S2:E46 Fred Malik - Why You Should be a FORTIFIED Certified Roofer

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter.

Why a FORTIFIED certification can make you more appealing to potential customers.

On this installment of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth chats with Fred Malik, the managing director for FORTIFIED programs at IBHS. Malik oversees the day-to-day operations of the FORTIFIED suite of programs, as well as the FORTIFIED Wise™ - Roofing Contractor program which helps roofing contractors meet FORTIFIED standards.

Fred started with FORTIFIED 11 years ago, however he began his career in the industry as a builder in the Mid-Atlantic states. He remembers Hurricane Andrew, the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana in 1992, as one of many instances that drove him to work for IBHS and FORTIFIED.

“That was my first real experience with severe weather and hurricanes, and as a builder, I had to ask myself, well, geez, ‘Am I doing all the right stuff?’," said Fred. Fast forward to 2005 where three major hurricanes hit Florida, now Fred’s home, in one season. “That was an eye-opening experience,” said Fred, “just seeing the different ways that severe weather could attack houses. That really got me interested [with IBHS]. Then an opportunity came around to help grow the FORTIFIED program.”

Fred’s personal experiences with hurricanes sparked a passion to improve how roofing systems performed in cases of severe weather. He’s since worked for the FORTIFIED, a program which seeks to improve property resilience to natural disasters.

“IBHS [is] similar to IIHS. They crash test cars. We literally crash test houses. We have a world-class unique research center in South Carolina, where we have a massive wind tunnel, 105 fans. We can create category three winds, realistic hail, wildfires and generate as much as eight inches of wind-driven rain per hour. That really gives us a unique capability to understand how houses and the systems that make up a house perform and where are their vulnerabilities.”

Founded back in 1978, IBHS continues to be a leading nonprofit research organization that now offers a FORTIFIED contractor certification. As people who build and repair roofs – a vital and protective layer of a home – obtaining this certification is another way contractors can earn customer trust. It shows that the contractor understands the importance of a well-made roofing system.

“One of the things I like about working in FORTIFIED and with IBHS is that we're a voluntary standard,” said Fred, “I don't have to sell our product to anybody. I can make the information that we have available to people so that they can use it with their customers. They can provide excellent customer service. They can become experts in this space. They can deliver higher value. That's what I get the luxury of being able to do through FORTIFIED. I really hope that that comes across to folks that this is something that you can use in your business to make yourself more appealing to potential customers and to set yourself apart from folks that are just putting on standard roofs.”

Listen to the entire podcast or read the transcription for more on the FORTIFIED program and how to become a certified roofer.