I recently received a flurry of e-mails with news reports about a roofing contractor and his foreman in California being charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2008 death of one of their workers. These charges were announced by the San Francisco District Attorney in April 2010. Co-workers and associates expressed shock at the news.
Recently we bore witness to a couple of major events
in the supply-chain sector of the roofing industry. Beacon Roofing Supply, the
first consolidator of roofing distributors to go public, was called out by
NASDAQ (where their stock is traded under the symbol BECN) and recognized in a
bell-ringing ceremony.
Writing on the topic of worker safety in this column a few issues back I casually mentioned that cutting back on marketing efforts in tough times is a bit like tossing out the clock to save time. While I certainly cannot take credit for coming up with this bit of wisdom, I do buy into it.
During a time in which trade shows have been reporting declining attendance and less than stellar results for exhibitors, the 2010 International Roofing Expo (IRE) somewhat bucked the trend in that the trade-show attendance was basically flat from the prior year and seminar attendance was actually up.
Roofing Contractor safety columnist Chip Macdonald of Best Safety, LLC, first raised the point at the beginning of this ever-lengthening recession. Dollars spent on anything not considered indispensable would be cut first, and for some that includes the safety program.
Little doubt that Topic “A” for the roofing industry continues to be the economy. Most roofing contractors I speak with express concerns about levels of business in the near future as well as down the road. “Down the road” is what has me thinking lately.
In an economy that demands more and pays less, you need to keep an eye out for anything and everything that will make your business run more smoothly and save a buck. Roofing material and equipment manufacturers continue to roll out new offerings, and you need to pay attention to these, in spite of the economy.
Hang around roofing contractors long enough and eventually you will come to understand the value in education. Education never really goes out of fashion in the roofing business. Today’s roofing contractors are faced with a mountain of educational needs.
With the recent passing of Mr. Charlie Raymond, 87, of Florida, the roofing industry lost a titan. Out of the day-to-day business of being a roofing contractor for over 20 years, he never really “retired” from the roofing industry.
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