For the sixth year in a row, Roofing Contractor is putting a well-deserved spotlight on industry all-stars by recognizing the Top 100 Roofing Contractors. For 2014, we are excited to honor an extensive variety of successful companies — from those that have made the list every year since its inception to some that are making a first-time appearance.

As in the past, the list includes only companies located in the United States, and rankings are based solely on annual sales revenue. Participation was voluntary. Each contractor reported its total revenue and business statistics for 2013, while some also offered valuable insight into their companies, the industry and the economy. All information was self-reported between Jan. 24 and June 15 of 2014.

Holding on tight to the No. 1 spot for the third year in a row is CentiMark Corporation of Canonsburg, Pa. The company reported more than $484 million in revenue for this past year. “Thanks to CentiMark’s loyal, repeat customers, we had another record-breaking year in 2013,” said COO and President Timothy Dunlap.

Coming in again at No. 2 is Tecta America Corporation of Rosemont, Ill., with $403 million in reported revenue. Rounding out the top 10 are Baker Roofing Company of Raleigh, N.C.; North American Roofing of Asheville, N.C.; Nations Roof of Lithia Springs, Ga.; Mr. Roof of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Beldon Group of Companies of San Antonio; Aspen Contracting Inc. of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Best Contracting Services of Gardena, Calif.; and Simon Roofing of Youngstown, Ohio.

Success Stories

Despite some challenging conditions including a slowly recovering economy and some severe weather, this year’s top contractors hung tough during the past year. “We had a very solid year in 2013,” explained Darren Begg, senior vice president of Aetna Roofing Corporation in Trenton, N.J. “The early part of the year started off a little slow with a very competitive bidding atmosphere, but as the year progressed the market seemed to improve.”

However, many contractors noted that their accomplishments were not achieved without some difficulty. TJ Willetts, director of marketing for Burns & Scalo Roofing in Pittsburgh, said his company had a very strong year but acknowledged the challenging weather in the Northeast. Denver Green, president of Saratoga Roofing in Oklahoma City, said 2013 was a trying year, as his company experienced solid growth but was faced with significant margin pressure. Ken Kelly, president of Kelly Roofing in Naples, Fla., agreed. He stated that the roofing industry had to work hard to succeed in 2013, as his company also managed to complete great topline sales but on very tight margins.

The hard work paid off, as several companies relished unexpected success. “We are very proud of our financial performance in 2013,” said Leo Ruberto, president of Feazel Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. “We exceeded our own expectations and owe it to our valued customers, strong sales staff and professional craftsmen delivering quality on every job. We saw about 50 percent growth from 2012.”

“Our company did better than expected in 2013,” said Rob Kornahrens, president of Advanced Roofing Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Our overall revenue was the same as 2012; however, profit was up due to our solar division ramping up production on several large projects throughout the state of Florida and focusing on increasing efficiencies in our roofing operations division.”

For some, 2013 marked some significant milestones. Ken Gwyn, CEO of The Bulldog Group in Winston-Salem, N.C., said his company had its best financial performance since 2008. Chris Lowe, vice president of Kidd Roofing in Austin, Texas, and Gary Curry, president of Roofing by Curry in Sarasota, Fla., both said that their companies enjoyed record-breaking years in 2013. Curry pointed to a 60 percent increase in revenue over 2012.

It was also a banner year for Titan Roofing Inc. of Springfield, Mass. CFO Kevin Campion said, “Through the blessings of a large backlog of business and the efforts of our loyal and dedicated team of professionals, we enjoyed our best financial year ever.”

Changing Direction

To ensure continued success in today’s evolving economic environment, many companies felt compelled to adopt new policies and procedures or change their focus this past year. According to Dunlap, CentiMark is one such example. “CentiMark has a strong tradition of exploring new ways to increase sales,” he said. “We have added electronic marketing including our CentiMark mobile app, regenerated our website and updated our customer-friendly resource database — MyCentiMark.com. We are very proud of our expanding customer service initiatives and our investment in our national, global and regional account programs. By placing the right people with our diverse customer base, we are able to grow both customer and market share while creating an exceptional customer experience.”

Many other companies also looked to internal restructuring as a means of generating new work and increasing productivity in 2013. Green said Saratoga Roofing launched a strategic account sales team, started a quality-control division and invested heavily in training its crews this past year. According to Willetts, Burns & Scalo incorporated new technology and automation into its estimating, operations and accounting procedures. Dan Mesch, director of operations for American Dream Home Improvement in Downers Grove, Ill., said his company relied on an evolving mix of new policies, programs and marketing campaigns, and implemented a two-year plan to open eight additional locations by early spring of 2016.

According to Begg, Aetna Roofing Corporation also made several company-wide improvements in 2013. “Over the past year we have hired additional estimating staff, hired additional support staff, purchased a new crane to increase productivity and made significant investments in equipment,” he said. “In December 2013, we began construction of an additional 13,000-square-foot warehouse facility to assist us in increasing both capacity and productivity.”

Putting greater emphasis on customer relationships also proved to be an important concept embraced by this year’s top contractors. “We have implemented new internal policies and procedures to build the best sales teams and offer the best customer service from start to finish,” said Danielle Woodruff, customer relations manager for Innovative Construction & Roofing in St. Louis. “We are using target marketing, referral programs and thorough training programs to ensure our representatives have the most knowledge on all current products and techniques to fit each of our client’s needs to improve their home or business.”

Ruberto, Feazel Inc., agreed. “Keeping our focus on the customer, taking their needs and wants into consideration, and developing tools that will make their experience better has been our number-one initiative,” he said. “We’ve done this not only by expanding our service capabilities to give our customers a single point of contact for all of their exterior building needs, but also by investing heavily into technology that gives us greater flexibility, more accuracy and better response times. These technical tools enable our customers to get things done in a more time effective, streamlined manner without all the red tape of trying to track down who they should really be talking to, to get something done.”

In addition to internal revamping, some companies challenged themselves to pursue entirely new types of jobs and projects. “We have tapped into new markets that we have not been in before,” said Daniele Riopelle, CEO of Interstate Roofing in Denver. “We are starting to do new construction, which is a totally new market for us.” Douglass Sutter, president of Sutter Roofing Company in Sarasota, Fla., noted that his company also found success by shifting its focus. “We have become much more of a re-roofing contractor as opposed to new construction,” he explained. “We like tough projects that scare smaller, less-experienced contractors.”

Several contractors noted an increased concentration on bidding in 2013. “Our company has changed its focus from the past few years by only bidding on projects with strong profit margins and sticking to our core competencies of re-roofing difficult, occupied commercial roofing systems,” Kornahrens, Advanced Roofing Inc., said. Gary Sdao, vice president of Best Contracting Services in Gardena, Calif., said, “With everyone still bidding the projects with tight margins, more emphasis has to be put on bidding properly and project management in order to meet targets and goals.” Gwyn, The Bulldog Group, noted that following up on bids and maintaining previously developed relationships have been essential to his company’s success.

Focusing on the Future

With 2013 under their belts, the top contractors are now focused on the current year and thinking about the long-term future of their companies. Most are moving forward with positive momentum, as they feel the economy may finally be on the upswing. Pat Nussbeck, President of Aspen Contracting Inc. in Lee’s Summit, Mo., said that while he thinks it is going to be a slow climb back up, the economy is starting to turn around, and new construction is beginning to make a comeback. According to Lowe, Kidd Roofing, housing starts are forecasted to be strong this year. Sdao, Best Contracting Services, said new construction has recently picked up considerably, and there has also been more activity in the public arena.

Kornahrens, Advanced Roofing Inc., has observed similar trends. “We are seeing the economy grow on a steady pace for the last few years,” he said. “We have personally increased business spending and have noticed more activity in the commercial market as a whole. Also, large influxes of overseas buyers are helping to stimulate the market.”

With hope for continued economic improvement, many companies feel they are on the right track for another successful year. Kelly, Kelly Roofing, expects 2014 to be a better year due to greater consumer confidence. Gwyn, The Bulldog Group, said, “There has been an uptick in margins the first half of 2014, and it feels pretty good for a change.”

Morale is high, as several contractors expect that their financial performance will improve over 2013. Nussbeck, Aspen Contracting Inc., said his company is already on pace to do better than this past year, and he is currently projecting $100 million in revenue. Sdao, Best Contracting Services, expects his company to meet or exceed its sales and revenue goals for this year. Steve Little, president of KPOST Company in Dallas, said his company is predicting its revenue to increase 15 percent. Riopelle said Interstate Roofing is projecting to increase its margins by at least 30 percent. Laura Threlkeld, executive assistant for National Roofing Partners in Coppell, Texas, said NRP is projected to bring in at least $50 million, almost doubling the company’s revenue from 2013.

Coming off of a very successful 2013, American Dream Home Improvement expects to do even better this year. “Every aspect of the company grew by leaps and bounds in 2013,” Mesch explained. “The success and growth we experienced in 2013 propelled ADHI to open four new offices in the first half of 2014. With four more offices up and running, we expect to see volume and revenue grow by 50-100 percent by the end of 2014.”

According to Ruberto, Feazel Inc. is also on track to surpass this past year’s success. “We’re anticipating upwards of 150 percent growth compared to 2013,” he said. “We continue to focus on delivering value and the best customer service in the industry to our customers. This has enabled us to build deep relationships with the residents, builders and property management companies in our community. Word of mouth is our best form of advertising, and customer referrals are already up early in the 2014 season. We have increased the amount of services we offer and have entered new markets.”

Many contractors pointed to this past year’s long, harsh winter as a reason for possible increases in roofing work and revenue for 2014. “Due to the severe winter, all roofing contractors are fortunate to have a lot of work,” Dunlap said. “Our customer service initiatives such as our CentiMark mobile app, service work and re-roofing opportunities will result in a strong year in 2014.”

Green, Saratoga Roofing, said this year’s roofing season has been shortened due to the past year’s tough winter, which has resulted in higher-margin work. Willetts, Burns & Scalo Roofing, said the weather in his company’s region pushed a lot of its backlog into 2014; and Neal Ferry, business development manager for Stonebrook Roofing Inc. in Lincoln, Neb., said he anticipates a modest increase in volume due to early 2014 weather delays. Begg, Aetna Roofing Corporation, agreed. “I anticipate a better year in 2014,” he said. “The difficult winter will bring increased opportunities for the spring and summer.”

Regardless of the reason, industry leaders went into this year with confidence. “We feel very positive about 2014,” Nichole Mariedth, bid coordinator for Kodiak Roofing & Waterproofing Co. in Lincoln, Calif., said. “We look forward to what it will bring.”

 We are right there with you, and we can’t wait to see what next year’s Top 100 Roofing Contractors will have to share with us.