Action Roofing Inc. attributes its hard-earned success to years of dedication and learning through experience. According to co-owner Rick Jackson, it’s this whole-hearted perseverance that continues to push the company forward.

“We’re not the biggest company in town, but we’re not the smallest. We just hang in there every day,” Jackson said. “We’re here at 7 a.m. to unlock the gate, and we don’t leave until it’s over with at the end of the day. We continue to stick with it.”

Located in Broken Arrow, Okla., Action was established in 1975 by founder Junior Beaver and sold in 2001 to current co-owners Rick Jackson and Marvin David. For these two company veterans, the promotion from longtime employees to owners was a natural and welcomed transition.

“Roofing is kind of a family-oriented business,” Jackson said. “Junior knew my father, and he approached me when he had just started the company and needed someone to run the sheet metal shop. Marvin started in 1986 — we both grew up in the business. Action is the only company we’ve ever worked for. Junior put us in these positions because he trusts us, and we just do our own thing.”

Action specializes exclusively in roofing and divides its work evenly among commercial, residential and repair projects. “Roofing is all we do,” said Jackson. “We also have a sheet metal shop that complements our roofing operations. Marvin takes care of the residential and home repairs, and I take care of the commercial work and sheet metal shop. That’s how it’s always been.”

With a lifetime of experience in the industry, David and Jackson have grown through trial and error, learned from past mistakes, and adapted to new challenges. They are both hands-on workers and consistently go back to what works for them.

 “We didn’t do everything right the first time, but we’ve scienced out the problems,” Jackson explained. “Not every job has been a blue-ribbon job, but we always go back and take care of it. If we make a mistake, we acknowledge it. We say, ‘We’ve made a mistake, and we’re going to correct it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.’ I’m a consumer too, and that’s what I would want to hear. I think that’s what makes us successful.”

Jackson noted that the company has also learned to excel in multi-tasking. “We have the ability to switch gears,” he said. “A new-construction house takes priority over any re-roof projects we have on the books. However, if we get busy with new construction and have a time constraint on a re-roof, we can switch gears and do both.”

According to Jackson, Action has developed techniques to set itself apart from its many competitors. “In our particular area, there is fierce competition in residential. We get flooded with storm chasers, and the pie is only so big,” he said. “One way we combat that is we’ve gotten with our suppliers and try to pay the very least that we can. If we buy it right, we can sell it right. It’s a trickle-down effect.”

He continued, “We also actually have an office, equipment, a sheet metal shop, a warehouse, estimators — we’ve got everything we need. Some of these other guys are just marketers working from their kitchen tables. All they have are phone numbers, and they sub everything out.”

Jackson also acknowledged his company’s reliable manufacturers — which include TAMKO, Johns Manville, Carlisle SynTec and Novagard Solutions — as playing a key role in its continued growth and success. 

 Ultimately, it’s Action’s years of commitment — to quality work and to its customers — that gives the company an upper hand. “There are very few jobs that I don’t personally look at both during construction and at completion. I make sure that the way it’s supposed to be done is the way it’s done,” Jackson said. “We don’t have an answering machine here — every time you call this number, you will always get an answer. If it’s raining and someone has a problem, we’ll be there. Our customers trust us, and we trust them. It’s a two-way street.”