Meet the Weddle brothers and one can feel like you’re in the presence of a multi-generational roofing enterprise with decades of experience, hands-on expertise, and a loyal customer base. After more than 25 years in business as Weddle & Sons, Inc., the only part that isn’t true is that Eric and Allyn Weddle followed in their father’s footsteps. It’s not that their father wasn’t instrumental in developing their entrepreneurial runway and helped them launch their business. It’s just that he was in finance and never tore off a roof.

As the company name would imply, that’s what the Weddles wanted customers to think when they launched their residential roofing business in northern Kansas in 1999 and what they wanted to aspire to. But their roofing origin story is much more, well, original. As teenagers growing up in Manhattan, Kan., Eric and Allyn worked sporadically for an acquaintance’s father that owned a roofing company. That roofer declined to work on a complicated farmhouse project for mutual friends—a “well-reasoned choice given its steepness and four layers of wood and asphalt shingles,” as Allyn explains. But the Weddle boys took the job, and roped in youngest brother Tim, then 14, too. It took two weeks, but with the help of a few friends, they got the job done. The pay was $4.75 an hour, but the success of the job was figuring out how to finish it, proving it to themselves.

“We had the summer to do it, and we were up for a challenge,” Eric reflected recently. The duo was also inspired by their father and his cautious, yet unwavering support. He met their mother while attending Kansas State University and never left area, supporting the family as a financial planner.

“We grew up talking about business with him, the things he was learning and how businesses he was working with were becoming successful. That had a real impact,” Eric said. “That was partly the reason we gave him the shout-out in our company name; we enjoyed talking about business and learning.”

Those talks rubbed off on the brothers—immediately. By ages 12 and 10, Eric and Allyn convinced their dad to move their lawn mowing equipment into a large passenger van and to drive them around the area mowing neighborhood lawns for cash. He continued doing that until Eric earned his license at 15, and Allyn received his farm permit at 14, allowing him to drive for agricultural work and education.

“We always enjoyed working together and had a way of just being able to figure out with each other what needed to get done,” Allyn said.

With their bond fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit, the roofing business seemed like a worthwhile goal in their late teens. The brothers felt emboldened by their initial success with the farmhouse and banded with another brother duo that were already running a residential reroofing company in nearby Nebraska. They went to work, handling all aspects of jobs big and small.

Over the next couple of years, a handful of family friends trusted them with their rooftops, and the brothers started roofing on their own. They turned to their father to help get the proper paperwork and set up the business operating as E.A.T. Roofing, each letter representing each of their first names.

Another differentiator in their market is Weddle & Sons, Inc.’s seven-year fully transferable workmanship warranty with very few conditions or exclusions. All installers are well-trained for safey, and to be hands-on problem solvers when necessary.
Photo: Weddle & Sons, Inc.

(Thank Goodness For) The Rebrand

Their first lesson in brand marketing came early on. The Weddles went to their supplier and requested their first line of credit as a company. The reps chuckled at the name, and suggested a change, but read into the passion and desire behind the request. They came through with a $5,000 line of credit.

The Weddles took the name-change to heart and rebranded from E.A.T. to something that lent a little more credibility and felt more like a family-oriented business. They said their father appreciated the gesture and the good business-sense, but he didn’t want any of the liability, which was among several early lessons learned. After a few lean years, Allyn recalled that by year three, the brothers had it ‘figured out’ and generated $50,000 in revenue for the year.

“It’s kind of fun to look back at the numbers, and thinking now that’s achieved before lunch, every day,” he said with gratitude.

Roles during that initial stretch were different, but each brother played to their strengths. Tim studied economics and Spanish in college, which both proved to be essential as Weddle & Sons launched and began to incorporate subcontractors. He eventually left the business and joined his father in financial planning. Eric focused on sales and growth, while Allyn managed operations and building people up within the organization. Together they created a culture that incorporated quality, customer care and fun.

The company recorded its first million-dollar year in revenue in 2009 and was growing steadily when Eric decided to earn an MBA to become an international business consultant. By 2016, he wanted back into roofing full-time, and recalled the company was generating roughly $5 million annually at the time.

Explosive growth followed with branches in Salina, Kan., and the Kansas City metro area opening shortly after, as did operations in Lincoln and Omaha, Neb. Colorado and Wyoming soon followed, and the Weddles do a fair number of high-end projects in Montana, as well. By 2022, the company nearly doubled its previous revenue record andbroke the $30 million revenue mark by its 25^th anniversary.

There are several factors to consider for their success, but both brothers believe it all starts with what they’ve invested in building a strong brand in their core communities. And also, being ready to respond to storms when they hit, which is inevitable for their geography. 

They also showcase regional strength and name recognition so while they don’t chase storms, they do want to be established in markets that get them and get calls from people familiar with their name.

The Weddles also like to stay on the cutting edge. A chance meeting with Tesla reps at the 2020 International Roofing Expo in Dallas eventually led to a partnership, where their crews became authorized to sell and install Tesla solar roofs before Tesla had a national contractor program. Weddle & Sons installed the first Tesla Solar Roofs in Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming, and the solar opportunities became a division of the company that remains a key differentiator in the marketplace.

“We’ve enjoyed seeing the growth, but it’s not a straight line up,” Allyn said. “There’s always a bit of a drive of trying to prove yourself, but as we grew and we found more opportunity, we found a pretty sizeable gap in the market.”

There are more Weddle daughters than sons currently working at Weddle & Sons, Inc., headquartered in Manhattan, Kan. The Weddle siblings (from left): Kristen, Tim, Anna, Eric, Emily, Allyn, and Rebeckah.
Photo: Weddle & Sons, Inc.

Inward Focus

As many Midwest roofing operations are, the Weddle & Sons team is very much still a family business. The Weddles have four younger sisters (Anna, Emily, Kristen and Rebecca) who all now work for the company in various roles.

“Our mission is to build better lives in our communities, and for our clients,” Eric explained.” This means that we believe in working hard and rewarding hard work through making sure our employees are safe, well paid, and have a healthy work-life balance.”

To do so, the brothers realized they had to offer more than just competitive wages and opportunity. The company began providing health benefits about a decade ago and steadily increased the quality of plans and contribution rate for employees and dependents. Those benefits also now include dental and vision coverage, 401k, life insurance, and family leave at a time when insurance costs rose dramatically.

“We feel like these offerings attract the kind of people who want to be part of a team for the long term,” Allyn said.

They take employee safety seriously as well. Most new hires spend their first days shadowing on the job, and new employees are paired with an experienced service technician or foreman for a few jobs. There are a number of training roofs set up in the headquarters warehouse to practice flashing details, chimneys, skylights, and other critical applications.

High-quality workmanship is always a chief concern. Another differentiator in their market is a seven-year fully transferable workmanship warranty with very few conditions or exclusions, so they know that any quality shortcomings will quickly come back to them for solutions. All installers are well-trained to be hands-on problem solvers when necessary.

“We use on-site quality control supervisors for virtually every job who are full-time employees and are the first to arrive and the last to leave a worksite,” Allyn said. “They have a quality checklist and document with photos throughout the duration of every project. They may also be the ones handling critical details like chimney flashings or skylights.”

They also tend to hire people they liked, including friends, which can be risky, but has generally worked out.

A chance meeting with Tesla reps at the 2020 IRE in Dallas led to a partnership that made Weddle & Sons, Inc. the first to install Tesla Solar Roofs in Wyoming, like this one with a magnificent view of the Rocky Mountains.
Photo: Weddle & Sons, Inc.

Never Settle

"Never settle” is one of the company’s five core values. For the Weddles, it's less a declaration of dissatisfaction than a commitment to consistent improvement—personally and professionally.

Earlier this year, the company hosted its first Weddle University event, where the entire company came to the headquarter warehouse for several days of hands-on training.  Staff from different branches and various job responsibilities sat alongside one another — field technicians next to sales reps, office admins next to foremen.

They invited several manufacturer reps to lead specific trainings on every major product crews install. Everyone from field technicians to sales reps and office admins got to practice installing shingles, TPO, EPDM, vents, and skylights.

“We always want to be learning, getting better, and improving,” Allyn said. “We want to compete against last year’s version of ourselves, and ask ‘are we providing a better service or product to our clients?’”

The attitude permeates into community involvement, which they’ve learned can have a direct impact on sales. Fundamentally, the Weddles said they want sales to remain local and relational, and built on visible investments in the communities they’re in. The model is also more team-oriented then based on rewarding individuals for performance. It’s built an expectation that when someone calls, any team member is ready to help them with the issue.

The consistent success and culture has attracted private equity firms to discuss partnerships. While they see value in having a larger footprint in the market, the brothers say their model still thrives on geographic diversification and creating more opportunities for the people working in the company. For certain, they won’t make any rash decisions or plan to do anything else.

“We have a lot of fun and it’s remarkable that family can work together that long. It just works,” Eric said. “We have different strengths, but I think we’re pointed in the same direction most of the time.”

They also won’t stay still.

“You don’t ever want to feel like you’ve arrived, because when you think you’ve arrived and have it figured out, then it’s an opportunity for younger companies to be a little more aggressive,” Allyn said. “But when we grow, we offer more seats for people to take leadership, and that’s been pretty fun to watch.”