David Harrison

The commitment to being world class is a challenge you may have for yourself. The vision to be world class may be a concept we hear about in our profession. The objective and goal of being world class can be inspiring when we hear it or read about it. 

Our industry has been blessed with multiple years of prosperity. The stars have been aligned. The number of properties has been growing, which supports continued reroofing, repair and maintenance growth.

Over the years, Roofing Contractor has supported me in conducting and publishing the results of various surveys about the industry. These have included studies about how property owners and specifiers view contractors, and how contractors view the value chain.

We surveyed commercial property decision makers in both 2001 and 2004 about their thoughts related to our industry. Those market research initiatives demonstrated what we all thought we knew - manufacturers, contractors and consultants are being asked for products and services that are better, quicker and cheaper.

We wanted to see if things had improved since our last survey. So, in November of 2006, we conducted a follow-up study. The survey was mailed to 1,300 property owners representing an even geographic dispersion nationally. About 94 percent of the respondents were owners of single-family homes and had purchased a replacement roof within the previous three years. What do the results of the survey indicate? In the big picture, the industry is improving. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there is still a long way to go.