As I was saying …

This past October, NRCA Chairman of the Board Lindy Ryan and I had the opportunity to attend the annual conference of a German organization, the International Federation of Roofing Contractors, that was held outside Cologne, Germany. Attendees mostly were from European and Scandinavian countries and represented contractors and manufacturers (who often are one and the same in that part of the world).

As is always the case with these trips, there are unexpected lessons to be learned. At the top of my list is this: The most pressing problem facing contractors in that part of the world is … finding workers. And that with 10,000 Syrians entering Germany every day. (We don't get much sympathy from Europeans about U.S. immigration problems.)

The Germans—and other Europeans—have a much different approach to workforce development than we do, of course. For one, not all high school students are encouraged to attend a university; many are encouraged to enter the building trades where, among other designations, they can become a "dachdeckmeister," or master roofer. There is a sense of pride that goes with the designation, and we have a lot to learn from them. But still, Europeans have the same demographic forces working against them that we do; basically, our countries are getting older.

We in the U.S., it seems to me, are guilty of being arrogant in our approach to international involvement. Too often, we think our counterparts want our technology, products and knowledge. But it's often the other way around—we always learn on these trips, and going in, we're never sure what we will learn.

Yes, there is interest in U.S.-made products and the U.S. construction experience. (On the whole, we are more productive and efficient.) But if you think about it, a majority of low-slope roofs being installed in the U.S. use materials that originated outside the U.S., including polymer-modified bitumen, PVC and TPO for sure. And we heard a report about the performance of TPOs, introduced in Europe in 1991, that concluded those 24-year-old roofs still are performing well. (It is worth noting these first-generation TPO materials were 180 to 200 mm—roughly 70 to 80 mils—thick. Maybe another lesson to be learned.)

And finally, the experience always is valuable because of the relationships that are formed. We had dinner one night with an Englishman who was involved with a Belgian manufacturing company during the 1970s and has vivid recollections of meeting a U.S. contingent of roofing contractors wanting to learn about his products. Relationships that endure for 40 years are ones worth forming.

All this is timely as we anticipate the 2016 International Roofing Expo^® where we expect nearly 10 percent of the 10,000 attendees to come from outside the U.S. There are lots of good reasons to make them feel welcome.

Bill Good is NRCA's CEO.