Roofers take field trips too!

By Lauren White. 

We took a trip to explore the roofing community in our own backyard. 

We take planes, trains and automobiles to travel the country for tradeshows, annual meetings, customer visits and grand openings. And we decided it was time to take a field trip in our own backyard in Central Oregon to connect with and visit local roofing companies, manufacturers, distributors and professionals! 

Heidi J. Ellsworth and I found a day between tradeshows and travel to road trip into Bend to visit acquaintances and friends, find out how we can be a resource to the industry in Central Oregon and make some new roofing friends.  

Our first stop was RoofLine in Bend, a branch of SRS Distribution. We walked around their showroom and took a tour of their shingle yard with multiple displays of materials they have available, in addition to stacks of different shingles and materials. Meeting up with Iden Asato before his move to California we talked about what’s new for RoofLine, upcoming events and starting a Central Oregon National Women in Roofing council. We met some of the new additions to the RoofLine community, including Amy Cashman, territory manager, and Cody Marcoulier, the branch manager. We were so excited to hear more about their Fastest Roofer competition that takes place every summer and how we can get involved. Initial plans are in place and it gets bigger and better every year. Mark your calendars for July 12 and join the RCS and RoofLine crews for friendly competition, swag and food! 

Next stops on our field trip were Deschutes Roofing and Scott’s Roofing. As the editor for RCS and being fully remote, I’m behind my computer screen, not out in the field, reading and telling stories about the amazing companies and professionals in our industry. And going on this field trip I got to see what these different operations look like – large and small. Installing roofs is a big job with a lot of different elements required to make it successful and maintain a reputation in an industry where everyone knows everyone. It’s amazing the different size office buildings these companies operate out of. Some have larger spaces and multiple buildings, while others you walk in the door and can see everyone who works there. But no matter how large or small the office is, the work is the same. 

We then visited with Thomas Hunziker, the owner of AM-1 Roofing. When people say roofing is a family, it couldn’t be truer for Heidi and Thomas. Having known Heidi’s father, who was a contractor, Thomas and Heidi shared stories from years past, caught up with what’s new with their families and businesses and talked about what’s next for AM-1 and their car racing adventures this year. We even got a full tour of the business, including shop dogs and their sheet metal shop! Specializing in residential and commercial solutions, steel buildings and metal siding (storage units), AM-1 has their own forming equipment from New Tech Machinery and CIDAN Machinery. Overall, they have 26 pieces of equipment! Because of their sheer number of machines and trucks, they have their own mechanic and shop to repair and maintain their fleet. 

After a sushi lunch and debrief, Heidi and I headed to Redmond for our final stops – Central Oregon Roofing and ABC Supply – before heading home.  

Throughout the day the message was clear, roofing is a community, and roofers want to connect, give back and help further the industry however they can. Most places we visited we just dropped in to say hi, but everyone treated us like we’d known each other for years. And while there were some familiar faces, we didn’t know everyone we met with. Roofing is family no matter which country, state, city or county you’re in.  

One way we’re expanding the family is by starting a Central Oregon National Women in Roofing council! Amy from RoofLine couldn’t wait to jump on board with us to spread the word and gather female-identifying professionals to further the industry. Our first gathering in March was a total success and we’ve been connecting, networking and supporting each other since then – can't wait for more!