Michelle Lane - Firestone Roofing, Wall And Lining Systems Are Now Elevate - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Michelle Lane of Holcim Building Envelope. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast. 

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long-term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips. This is Heidi Ellsworth with Roofer's Coffee Shop and I am actually at the NRCA, National Roofing Contract Association, Fall Meeting with a live Roofing Road Trips. And I am so honored to be sitting here with Michelle Lane of Elevate. Hello, Michelle.

Michelle Lane:

Hello, Heidi. It's so fantastic to be here. Thank you so much for the invitation.

Heidi Ellsworth:

This is so fun. Do it person to person right here.

Michelle Lane:

It is.

Heidi Ellsworth:

A lot of times we're over Zoom and all those things but ah, it's so nice to be back in person.

Michelle Lane:

Very much so.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Very much. Well you've had quite the year.

Michelle Lane:

It has been busy, it's busy.

Heidi Ellsworth:

So I am so excited to get into this because we both are marketing folks. We love to talk about, and you've had one of an amazing experience. But before we get there, if you could introduce yourself and tell everybody a little bit about yourself.

Michelle Lane:

Certainly, happy to do it. So thank you again for the opportunity.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Oh, thank you.

Michelle Lane:

Michelle Lane. So I am currently Vice President of Marketing Communications for Holcim in their Building Envelope Division. I have been in this role for about five years and truly it's just been a fantastic ride within the roofing business.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, wow. Well okay, let's just start out and start with the very beginning because this is what everybody's wondering about. So Holcim, and I'd love for you to tell everybody just a little bit about Holcim and then let's talk about Firestone and Elevate.

Michelle Lane:

Fantastic. Happy to do that. So we have truly been on a journey over the course of the last 18 months. Many of you out there, and you Heidi, know, that Firestone Building Products was acquired by Holcim about 18 months ago. It's certainly been an exciting transition for us and certainly the brand transition. So part of what I wanted to get into today was just around this brand transition because there is quite a bit of question on there. Who is Holcim? What is Firestone Building Products and where does Elevate fit in?

Heidi Ellsworth:

Exactly.

Michelle Lane:

Exactly. And so we've really been on a brand journey and it's been more than just Elevate. So it really starts with transition of both the Firestone Building Products name but also the Firestone product names from Roofing, Wall and Lining Systems. Let me talk a little bit more about that. So Firestone Building Products went to market both from a company perspective as well as the product brands in a very similar fashion.

But what we've done in the new architecture is that we split Firestone Building Products, the company is now going to be moving to Holcim. And Holcim, as many of you know, is a global organization traditionally focused in the cement, concrete, ready-mix area, but they've actually been really aspirational in getting in deeper into the building solution space. And specifically with the acquisition of Firestone Building Products, they have expanded into the building envelope division, which we are a key part of, as part of these acquisitions. So Holcim's been very intentional in growing their business into the solutions of product space and really wants to be 30% of their total business. So an exciting time for us.

As part of the transition, I mentioned that Firestone Building Products, the company, was transitioning to Holcim. As part of this we also needed to make sure that we were transitioning the product of Firestone over a to a new name. And that's where Elevate comes in. So many of you, and I think you, Heidi, have heard the name Elevate out there and say, "Okay, where does Elevate fit in?" So Elevate is really the new brand for Firestone Roofing, Wall, and Lining Systems.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Okay.

Michelle Lane:

It's what really sits under this Holcim and Holcim building envelope umbrella alongside of many of our other brands including GECO, Malarkey, Elevate, and GenFlex. And so that's really what we call our house of brands moving forward.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Wow. Everyone knows Firestone. And so you've had quite the job to that well-known brand and now change it or elevate it to become Elevate. Talk a little bit about that. I'm just so interested in... That takes a lot of work not just now with the brand recognition and branding it all out there, but even coming up with the name and what were you going to do? Tell us a little bit about that.

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, it has definitely been a journey and it's been a fun journey, but we've started it a long time ago and it probably would be helpful just to talk a little bit about what that journey and how do you even come up with a name given the strength of Firestone. And I would say that was probably one of our biggest challenges is saying, "Okay, we have a long 40 year legacy with Firestone and the Firestone Building Products business. Great brand, fantastic legacy that everybody knows." And so it was about really being intentional over the course of the last year to get it right. And we really started over a year ago and it just starts with really understanding and listening to the market about what does your brand mean to your customers, what does it need to your teammates, what does it need to other folks in the roofing industry and to really understand the legacy and really where have we been, but also thinking through Holcim and where are we going in the future.

So over the course of the last year we went through a lot of research, talking to customers, spending a lot of time being intentional about coming up with that new brand. We did launch it in June of this year, so that's been super exciting. But it really is a journey and we're at our first milestone and it's really about how are we educating customers, creating awareness about the change in the markets and really building on that awareness moving forward.

Heidi Ellsworth:

We're so excited to have you on Roofer's Coffee Shop and to really be able to tell that story. In your directory, so for everyone listening, all of this is on Roofer's Coffee Shop, in the directory, some great ads and that takes a lot of work to put all that messaging together, too. And so once you've had the name, now everything has to change. And it's not just letterhead, although I don't know if anybody uses letterhead anymore, but it's also the message and how you're messaging that out to the industry. How's that been?

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, that was really the second phase of our transition. It was around strategy, coming up with a name, but then how are you communicating, what does that mean to the market? And it really starts again with that 40 year legacy. And what was important for us is that we didn't lose sight of the fact that we are still the same company. We still deliver the same great products, product names like UltraPly TPO, RubberGard EPDM. Those are things that are super important for our customers. And you will see that come out in a lot of our messaging. We are elevating the brand, but a lot of the things that our customers appreciate about the legacy of Firestone really haven't changed. And that's what a lot of the conversations that we've had with customers over the course of the last several months have been is, "Hey, what does Elevate really mean?" And it's really leaning into, "Hey, a lot of the things that you knew and loved about our organization are the same. It's the same great products, the same great people." But really how are we taking this to the next level in the future?

Heidi Ellsworth:

And you are. What would would you say has been the biggest challenge in this transition?

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, I think if you think about the biggest challenge, the first thing is, wow, Firestone Building Products. That's an amazing brand, an amazing legacy. And so I go back to saying how do you take this amazingness of a brand and create something new and make sure everyone is on the journey along the way? And so for us, I'll go back to being just really purposeful and intentional about the process and listening in the process, really understanding and creating a plan. And as you alluded to, it's not just about changing the name and the messaging, but also there's a huge asset transition that goes along with this. And so the journey has really just started and that asset transition is along the way, but we want to ensure that we're bringing our customers and the market along with us.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And I noticed in your ads, it's Elevate, but then you mention Firestone, so that's part of that branding transition. Right?

Michelle Lane:

Exactly. It's important that when a customer sees Elevate, someone sees Elevate for the first time, they're anchored on, hey, what is Elevate and where do become from? And so we will be using some transitional language here over the course of the next couple of months as we make that transition away from Firestone Roofing, Wall and Lining Systems over to Elevate.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Well, and you know what? The people of Elevate, formally Firestone, are just so amazing. I love working with you. It's been great. And that in itself will help carry that message a long way because I think you're right, it's about the products, it's about the people that really make that overall brand.

Michelle Lane:

I couldn't agree with you more. And honestly what we found as we went through this brand transition was how excited our people are about the transition. I think if you think about the strength of Holcim and what they bring to the table, teammates were super excited to be a part of a company that is a building products focused company. And so how are we being a part of the building products focused company, celebrating our legacy, but also coming out and really being something amazing moving forward.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah. So what are you hearing from contractors?

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, so it's a mix. I think it's a mix of really a lot of excitement about the Elevate name and there's also been some questions. And so for the most part, sentiment has been pretty positive and there's a lot of questions around how did you develop the name? And we really go into a lot of what we just talked about is we paid attention, wanted to make sure that we're listening to our customers and listening to where we've been and finding a name and a brand that really embodies all of that. So I think it's been great to hear from customers and get the feedback that they liked that it was very intentional and purposeful and customer-feedback driven.

We've also had a lot of questions, questions just around things that are important to contractors. What does this mean for specifications, codes, warranties? And we've assured contractors and building owner alike that hey, the warranties that we've issued over the years are still backed by Holcim.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Excellent.

Michelle Lane:

These warranties are still existing, they're still honored and they'll continue, our legacy will continue. And that we are also undergoing a transition from a codes and specifications. It's also been very purposeful both as sales and marketing driven approach and making sure that we're very intentional about migrating those because that's important for the business.

Heidi Ellsworth:

That is important. And I didn't even think about that until just right now talking about it. You think about all the assets, all the brochures, websites, all that kind of stuff, but there are thousands of thousands probably of specifications out there that also need to be updated. And I know there's some master specs that make it a little bit easier, but still that's a big job.

Michelle Lane:

There are, and you've hit the nail on the head there. There's this groundwork that needs to be done for our sales team and making sure they're working with folks in their local markets, but also master spec and how are we utilizing some of the technology tools right out there that we can to really leverage that well.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah. Because technology. I think about if we'd doing this 20 years ago, holy cow.

Michelle Lane:

Pulling the books off the shelf, making sure that each and every one of those is updated.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Oh my goodness. Yeah. That is definitely, thank goodness we're at where we are. And you mentioned this a little bit, but really there's no changes to products or services. It'd be that great quality that people have known for 40 years.

Michelle Lane:

Exactly. And our intent is to continue to build on that. Our focus has been building on the customer experience, building on innovation and some of the key products that our customers know and continuing that legacy in the future.

Heidi Ellsworth:

This has been a difficult year on a lot of ways with material shortage, supply chain, and then the branding. So having that for contractors, it is important to have that level of trust that they've known for so long. I'm thrilled to hear that that's right there and it's happening. But the other thing too, when you said about the future, I think I've just been incredibly intrigued by Holcim. I just think what a cool company and the sustainability that they talk about on their website. It's just front and center. How is that going to play in with the Elevate products and services?

Michelle Lane:

Holcim, as we found out, as being a part of them for the last 18 months, they're just such an amazing organization, purpose driven, focused on decarbonization. And that's a lot about what you'll start to see as we roll out our brands and our future focus. And I think right now it's just a timely period for roofing and really getting and entertaining and having deeper conversations around what sustainability means for roofing. And you will start to see things that Elevate will be coming out with and some of the things are really already in place. We talk a lot about decarbonization, making sure that our plants are utilizing alternative forms of energy where we can. How are we recycling some of the scrap that comes out of our facility? These conversations are ongoing and I think as you look forward to R&D, what are opportunities to build products that are more sustainable in terms of the inputs that go into them. So a ton of opportunity in the space that we'll start to see more of.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Well, and it's interesting too, because everything, there's just this perfect storm around sustainability. Obviously there's the need for us with climate change and everything that's going on. But then we also have, with the Inflation Reduction Act and a lot of the legislation that's going through right now, that's going to be driving a lot of more sustainability within commercial roofing.

Michelle Lane:

Very much so. And it's about how do we help customers make great choices and illuminating the insights about the products and what's really in the products and how do you take advantage of some of these things that are coming down? And building owners, quite frankly have a deep interest in understanding what really goes into the building that they're going to be utilizing. And so we are hearing more and more of that, a lot of questions. And I do think that that's going to be an important part of our future. And also just the industry in general.

Heidi Ellsworth:

The industry in general. And the fact it is being driven on so many different levels. Let's talk about that again, too, with the building owners. A name change, a new branding, getting in front of them with all these new sustainability and not really new because like you said, you've been doing it, but now it's just highlighting and bringing it to the forefront. That's a challenge in itself. How are you reaching those building owners, because they're really your final customer.

Michelle Lane:

They really are. And it does start with building awareness. And it's building awareness on all of our audiences. We have the contractor audience. We do have the specifier and architect audience, but we also have those building honors. And we do leverage media and a very active media plan to make sure that this transition is something that everyone is aware of. And also just making sure that our customers have the insights and can have the conversations with the building owners as well. So it's really two pronged, getting that message out there for more of a mass media and also being very targeted where we know our building owners are getting their insights as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And I know with what we've been talking about, you are very focused on digital and getting that digital out there because that is... just like we were talking about with the master specs, using that technology, this digital footprint can get in front of people so fast. And so what are you seeing there? Is that just the growth in basically that digital platform of communicating in market?

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, we're using digital. Obviously we've launched a couple of new websites as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah.

Michelle Lane:

So holcimelevate.com as well as holcimbe. Really these are anchor points for people to go to really find out more. And so as we amplify the media, we really wanted to make sure that folks had a place to identify and learn more information. And this is where we'll be putting a lot of information and ensuring that we're amplifying that digital opportunity.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And I know how long it takes to do websites. So when I think about everything you've done in the last 18 months, new name and then all the websites and everything that's going out there, that's amazing. But you have an amazing team and I mean that's what it takes.

Michelle Lane:

I do have an amazing team and it's great to hear you say that because I live and breathe it every day. And I'm super proud of the work that everybody on this team has done. As I said, it's been a journey and it's been a lot of hard work. It's been a lot of late nights, but really I'm super proud of where we've landed and the team that got us here.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, that's so cool. So a burning question, you mentioned GECO and Malarkey.

Michelle Lane:

Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth:

With those also being acquisitions by Holcim, any working together, is there any synergies? How does all that look for the market?

Michelle Lane:

We definitely have opportunities to work with each one of these businesses. Malarkey was a fantastic acquisition that happened several months ago and we've actually made two since then. And we definitely have conversations about how can we actively support each other, promote each other's business and really, really work together. And that happens as well with some of the newer acquisitions as well. So recently we announced the acquisition of PSNA, which is an adhesive coatings space, which is super exciting. And then SES on the spray foam, which is truly a leader in the spray foam area. So more of these to come. I mentioned earlier that Holcim definitely has an ambition to have 30% of their business in solutions and products. And so building the space within Building Envelope is a key driver of that.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And the Building Envelope, it has been for a while. Everyone's talking about that and then how important, starting to really understand all the transitions, how the buildings function and that Building Envelope is so important, so being able to get into that whole space.

Michelle Lane:

It really is. And I think if you go back to some of the conversations we were having around sustainability and building efficiency and energy efficiency is really a hot topic. And so this is going to be a key part of our focus on how these different brands and businesses work together.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Wow, very cool. I love how we listen to our contractors. We heard their voice, we listen. So what are some of the things that you would like to share with the contractors out there going forward? You've gone through all this, so going forward, what are some things for them to be aware of and to look forward to?

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, I think that's a great point. So Elevate is the new brand of the future. I think if we go back to some of the points that we talked about earlier, it's the same great products. But what you will also see from Elevate is innovation. There's going to be a number of things that we are investing in in terms of innovating around new products. We'll also be investing in a lot of areas that are important for contractors as well. You mentioned earlier the supply chain shortage. How are we investing in partners to better support our business but also facilities to really be able to expand and deliver product to contractors as well?

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah. And with everything, it's been interesting being at these NRCA meetings with you and I. You're hearing a mixed messaging out there a little bit. Some people, yeah, they're a little worried about the economy softening. Other people are like, "Nope, there's a lot of cranes out there and there's a lot..." Especially on the commercial space, a lot going on. What are you seeing with your contractors and just business overall?

Michelle Lane:

Yeah, I think overall we are optimistic about next year. If you talk to a number of contractors, and I've had the opportunity to speak with a few over the class of the couple of days and it is optimism, but it's cautious optimism. For the most part backlogs do look healthy, but I think that there's a lot of looming questions around what's going on with interest rates and at what point does this start to really impact specifically on the commercial side of the business. And I think generally speaking, what I've heard is obviously on the residential new construction market, people are anticipating some challenges, but commercial contractors are really, really excited about next year. And for the most part, cautiously optimistic.

Heidi Ellsworth:

There's just a lot of built-up demand. From COVID and everything that's happened, it's just like it just keeps growing.

Michelle Lane:

I completely agree with you. Demand is strong. Some of it I think is COVID related, some of it is supply chain. There's just a lot of pent-up work that really still needs to get done.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Wow. Michelle, thank you. This has been phenomenal. It's so fun doing it here in person.

Michelle Lane:

It is. Thank you so much again for the invitation. This has been fantastic and we're excited to continue our journey moving forward.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure somewhere out there, for all you marketing nerds who may be listening to this, there's going to be some great case study on this. I'm telling you right now because you guys have just done an amazing job.

Michelle Lane:

I love to hear that. And I cannot wait to read that case study because I'm super proud of the work and like I mentioned, it is a journey, but we're proud of the work and we'll continue this and continue conversations out there with the market.

Heidi Ellsworth:

That is great. Well thank you. And thank you for all you do for the industry and for everything that Elevate and Holcim is doing, too. You see the leadership. It's amazing.

Michelle Lane:

Fantastic. Well thank you so much. I appreciate that sentiment. It's great to be with you today.

Heidi Ellsworth:

It's great to be with you. And thank you all for being on this podcast. As always, you can find, like I said earlier, all kinds of information on Elevate, on Roofer's Coffee Shop, on the directory. We have articles coming out. There's just a lot of great stuff there. Well, of course you can find all of our podcasts under the read list and watch initiative. Go to the podcast and check out Roofing Road trips or be sure to subscribe and get notifications on your favorite podcast channel. And we'll be seeing you next time from the road. Have a great day.

Speaker 1:

Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the Roofer's coffee shop.com.