Briefings

Manufacturer news

GAF wins awards for commercials

GAF, Wayne, N.J., has won two 2014 Davey Awards for its television commercials starring Jesse the Jack Russell Terrier. The Davey Awards are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, an organization of professionals from various visual arts disciplines. GAF won a Gold Award and a Silver Award in the Film and Video and Commercials categories.

GAF also has announced the winners of its Call for Installs promotion that began Aug. 22. Architects, developers and homeowners were asked to submit examples of work that incorporated GAF roofing products. HGA Inc., Minneapolis, won the Commercial Grand Prize for Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum, Minneapolis, and The Architect's Studio, Ocean Grove, N.J., won the Residential Grand Prize for a seaside colonial home in Spring Lake, N.J. Each winner received $5,000.

USG changes packaging

USG, Chicago, has altered its packaging to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandates for warning labels on packaging. The new packaging features a uniform layout with easier-to-understand safety information and instructions; is aligned across product lines, making it easier to identify USG products; and meets or exceeds government regulations for the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals labeling.

CertainTeed partners with HailStrike™

CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, Pa., has teamed with HailStrike, Plano, Texas, a weather forensics company, to help CertainTeed-credentialed roofing contractors quickly and accurately locate homes damaged by hailstorms so they can best connect with homeowners in need of roof system repairs.

HailStrike is offering CertainTeed Shingle-Masters, Silver Star Contractors and Gold Star Contractors three services: HailStrike tracking, OneSite reports and AniSwath^® hail maps. Roofing contractors with HailStrike tracking have access to radar-based storm tracking software that trails the heart of a storm and includes the size of hail. With OneSite, roofing contractors can see a storm's strength, speed, severity, direction and duration. The AniSwath service provides access to a color, fully animated hail swath map.

Duro-Last completes new PVC extruder

Duro-Last Inc., Saginaw, Mich., has completed a new PVC extruder at its Saginaw manufacturing facility. The investment will help Duro-Last handle an increased demand for products.

Companies merge to form Leading Edge Safety

AES Raptor LLC, North Kansas City, Mo., and Premier Rail Systems Inc., Kansas City, Kan., have merged to form Leading Edge Safety LLC. The new company will combine both companies' fall-protection products to provide a full line of fall-protection offerings, including mobile fall-protection carts and perimeter railing systems.

Distributor news

ABC Supply opens branches

ABC Supply Co. Inc., Beloit, Wis., has opened two new branches in Philadelphia and Newnan, Ga. The Philadelphia store provides a second location for ABC Supply contractors working within the city, and the Newnan branch is ABC Supply's seventh location in the Atlanta area. Both branches offer steep- and low-slope roofing materials, accessories and related roofing supplies.

ABC Supply also has acquired Standard Roofing Inc., a New Jersey-based independent distributor of roofing materials and other exterior products. With the addition of Standard Roofing's New Jersey locations in Manahawkin, Morristown, Tinton Falls, Toms River and Trenton, ABC Supply now will have 20 branches in the state.

Additionally, ABC Supply has acquired the assets of Siding World, a distributor of siding and other exterior building products with locations in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Siding World's two locations in Indiana, 14 locations in Michigan and one in Ohio will increase ABC Supply's branches to 10 locations in Indiana, 29 locations in Michigan and 14 in Ohio.

Up the ladder

Atlas Roofing Corp. has appointed Steve Heaton vice president of sales and marketing.

Henry Co. has named Frank Ready CEO of the company.

The industry online

IKO Industries Ltd. has announced its Roof-Viewer™ software now is available as a free download for Android devices in the Google Play™ store or on IKO's website, www.iko.com. The app is designed to help home-owners choose the right style and color of shingles for their homes by allowing them to virtually shingle their homes online. Users can choose a standard template similar to their houses or upload a photo of their homes, as well as "try on" home accessories such as siding and trim.