What’s next for IKO

By Emma Peterson. 

Check out the exciting marketing strategies, product releases and industry growth that IKO has planned for the rest of 2024! 

Back at the 2024 International Roofing Expo (IRE), Heidi J. Ellsworth got the chance to sit down and chat with Jack Gottesman from IKO Industries about their booth and plans for the upcoming year. One of the most prominent parts of their booth was the company’s incorporation of technology. Jack shared, “The most exciting thing about the booth, this people are drawn to, we got all these big old TV screens I love.” These screens displayed some of the incredible content they have created over the past year.  

IKO was the first of the manufacturers at the expo to showcase their work in this particular fashion. Jack explained some of the reasoning behind the choice to incorporate technology into their booth design in this way, “When you want to show people what the shingles are going to look like, you probably have a little swatch on a brochure or on the website and maybe some photos. But what we went ahead and did is that we captured the drone footage of every color that we offer.” 

This choice enabled IKO to display their shingles in a variety of scenarios and angles quickly, allowing viewers to get a good look at the product in different lightings and uses.  This creative choice was proven to be a powerful marketing tool, as Jack explained, “Last year, we eclipsed over a million views on YouTube. And that's not even counting for all the video views we're getting on, on other social media channels.” 

In combination with this marketing push, IKO has been “leaning into what it means to be a performance roofing product.” One example of this is their dedication to building new and upgrading their existing shingle options to have class three impact resistance. Jack explained, “So everywhere we have brought our dynasty shingles, our Nordic shingles and Dynasty New as of the last year or two is now an impact resistant shingle. Recently, our Crown Slate Armor Shake and Royal Estate all offer impact resistance as well.” 

Heidi and Jack also talked about IKO’s dedication to industry growth in the new year. Jack described their response to contractor’s dedication to continued education, “We are answering that call by offering our profit power series for roof rows and for prospective contractors. At these events, we do four in the US, two in Canada every year, we attract between 75 and a hundred roofers to hear from experts across the industry.” On the topic of growth, Jack also gave some hints at what might be happening for IKO in 2025, “More plants that I can even name were announced between 2022, 2023 and now also in 2024. And they're gonna start coming online in 2025.” 

Watch the entire interview to learn more about IKO and what the rest of 2024 looks like for them!