Briefings

Manufacturer news

CertainTeed co-sponsors racing team

CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, Pa., has announced a partnership with sister companies Norton Abrasives, Worcester, Mass., and BPB America Inc., Tampa, Fla., to sponsor the No. 66 Best Buy Chevrolet for the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Driven by 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champion Jeff Green, the car is owned by Haas/CNC Racing, Harrisburg, N.C.

The companies will host 15 race-day hospitality events and have logo placement on the No. 66 car.

"This marks the sixth year CertainTeed has been part of one of the largest spectator sports in America," says Peter Dachowski, president and chief executive officer of CertainTeed. "NASCAR has been an excellent vehicle for doing business with building professionals who look forward to attending races, meeting drivers and interacting with CertainTeed each year."

DECRA earns award

DECRA Roofing Systems Inc., Corona, Calif., has been awarded Metal Roofing Magazine's Metal of Honor for DECRA Shingle Plus, which received the best response from readers of the 2005 Metal Roofing Magazine Idea Book. The Metal of Honor is awarded to roofing companies for exceptional products, services and value, and winners are selected from among 200 companies.

The Metal Roofing Magazine Idea Book highlights building products with the highest reader requests, and contractors, specifiers and architects can vote for the companies with whom they do business. The Metal of Honor is awarded to companies that receive the top 10 percent of votes.

Elk opens master distribution center

Elk Premium Building Products Inc., Dallas, a subsidiary of ElkCorp, has announced the opening of its master distribution center in Edgerton, Wis. The 850,000-square-foot (78965-m²) warehouse, Elk Premium Building Products' largest covered storage facility in the U.S., serves the Midwest and houses all product lines.

"This location allows us to better meet our customers' needs and offers a new service that gives them greater access to our entire product line from one location," says Curt Barker, ElkCorp senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Liquid Plastics product earns ENERGY STAR® label

Middletown, Conn.-based Liquid Plastics Inc.'s white Decothane® SP membrane recently earned the ENERGY STAR label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The label guarantees Decothane SP meets or exceeds ENERGY STAR's criteria for initial solar reflectance and maintenance of solar reflectance. Additionally, it ensures Liquid Plastics commits to developing products that have a positive effect on the environment.

MonierLifetile invests in new plants

MonierLifetile LLC, Irvine, Calif., has announced it will invest $69 million to build new roof tile plants in Lake Wales, Fla., and Las Vegas.

The Florida plant, to be built on MonierLifetile's existing Lake Wales site, will have the capacity to produce 40 percent more roof tiles annually on a high-speed line. The Las Vegas facility will produce a variety of roof tile profiles, as well as trim tile, with a capacity to produce 75 percent more roof tiles annually on a high-speed line.

Owens Corning enhances program

At the 2006 International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas, Owens Corning, Toledo, Ohio, announced a number of improvements to its Preferred Contractor Program.

The program now offers contractors information and consulting about how to approach target markets through promotional programs. The enhanced program also has new technical marketing tools and an online version of Owens Corning's Exterior FX software program that directs homeowners to Preferred Contractor Program members after allowing them to view various roofing options.

Sarnafil announces award winners

Sarnafil Inc., Canton, Mass., announced the winners of its 2005 Project of the Year challenge during the 2006 International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas. Sarnafil's roofing and waterproofing applicators were eligible to enter their most challenging projects to compete for the award and a $3,500 check. Winners were selected in roofing and waterproofing categories.

First place in roofing was awarded to Commonwealth Building Systems LLC, Boston, for replacing the roof system on the Boston Marriot Long Wharf. Second place in roofing was awarded to Flynn Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario; Bothwell-Accurate Co. Ltd., Toronto; and Dean-Chandler Roofing Ltd., Scarborough, Ontario, for their work on the Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Toronto. Third place was awarded to Rey-Crest Roofing & Waterproofing Co., Los Angeles, for the design and reroof of the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa, Pasadena, Calif.

Contractor news

Mid-Western Commercial Roofers receives awards

Duro-Last Roofing Inc., Saginaw, Mich., has honored Mid-Western Commercial Roofers Inc., Mobile, Ala., with its "Contractor of the Year" and Golden Eagle awards during the 24th annual Duro-Last National Sales Seminar in Miami Beach, Fla. Mid-Western Commercial Roofers received the Golden Eagle Award in 2004, as well.

"Winning the Golden Eagle Award and earning the title of 'Contractor of the Year' is the ultimate Duro-Last Roofing honor," says George Bock, president of Mid-Western Commercial Roofers.

The Golden Eagle Award recognizes contractors for Duro-Last Roofing sales of more than $2 million.

Other news

TRI launches certification program

The Tile Roofing Institute (TRI) held the roofing industry's first installer training and certification program April 2-3 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The program was intended to expand contractor knowledge of installation practices and raise awareness about tile roofing.

The certification program was open to roofing contractors, foremen, estimators, owners, and manufacturer sales and marketing professionals and based on TRI's Concrete and Clay Roof Tile Installation Manual for Moderate Climate Regions, which is co-sponsored by the Western States Roofing Contractors Association and recognized by the International Code Council.

Building materials expert passes away

Geoffrey Frohnsdorff, former chief of the building materials division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Building and Fire Research Laboratory, passed away March 5. Frohnsdorff was 78.

Frohnsdorff was an internationally known expert in the chemistry of cement and durability of building materials. Before joining NIST in 1973, Frohnsdorff was manager of research and development for American Cement Corp., Riverside, Calif., and research leader at the Gillete Research Institute in Rockville, Md. He retired from NIST in 2002.

Frohnsdorff is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Conolly, and her husband, Paul; daughter, Katharine Carney, and her husband, Patrick; son, Gregory Frohnsdorff, and his wife, Susan; brothers, Raymond Frohnsdorff and Kenneth Frohnsdorff; sister, Ann Emmerick; and four grandchildren—Duncan and Alexandra Conolly, Ryan Carney and Gillian Frohnsdorff.

The family requests memorial contributions be made to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, 1 Charles Center, 100 N. Charles St., Suite 234, Baltimore, MD 21201, or the University of St. Andrews Foundation Inc., 24 Concord Square, Boston, MA 02118.

Industry online

Englert Inc. kicked off its 40th anniversary celebration by revealing its redesigned Web site, www.englertinc.com. The Web site has a new theme—"Englert: Where Ideas Materialize"—and expanded site content organized into roofing, gutters and machines categories that feature drop-down menus. The Web site also highlights Englert's newest products.

IKO Industries Ltd. has updated its Web site, www.iko.com. The Web site now features a search tool that allows consumers to locate IKO Industries distributors and ShieldPro Plus™ contractors by entering their ZIP codes or postal codes. The Web site also features an enhanced version of Roof Viewer,™ an interactive shingle selector tool, and provides easy access to product information for commercial and residential roofing customers and a project photo gallery.