The word “consolidation” has had its own distinct meaning in the roofing industry for nearly five years.
Actually, the concept had been brewing since March of 1997 when Gregg Wallick began the process of devising a plan to bring together large, commercial roof contracting firms to form a publicly owned roof contracting company with a national presence. The original concept was envisioned by Wallick’s father, Ed Wallick, who dreamed of rolling up contractors on a more limited, regional basis. Owing to a shock to the market for initial public offerings (IPO), General Roofing Services nearly ceased to exist before it ever got started. Private funding and a dogged determination by the founding contractors prevailed and the enterprise became the first of several “roll-up” consolidations of roof contracting firms.