YORK, Pa. — Roofing Technology Think Tank (RT3), a group of progressive roofing professionals focused on technology solutions for the roofing industry, awarded the 2020 Innovator of the Year award to Scott Riopelle, the owner and CEO of Denver-based Interstate Roofing. The award was announced during the virtual 2020 Best of Success Conference.
“It’s clear that Scott is an early adopter and eager to integrate the latest technologies into Interstate Roofing,” said Anna Anderson, CEO of Art Unlimited, Award Task Team Leader and RT3 board member. “To eliminate any chance of bias, our panel of judges did not know the names of the persons or companies that they were reviewing. They ranked nominations based solely on the technological information provided on the nomination form.”
According to the nomination, Riopelle was one of the first contractors to adopt using EagleView measurement reports as a standard in his business, as well as Xactimate and Scope Assist.
“Technology is the new future in the roofing industry,” said Riopelle. “By providing aerial and mobile access in seconds it is going to save time and be more cost effective for the jobs. I will never forget the first time I saw Xactimate. I was blown away by how far we have come in the last decade.”
Riopelle shared that Interstate Roofing has begun using virtual reality and augmented reality in their business.
“This technology speaks to the new generation of contracting salespersons," he said. "It has increased our retention base by allowing multiple avenues of education, while providing another way to evaluate the skills of a contractor before we finalize a contractor agreement or put them in the field blindly. What this caused is a more loyal base of employee and contractor alike."
He also is willing to share knowledge and help others in the industry, often presenting and educating other contractors, even competitors on how to implement technology into their businesses.
“Due to the pandemic we have been forced to look at digital technology from a different perspective. I see the challenge and accept it as a good thing. It is not always about growing more jobs but defining the good jobs from the bad ones and keeping the crews safe,” he said.
Interstate Roofing is a member of the Colorado Roofing Association, National Roofing Contractors Association and Riopelle serves on the board for the Western States Roofing Contractors Association. Interstate Roofing is rated in the highest tier with manufacturers such as Owens Corning, Versico, Boral Steel, GAF and CertainTeed.
