LIVE From IIBEC 2025 with Benchmark! - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Vincent and James of Benchmark. You can read the interview below or watch the recording.

Karen Edwards: Hello everybody and welcome back to the Roofers Coffee Shop Sound stage. We are at IBC 2025, and I am sitting here with Vincent and James from Benchmark. Welcome. 

Vincent: Hey, thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. It's great to be here. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, so if you could just introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about what you do and what Benchmark is. I'll have you start, Vincent. 

Vincent: Okay, well, thank you Karen. Uh, so benchmark's a roof and paving consultant and I've been, uh, at Benchmark now for about three years and had the privilege of taking over for Benchmark as the president last June. And so, uh, as I've gotten to know more about the building envelope industry and the, the roofing and paving industry, it's been, uh, quite a journey for me getting to work with people like James here. 

Karen Edwards: And James, what do you do there? 

James: Yeah, so I'm a senior consultant with Benchmark. I'm, uh, outta Long Island, New York, so kind of work remotely in there and kind of cover that region. Um, so yeah, kind of do, uh, roof consulting primarily for 

Karen Edwards: Myself. So you're focusing on more on roofs Correct. Than paving it. How does that go together? Roofs and, and paving? Because I, I've heard of this combination before and I'm always curious. 

James: Well, I, I think that's a good question. I, the, this, the funny answer would be, you know, it's the last thing the owner wants to take care of. A lot of times <laugh>, you know, they're trying to light the roof in the pavement, you know, they're trying to take care of everything in between. Um, but yeah, I just, what was that correlation? That was pretty good. You 

Vincent: Know, the honest answer is that they don't specifically, but we always had work back and forth and so for the longest time it was really just a practical answer. We just found out that we were doing a lot of business in the paving space and we had a couple partners that we really liked and so we ended up, uh, acquiring them and then Nice. It's been a wonderful relationship ever 

Karen Edwards: Since. Nice. Yeah. Okay. Wow. So, um, how has this show been for you guys? 

James: It's been great. Actually. This is my first IBE attendance, uh, for myself here, but it's, uh, it's good to go to a place where you can kinda speak on issues and everyone kind of knows what you're talking about a little bit. You know, it's a very rare occurrence where you can kind of, you know, have some, uh, you know, shop talk with other people who kind of understand the industry kind of experiencing similar pain points and kind of going through that with you. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, yeah. And Vincent, what about you? What, how's the show been for you? 

Vincent: Yeah, it's a little different for me. Uh, I'm not as technical as James, so I don't actually practice roof consulting, but I get a large concentration of folks all in one spot. It's, it's amazing for me to go learn and network. I love the focus on education here as well too. So, uh, just getting out on the floor like we did a little bit ago has been an awesome time here. 

Karen Edwards: So you've taken classes while you've been here? 

James: Yes. Yes. 

Karen Edwards: Do you have a favorite so far? 

James: Um, yeah, the, one of my favorite classes so far has been the, um, initial use case for artificial intelligence. I believe Mike Ramos presented 

Karen Edwards: On that one. Ooh, tell me a little about that. 

James: Yeah, so I mean, artificial intelligence, it's just a, it's a big buzz word right now in the industry and, you know, how can we implement it to make our lives easier as far as whether it's report writing, assessing condition and they kind of venture out into expanding into some of that and how we can use it in consulting. So very interesting to see how that takes off in the next few years. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, it, it is very interesting. What are your thoughts on that? 

Vincent: Yeah, the, I think James nailed it. There's the technical side of roof consulting that's really important for us to get right and knowing all the advances in materials and, and applications and process. Uh, but there is also this operational side too about how we deliver our work and how we interact with the client and the user experience with the client. And so when we have the opportunity to sit in on something like Mike Ramos's presentation, that's pretty amazing. So, 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's no hiding from ai, right? No. It's everywhere. It is. And you're probably using it whether you know it or 

Vincent: Not. Yes, exactly. Indeed. Indeed. 

Karen Edwards: Now, um, there's been a, I think, a really good representation of all parts of the industry here. You know, we've got our, our exhibitors and vendors, manufacturers, we've got consultants like yourselves. Uh, we've got some contractors here too, either attending the classes and learning or with booths here exhibiting. Um, what's your take on that? Why, why do you feel like this is so well represented? 

James: Well, it's kind of one of those things. We're all in this together and we're all experiencing these issues, um, kind of together. So collaborating and having a platform to all be able to connect and go through these sessions and connect with each other, you know, experience discussed these pain points and come up with a solution. I mean, we've met with a few contractors, we've met with manufacturers and, you know, together we could come up with a holistic solution to some of these issues we're experiencing nationwide. Really, 

Karen Edwards: I like that word together. And I like that everybody's, uh, coming together here because a lot of times it's, there's not always smooth togetherness, right? It's like, oh, there's a consultant on the project or Oh, there's a consultant specifying this or working on this. Yeah. Um, so I, I mean, I, I feel like shows like this really help bridge that gap and you're probably seeing the same. 

Vincent: Yeah, yeah. I would, I would, I would agree on the together comment. Uh, a mentor of mine, uh, used to say something about, we put all this work into all this effort into putting together the perfect plan and then you get a bunch of people together and it all falls apart, <laugh>. And, and I think the, the complexity of bringing people from d you know, different trades, uh, depending upon the job, uh, different situation, you're bringing different, uh, uh, stakeholders to the equation. And whenever you do that, there's gonna be complexity. And so when you see people coming to this, you do see the commitment to doing it together. We're all very passionate about our perspective and what we think the bullseye is, but we're learning how to really put the client in the middle and really take care of what, what, what is it they want. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, that's a really good plug for why you should be involved in an association like ibe C. 

Vincent: Yeah. You know, one of the things I really enjoy about IBE and is learning more and more about it too, there's this idea around independence too, that they really propel the, the whole industry forward. And so whenever we can support something like that, I think it's good. And I think it's good that we all come together and get time together here. So that's been this and a couple other events are probably our really only chance, uh, once a year to really do something like that. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. Well, kudos to you for being here and being a part of it. 

Vincent: Yeah. Well, thank you. Yeah. Appreciate you having us. 

Outro: Thanks for coming and talking with us this morning. Don't you guys go anywhere because we are gonna be broadcasting live all morning long, so stay tuned and we hope to see you on the next one. Bye-bye.