational content on sealant technology, business topics, as well as collaborations with industry experts.  

Sashco manufactures high-quality caulks and sealants for steep-slope applications. The company is family owned and was established in 1936 by Les’s father. Tragically, Les’ father died in an airplane accident in 1954 and his mother took over the company in 1964, saving it from a total collapse. Les graduated college with a degree in chemistry in 1972 and began reformulating products for the company before soon becoming its next president.   

"I had worked in the company in high school and we had our cousins [working here], my aunt was a bookkeeper. My sister worked here, we've had a lot of family over the years [working here] and now my sons are here,” said Les. “We've had a great time. We like to say we're 85 years young and still looking for that new idea around the corner.” 

Les’s Corner is a new video and multimedia production initiative designed to share Sashco’s knowledge with fellow industry professionals. Sashco’s marketing team prompted the original idea, asking the family if they’d be willing to share their experiences and knowledge gained through a long history within the industry.  

While brainstorming for their first video, they had the epiphany that they can talk about sealant and various technologies associated with it, but they can also talk about other important subjects in business, including issues or advantages related to operating a family business. 

“Because we're a family-owned business, we looked around and said, ‘Well, we've got a couple of business segments. We sell to hardware dealers. Most of those are family-owned,’ and when you look at roofers and remodelers [a lot of them] are family-run businesses,” said Les. “Not only can we share technical issues and look at the various technologies and approaches to solving problems, but we can also talk about the family issues, the things that are unique to family businesses. We're just hoping to add value to anybody who will tune in.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to hear more about Les’s Corner and upcoming topics including a look at his first two shows on How to Hire Family.