Briefings

Contractor news

Roofing contractor passes away

Cy Tilsen, founder and owner of Tilsen Roofing Co. Inc., Madison, Wis., passed away Sunday, Jan. 23, at his home in Aliso Viejo, Calif. He was 87.

Tilsen attended the University of Wisconsin—Madison as a pre-medical student before volunteering for service in the Army Air Force during World War II. In 1953, he founded Tilsen Roofing. He served on a number of roofing industry association boards and was a recipient of NRCA's J.A. Piper Award, as well as the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association's James Q. McCawley Award.

Tilsen is survived by his wife, Shirley; daughters, Lynne and Robin; sons, Ronald and David; and four grandchildren, Alexis, Benjamin, Rachel and Jacob.

Memorials in Tilsen's name can be made to The Smile Train or Doctors Without Borders.

Former NRCA president passes away

Former NRCA President John Bradford, former president of Bradford Roof Management, Billings, Mont., has passed away. He was 81.

Bradford received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Montana, Missoula, in 1951. He then joined the Navy and served during the Korean War. After an honorable discharge from the Navy, Bradford and his wife, LaVetta, moved to Billings, where he worked as a landman for an oil company.

Bradford joined his father at Bradford Roof Management in 1956. His sons later joined the business, and he retired in 1994. Bradford was highly involved in the roofing industry, serving as president of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA); president of NRCA; and receiving MRCA's James Q. McCawley Award. He participated in various other industry organizations and helped develop the Montana Roofing Contractors Association.

Bradford also served on the board of directors for the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch; Billings Chamber of Commerce; Deaconess Hospital; Northern Rockies Cancer Treatment Center; and Rocky Mountain College. His civic involvements included the Billings Optimist Club, Billings Downtown Rotary and Red Lodge Rotary.

Bradford is survived by his wife, LaVetta; daughter, Tracy Brekke; sons, Dane and Tom; and four grandchildren. Bradford's family requests memorials be sent to Beartooth Hospital Foundation, 600 W. 21st St., Red Lodge, MT 59068-9266.

Chamberlin Roofing receives award

Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing, Houston, received the Business Excellence Award of Merit for 2010 from the Houston Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors in the Mega Commercial Specialty Contractor category.

Chamberlin University, the company's in-house training, safety and mentoring program, contributed to the recognition by helping raise the level of education and professionalism among employees and bolstering employees' individual sense of pride and accomplishment.

"We are especially honored to receive this award because we believe our team and business practices set the standard in our industry," says John Kafka, Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing's chief executive officer. "It is all about the team of people at Chamberlin who make the real difference, and our team is among the best."

Manufacturer news

The RKW-Group acquires Danafilms

The RKW-Group, Frankenthal, Germany, has acquired Danafilms Inc., Westborough, Mass. The acquisition provides The RKW-Group a physical manufacturing presence in the U.S. and allows both companies to better serve the North American market.

The RKW-Group will have three U.S. locations, including a sales office near Atlanta. Under The RKW-Group's decentralized management structure, customers will continue to work through existing relationships and The RKW-Group's products and services will be added to Danafilms' portfolio.

Danafilms' president and management team will remain with the company in their current roles.

Lapolla Industries enters agreement

Lapolla Industries Inc., Houston, and EnergyWise Structures Inc., McKinney, Texas, have entered into an agreement to supply existing EnergyWise Structures customers with Lapolla Industries' spray polyurethane foam and supply all Lapolla Industries customers and related market channels with access to EnergyWise Structures' engineering services.

EnergyWise Structures' software builds an energy analysis based on a customer's building plans and can project heating and cooling costs. From the analysis, customers can customize a new building plan that includes Lapolla Industries insulation, caulking, and heating and cooling system sizing to maximize energy savings.

Firestone Building Products to close facility

Firestone Building Products Co. LLC, Indianapolis, announced it will close its Kingstree, S.C.-based manufacturing plant in mid-2011 and consolidate EPDM roof membrane production into its larger Prescott, Ark.-based facility. The decision affects 190 employees at the Kingstree location and will result in 100 new jobs in Prescott.

"This was an extremely tough decision to make as our teammates' performance in Kingstree has always been strong and the government and community leaders in South Carolina have been most supportive of our efforts," says Ken Weaver, Firestone Building Products' president. "However, with both operations running reduced shifts, neither plant is operating cost-effectively. In combination with productivity improvements, our proactive efforts have not sufficiently realigned production capacity with overall demand."

Company officials notified employees of the decision in early January. The Kingstree plant will go through a gradual phase-down to ensure customers do not experience interruption during the transition. An official plant closure date has not been finalized; however, Firestone Building Products expects plant operations to cease around July 1.

GAF Materials helps with home makeover

GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J., was featured in an episode of ABC network's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which aired Jan. 16.

The show's crew built a home for the Simpson family of Savannah, Ga. The new home is more conducive to the medical needs of 2-year-old Zoë Simpson, who was born with Hydrops Fatalis, a serious condition in which abnormal amounts of fluid build up in two or more body areas of a fetus or newborn. The home's roof features GAF Materials' Timberline® HD™ shingles, which incorporate the company's Advanced Protection technology.

Additionally, GAF Materials has joined Ply Gem, Cary, N.C., a manufacturer of exterior building products for the residential construction market, to introduce The Designed Exterior Collection by Ply Gem, a collection of nine exterior home elevations.

The Designed Exterior Collection features various historically inspired designs, each including one of several GAF Materials roofing options. A virtual tour of a Designed Exterior neighborhood can be viewed at www.designedexterior.com.

GAF Materials also has donated solar attic fans and roofing materials to The Designed Exterior Giveaway by Ply Gem, a promotion targeted at residential builders and remodeling contractors. Builders and remodelers who enter the giveaway have a chance to win a complete exterior home product package and architectural design services valued at $50,000.

Entries for The Designed Exterior Giveaway by Ply Gem will be accepted through the end of March and can be submitted at www.designedexterior.com.

Dow Building Solutions offers insulation warranty

Dow Building Solutions, Orlando, Fla., now offers a 50-year thermal limited warranty on its STYROFOAM™ Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Foam Insulation products of 1 1/2-inch thickness or more.

The warranty stipulates STYROFOAM Brand XPS Foam Insulation products of 1 1/2-inch thickness or greater manufactured after Nov. 1, 2010, will retain 90 percent of their R-value for a 50-year period from the date of manufacture. Additionally, STYROFOAM Brand XPS Foam Insulation of 1- to 1 1/2-inch thickness now have a 30-year thermal limited warranty, which is double the previous 15-year warranty.

Carlisle Construction Materials opens facility

Carlisle Construction Materials (CCM), Carlisle, Pa., has announced it plans to open a new polyisocyanurate insulation manufacturing facility in Washington. Operations are planned to begin in the first half of 2012 with the new facility being specified to the same standards as CCM's facilities in Florida, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.

Affiliate news

Texas association honors roofing companies

The North Texas Roofing Contractors Association (NTRCA), Fort Worth, Texas, honored its 2011 Golden Hammer Award winners at its 11th Annual Awards Banquet and Gala Jan. 29 in Dallas. The awards recognize outstanding commercial and residential roofing projects.

The winners for commercial projects include NRCA member Supreme Systems Inc., Dallas, for its work on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Terrell Unit Cannery in Rosharon; NRCA member Arrington Roofing, Dallas, for its work with St. Philopateer Coptic Orthodox Church, Richardson, Texas; and NRCA member Castro Roofing of Texas LP, Dallas, for work at the University of Houston Science Center.

The residential project winners are NRCA member Tice Enterprises Ltd., Dallas, for work on the Tabani residence, Dallas; Bret Foster Roofing Inc., Forney, Texas, for work on the Centenary residence, University Park, Texas; and NRCA member Bert Roofing Inc., Dallas, for work on the St. Laurent residence, Dallas.

Each year's entries are judged on logistical challenges, workmanship quality, uniqueness, difficulty, time constraints, innovative solutions and safety challenges.

In addition, Tim Rainey, president and owner of Supreme Roofing Systems, was given the association's 2010 Industry Leadership Award. The award is presented each year to a person who has made significant contributions to NTRCA and/or the local roofing community.

Other news

SPRI names 2011-12 president

SPRI has named David Bailie president for the 2011-12 term. Bailie was elected during the association's 29th Annual Conference and Business Meeting held Jan. 14-16 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bailie has worked in the commercial roofing industry for more than 30 years and served in various positions within SPRI, including as president.

"It is an honor to serve a second term as SPRI's president," Bailie says. "SPRI has distinguished itself in the promulgation of codes, standards and design guidelines that have advanced the state of the art in the roofing industry. It is my intention to continue to strengthen our reputation as a primary technical resource for single-ply membrane and component technologies."

Additionally, SPRI's membership has elected Robert LeClare president-elect; Hal Shapiro secretary/treasurer; and Mike Blanchette, Stan Choiniere and Larry Good two-year directors.

The industry online

AppliCad's new website, www.applicad.com, provides information about the way technology can be used in the roofing and cladding industry. Technical articles, product application notes, movie clips, tutorials, example output and an interactive return on investment calculator are available on the website.

Up the ladder

EagleView® Technologies Inc. has promoted Heidi Ellsworth to vice president of sales and marketing and named Karen Edwards marketing director.

ABC Supply Co. Inc. has added 14 former Bradco Supply Corp. corporate office associates to its National Support Center staff. Chris Cariello, Bob Perhacs and Gretta Kelly have been named internal auditors; Jeff Deitz and Jeff Leyden are national account executives; Mike Foss is operations specialist; Rick Jenkins is director of commercial sales; Steve Kubicka is director of commercial products; Richard Massenzio is network administrator; Mark Miller is application administrator; Pete Sharkey is safety/Department of Transportation training specialist; Mark Singer is director of real estate; Lee Stockhammer is product sales manager; and Walt Zimmerman is director of metal products.