LIVE from IRE 2025 with Roofing Talent America! - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Bobby Mesmer of RMG Erectors and Constructors. You can read the interview below or watch the recording.

Intro: ... everyone. Megan Ellsworth here at the CoffeeShop soundstage, brought to you by SRS Distribution. And I'm here with our friend Luke McCormack. Hello.

Luke McCormack: Megan, thank you for having me.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, it's a pleasure to have you.

Luke McCormack: Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: So you have Roofing Talent America.

Luke McCormack: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: Let's start out, just have you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your company.

Luke McCormack: Sure thing. Thank you. So guys, my name is Luke McCormack. I'm the CEO of Roofing Talent America. We work with contractors all across the states on everything from their key operational specialist positions to branch managers, executive level. We help organizations, be it greenfield in new state. So they need help with succession planning. Yeah, Roofing Talent America, we are the only recruitment firm who's a member of the Roofing Alliance and the NRCA. And we're here at IRE with all the greatest names in the industry. Just here to get our face seen, get our voice heard and get the brand out there. So yeah,

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. It's so nice to work with a recruitment firm because you're pulling in the best talent in the states and helping contractors get the best talent. So it's a win-win.

Luke McCormack: You're right. And it's so important because in the US roofing industry now, it's no longer about winning projects. Everyone can win a project, most people can get the right margin. But it's having the people to fulfill it. That's the real problem.

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly.

Luke McCormack: NRCA report, 80% of contractors say that one of their top problems with hiring talent. And all the questions is around how do we hire roofers? How do we get supers forming? But there's not enough conversation around the key operational specialism positions, your estimators, your supers, your project managers, your sales guys. And over the past 10 years, we've really built a reputation on those type of roles. And you're right, it's a win-win. Usually, the candidate gets an uplift in their wage. They get a new career path, the company gets a brilliant candidate that can hit the ground running. And we get paid a fee for it as well. So it's certainly win-win.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. So we do a podcast with you-

Luke McCormack: You do.

Megan Ellsworth: Called People Make Roofing, and you all started it.

Luke McCormack: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: When did it happen? Because you started it in Scotland and now it's international.

Luke McCormack: Yeah, it really is. And you guys have been instrumental in that. So thank you to you and to Heidi. People Make Roofing started back in April 2021. And to give you the background, Megan ... So where I grew up in Glasgow, a lot of the boys that I grew up along with, they didn't have commercial acumen. They weren't the most smartest at school in terms of maths and English. And they ended up just falling into this vicious cycle of poverty, that it's dead-end careers, it's gangs, drugs, destruction. And I was really lucky that I had a good family around me. And my dad actually had worked in roofing.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, I didn't know that.

Luke McCormack: Yeah, so he had his own contracting firm and then he went on to specify and building materials for manufacturers. So both ends of the market. But I joined the industry and I seen the amount of people who had started from nothing. Literally started from the dirt and became roofers, supers, project management, estimators sales, getting into associations, running their own firms. Becoming very successful. I noticed there was a gap, an education gap between academia and the trades. And when I'd started to see all the people that were so successful at roofing, I wanted to bring their stories to these young people, to teachers, to parents, to career guidelines, counselors.

And that's what people made roofing was. It was not only to help these underprivileged, underrepresented young people get a career in roofing, but it was also to help the industry with its biggest pain and its new blood coming in. So People Make Roofing did start as a local initiative in Glasgow and Scotland. We then rolled it out over the UK, Europe. And now, it's taken the US by storm. And co-hosting with Heidi has been amazing. We've had some really big names behind it.

We've had Charles Antis, Greg Bloom, Reid Ribble, Steve Little, Michelle Boykin. Too many to mention. We've had Doug Duncan. We've had Tammy Hall. There's lots of big names, which is on the Roofing Talent America and Roofers CoffeeShop YouTube page as you know. But yeah, that's just our way of trying to do something different, something to give back to the industry. It's been amazing to see the full industry come together and support it. So long may it continue.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, no, it's a great podcast and I listen to ... I don't edit it, our team of editors work on it. But I listen to it because it's so entertaining. And also, who doesn't love a Scottish accent? I could listen to you talk all day long.

Luke McCormack: [inaudible 00:04:46].

Megan Ellsworth: I know. And it's just you guys cover really great, really hot topics in the industry, with these professionals that have been doing it for years. I loved your story about your dad and growing up in Glasgow. Can you tell us a little bit about how you came to NRCA and found your way to the states?

Luke McCormack: Yeah, of course.

Megan Ellsworth: The roofing industry here.

Luke McCormack: Of course. So like I said, my dad had his own contracting firm and then he worked in supply. And when I get into the world of work, I was working in recruitment. I leaned on my dad's industry knowledge and his contacts a little bit to start to build a bit of a client base. But I realized that of all the different industries that I worked in, there was something about roofing. And it was the people in the industry that it draws you to the industry, but it keeps you once you're in. And-

Megan Ellsworth: Totally.

Luke McCormack: For me, recruitment is a very saturated industry and there are unscrupulous recruitment firms out there. There's people that give the industry a bad name. And for me, I wanted to put the company in a position where we are almost governed by the same body as our clients. So we joined the NFRC, which is like the NRC in the UK.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yes. I know them. Yes.

Luke McCormack: Yeah, so you'll probably know James Talman and all the guys behind that. And I'd also done a lot with the publications. So Roofing Today is the UK magazine. And I got my face on the front cover. Get your face out there, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. And we very quickly became a brand name in the UK market.

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome.

Luke McCormack: And so much so that our hunting grounds for staff was very small, because lots of the market was already our clients. And one of my clients said to me ... He said, "Look, you should look at the US market." I always had a lot of love in my heart for America. I was offered a job for a benefits consulting firm actually in Vegas. So I had the job offer. I would've been living in Vegas. First month of training was in Florida. It was all there on a plate for me. But I knew that I wanted to do something in America myself. I wanted to come here with my own people in my own right. And I've closed that loop now, which has been amazing. So the strategy to scale in the UK was be within these associations, be within the publications, do good work and your reputation will grow off the back of that. And basically just replicated that in the States.
So James Talman introduced me to McKay Daniels. McKay introduced me to Reid. Reid had met Brian and I in Nashville. He sold us the ins and outs of the industry, the politics, the main players.

Megan Ellsworth: Got it.

Luke McCormack: And then he introduced me to a guy called Steve Little.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yes. We all know Steve.

Luke McCormack: And funnily enough, so Steve was on holiday in Scotland with his wife when Reid made the introduction.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, no way.

Luke McCormack: So honestly, it's like written in the stars. Then Steve came into the office and he had a jumper on. Said on it 1963. That's the year that Key Post was established. It's also the same code to get into my office.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, get out of here.

Luke McCormack: Yeah. So very aligned. Then just like a snowball off the back of that, Steve put me onto one person. They put me onto a few more people. We got in the NRCA. We paid $50,000 to get in the alliance. We get in the western states, we've done speaking engagements all over the states now. A lot of big clients. RoofersCoffeeShop have made us famous. And it's happened really quickly. I think that we've not came in to try and take from the industry to get money. We've came to give back. We've shined a light on people through People Make Roofing. We've donated money through the alliance and we've shown that we're here to be part of the future of this industry.

The professionalizing of the industry, the digitalization of the industry, getting the industry in an online platform, reaching out to young people, to academia. And I think that when you benefit from the industry, you have a responsibility to give back.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes.

Luke McCormack: And I think by doing that, the good people of the industry, they've put their arms around us, they've given us a warm welcome. And now we are Roofing Talent America off the back of it. So it's amazing, Megan, honestly. It's like a pinch me moment every day in this industry. The business has doubled every year since we've been part of the American industry.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing.

Luke McCormack: And we've got offices opening up in Florida, Texas.

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome.

Luke McCormack: I got my visa going through to become an American. So it's two feet in, full steam ahead.

Megan Ellsworth: Hey, that's the American dream.

Luke McCormack: Amen to that. So yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, wow. That's so awesome.

Luke McCormack: Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh my gosh, congratulations.

Luke McCormack: I appreciate it. Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: That's amazing. Well, all day today with all these interviews we've been talking about the importance of joining associations like the NRCA, your local associations, coming to shows like this. And this is example 352 of the importance of joining all these associations. Now, you're helping us take all of this internationally and get involved with the NFRCA and IFD and all these different international organizations to become an international roofing industry, not just North America or just the United States. So thank you for bringing the world to us.

Luke McCormack: No, I appreciate that. It's funny because I've came from the UK to the US and then like Gary Howes for example, they've went from the UK to the US to the UK. I've got a lot of help off Chris Czarnik and I've brought him to the UK now. I think there's a big appetite from all the associations and all the publications to work collectively and literally put roofing on the map. So it's my pleasure to be a little part of the fabric that holds it all together. Hopefully, we can continue to make a big impact for the people and the companies in this industry.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Well, if you are a roofing contractor and you're experiencing a labor shortage and you need help recruiting people to your company, you have to reach out to Roofing Talent America and to Luke, because they're doing great things and they're a part of this industry in a very big way. So congratulations.

Luke McCormack: Thank you. I appreciate it. And if anyone does want to hear more about it us, go to Roofingtalentamerica.com. Very front of the website, there's a testimonials video. Probably a lot of people you know within it, speaking about their experience working with us. Any good people, good companies, that their values are in the right place and they want to grow, we'd be happy to work with you. And as always, get us on RoofersCoffeeShop.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, of course. And you can also find them on RoofersCoffeeShop.com. They have a directory. And go listen to People Make Roofing. It's a great podcast. You can find it on The Roofing Talent America YouTube, our YouTube. Anywhere you listen to podcasts, you can listen to it. And thank you so much. This has been great.

Luke McCormack: I appreciate it. Thanks, Megan.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely.

Luke McCormack: Thank you.

Outro: You're so welcome. Everyone, stay tuned. We have more interviews yet to come. This is just day one of IRE. So stay tuned and make sure you're notified every time we do a new video. So subscribe and ring the bell. We'll see you next time. Thanks so much.