The International Roofing Expo continues to solidify its reputation as the must-attend industry event, and this year’s show set records for the number of attendees and exhibits. The 2007 IRE, the third edition of the show since it has been owned and managed by Hanley Wood Exhibitions, was held March 6-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The space this column takes up each month is set aside as part of the overall mission of Roofing Contractor to help you succeed in your roofing business. In February you were urged to take advantage of one of the industry’s premier educational events - the International Roofing Expo (IRE) held in conjunction with the National Roofing Contractors Association’s annual convention. I hereby claim one “I told you so” to those of you who missed out on attending.
What makes one roofing job a little more special than the next? A particularly finicky client, or perhaps a building with historical significance? How about a demanding set of specifications or a particularly daunting set of logistical challenges? Or the constraints of a schedule that allows almost no room for error? The reroofing project at Union Station (Old Montgomery Train Station) is one that featured a little (and sometimes a lot) of each.
If you still do not believe there is an emerging market for “green” and “sustainable” roofing, you really have to start paying better attention to current events. Throughout 2006, we witnessed report after report on the dangers of global warming and humankind’s activities that are exacerbating the problem.
My good friend David Stewart and I recently spent a week in Biloxi helping some folks rebuild their homes from damage sustained during Hurricane Katrina. It may not be page one news anymore (the Mississippi Gulf coast may never have been page one news), but there are still thousands of homes that remain uninhabitable a year and a half later.
While in preparations to pontificate and prognosticate and otherwise wax philosophical about the prospects for the roofing industry in 2007, I find myself too distracted by events of the present.
Of all the things one may find in a successful roofing contractor’s toolkit, a pool of well-trained and motivated workers would always be considered one of the most treasured. Being armed with great technical expertise and having a fantastic client base is not worth much if you cannot execute the work.
This issue of Roofing Contractor officially marks our 25th anniversary. While we are thrilled to reach this new height, we recognize that we have a job to do. No matter our age or past accomplishments, we are only as good as our most recent publication, Web posting, webinar or conference.
We can still say with some pride that ours was the first publication in the roofing industry to develop a presence on the Internet back in the middle 1990s. Both of you who visited our site at that time will probably remember that it was a very basic site, but loaded with potential.
As you thumb through this month's issue of Roofing Contractor, you will notice the recurring theme of roofing products and systems. Not just in the advertisements, but in the columns and feature articles.