The need to know — it’s why contractors attending this week’s International Roofing Expo will assemble today to listen to a Power Panel discuss strategies and solutions for recovering from a tough economy. The Power Panel will be the ultimate kickoff to the greatest show in roofing. The Power Panel runs this morning from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in the La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom at the Morial Convention Center.

This year, the Power Panel consists of Rob Kornahrens, Founder and CEO of Advanced Roofing; Jamie McAdam, President of F.J. Dahill, Co. Inc.; Alex Hernandez, Vice President of Clark Roofing; Lisa Sprick, President of Sprick Roofing; and Nelson Braddy, General Partner for King of Texas Roofing Company.

“IRE is very valuable, especially in these times,” Kornahrens said. “There used to be not a huge amount of new technology or change in the industry, and now the industry is changing rapidly due to the green initiative and the desire for the United States to get off foreign oil dependency.”

Kornahrens said it has been a “very slow start” in 2010 as the country struggles to crawl out of a recession. He said keys to focus on include “more buying focus on our values in reflectivity and a large focus on the roof as an income-generating asset using photovoltaics.” Energy-saving and energy-producing roofing systems would be a prominent topic for the panel, predicted Kornahrens. “We will discuss marketing strategies that have and have not worked out,” he said.

Kornahrens said he will also talk about the following:

• How we started in the green building initiative by looking at solar.
• How we selected products.
• What we learned about the financial models that are implemented in selling solar.
• The long sale cycle it takes to sell solar.
• The challenge of taking existing estimators and salespeople from the roofing industry and cross-training them into solar/renewable opportunities.
• How the market has changed since 2007.

Business Strategies

Power Panel Moderator Tom Swartz, President of J. J. Swartz Co., will lead the panel as members discuss the state of the roofing industry, selling emerging roofing technologies, economic trends, future growth, hurdles to overcome, and effective marketing strategies.

“We will cover topics such as sales and marketing, diversification strategies, green movement, stimulus packages, the roof as an energy platform, outlook for 2010, service and maintenance, challenges facing the roofing and contracting business, as well as the ‘unspeakable’ questions,” Swartz said. “We will ask what other market segments that they can branch into, and to identify up-sell opportunities.”

As moderator, Swartz, 58, said he will ask panelists today how they have changed their business strategy given the tough economic times. He expects some tough questions — the kind he characterized as “the questions people always want to ask but don’t know how to or whom to ask them of.”

Swartz said the outlook for 2010 is expected to be down from 2009 by 5 percent to 10 percent. “From what was a commodity business, the roofing business will have many more challenges ahead,” Schwartz said.

Green systems are a bright spot. “The green aspect is very prevalent,” he said. “The different materials, styles, design and ways to purchase roofing material are evolving every day, with new ideas and new ways to be more successful.”

“The companies that get it and move forward will be more successful and profitable and be very good at what they do,” he continued. “Companies will have to be creative in identifying their diversification strategies and up-sell opportunities. It will also be interesting to see how the stimulus package will affect the industry in future years.”

Swartz said the Power Panel provides a way to address the IRE in a way that will bring everyone together on common ground and hear from experts on all the aspects of the business.

“It is a place that you can get those ‘unspeakable’ questions answered by their peers, and have the moderator ask the compelling questions,” he said. “The venue is one where a person in the business can hear their mentors and other experts address the same challenges that their business face. We will keep it informative, yet entertaining.”

Educational Opportunities

Nelson Braddy, Jr., a Power Panel speaker from King of Texas Roofing Company in Dallas, said the roofing industry is coming off one of the worst years in decades, and he offered some sobering thoughts on the industry.

“Unfortunately, I am afraid 2010 will no better and could possibly be even worse,” Braddy said. “The policies of the new administration in Washington are not business friendly in a time when all businesses are already struggling. Higher taxes, higher costs for regulation, the uncertainty of the healthcare mandate, the impending rise in interest rates caused by enormous deficit spending and the declining value of the U.S. dollar all are a big wet blanket on new business investment.”

Still, Braddy said he attended the Power Panel at IRE last year with several CEOs of roofing material manufacturers and found their diversified thoughts to be very valuable.

“I think having a cross section of contractors giving their opinions and ideas on various subjects will be very valuable to the audience,” Braddy said.

Donna Bellantone, Director of the IRE, said the Power Panel is just one example of the Expo’s commitment to offering valuable learning opportunities to help attendees sustain and grow their businesses.

“Attendees will really enjoy this fast-paced, interactive session featuring real solutions for tackling tough issues facing roofing contractors,” Bellantone said.

Bill Good, Executive Vice President of NRCA, said the Power Panel will provide “great insight to the issues facing the industry.”

“This will be a very informative and interesting discussion,” Good said.

In addition to the Power Panel, IRE will include an educational conference featuring an array of 43 sessions addressing a myriad of up-to-date industry issues with eight tracks designed especially for contractors, owners, CEOs, general managers, building owners, facility managers, foremen, superintendents, architects, engineers, consultants, estimators, salesmen, manufacturers and suppliers.

The Power Panel is included free of charge in all registration packages. Registration is required. The 2010 International Roofing Expo will be held today through Feb. 24 in the D&E Halls at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. For more information, call 800-684-761 or visit www.theroofingexpo.com.