Central Valley roofing contractors were pummeled by the housing industry’s collapse and the resulting economic recession.

But the contractors who survived are now poised to take advantage of whatever the improving economy may bring. And with more than 200 roofing contractors in the Central Valley, an upswing in this business sector will have a positive effect on the entire region.

How have roofers negotiated the tricky elements of the recession? The methods are both traditional and unique as they await the hoped-for economic upswing.

“The industry’s been up and down through the recession of the last couple of years,” said Doug Heath, CEO of Nushake in Manteca. “But what isn’t generally known is that Manteca is in the heart of the third largest populated area in the U.S. and we’re taking advantage of it.”

Expanding the geographic reach of their business led to more work for Nushake. Heath has no reservations about entering every “populated area” within a 200 mile radius to elicit bids for work.

“We’ve broadened our area to Sacramento, Fremont, the Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley and east into the Sierra foothills,” he said, noting that after starting the company in the Los Angeles area, he moved “back up here in 1986 because the opportunities were much better.”

Creating growth by expanding geographically is a method among many others that brings in more bids and thus more work, depending on the outcome of the bidding process.

Tara Gerhardt, publisher and chief blog editor of Duro-Last Roofing, an industry website, isn’t as sanguine about the roofing industry, noting, “There wasn’t any real growth in roofing and construction as a whole in 2010…and new construction is still largely in the tank. Owners and managers of existing facilities are still afraid – after two years of recession – to invest in a new roof; they will keep patching what they’ve got.”

Skin the cow early

And patching translates to roof maintenance which is “still profitable and always has been,” explained Gina Qualls, office manager for nine years with Stout Roofing in Stockton which has been doing all types of roofing work since 1967.  “During this recession more people decided to maintain their roofs until they absolutely had to put on a new roof.”

So, despite new construction slumping in every sector – residential, commercial and industrial – work remains for the roofing companies entrepreneurial enough to find it, bid it, and do it.

Of course, survival is generally attributed to the fittest and Stout Roofing realized steps needed to be taken when the market started to tank, Qualls said. “We cut back in many areas when we saw the economic downturn approaching. We skinned the cow early.”

She also said the company has done and continues to do a “lot of work in Silicon Valley” thus supporting the view that casting a wide geographic net helps the bottom line.

Do what you do best

Gerhardt posits that success for roofing contractors in this environment  comes from their “staying close to their core competencies, the characteristics and tactics that made them successful in the first  place.”

Echoing that sentiment is Deana Hicks, veteran office manager for A-OK Roofing, a full-service roofing company in business since 1970 which is headquartered in Turlock.

She said roofing companies should “stick with what they’ve been doing and continue to do it well and also watch overhead, expenses and keep up with new regulations and rules.”

If a company is already diversified when an economic downturn hits, this is a powerful asset in working through a recession, said Hicks who admits what while the roofing business has “been pretty bad for awhile”, A-OK Roofing soldiers on because of the company’s diversity.

“We have crews that do tear-offs [roof removal] for other companies, install asphalt shingles to shakes, photovoltaic systems and we’re competitive in our bidding in a marketplace that has more contractors bidding for jobs,” she said. “A great deal of our work is re-roofing because the bad weather causes owners to realize they have to finally fix their leaking roofs.”

Roofing contractors continue to use a variety of marketing methods to keep their name in front of clients needing their services, a process that needs to continue, recession or not, according to Gerhardt who said, “[Roofing contractors] are diligent about marketing and selling. They use their own tried-and-true methods or the marketing tools available to them from manufacturers.”

It helps that A-OK has been around for forty-plus years and name recognition has built up trust in the company from the community and customers. “Most of our business comes from referrals from satisfied customers,” Hicks said.

In good times and bad, marketing must continue and Heath said Nushake receives a great deal of recognition via its fleet of signed trucks.

Stout Roofing’s Qualls said, “All of our advertising is from word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.”

Hicks of A-OK Roofing noted, “Customer service is working with and keeping customers no matter what the economic situation. Without customers, obviously, you’re out of business.”

Many challenges remain

Central Valley roofing contractors share a number of challenges, including a marketplace jam-packed with roofing companies bidding on jobs, The cost for materials is continually rising. The “green movement” mandates new, expensive, and environmentally sound materials and methods. Strict recycling and reuse policies are also challenging.

Recession or not, the rules, regulations and costs for roofing contractors keep coming, the bidding competition continues unabated, and some companies haven’t been able to cope with the situation, said Heath. “A lot of roofing companies have gone out [of business] in the Central Valley, mostly small operations. But the survivors will benefit from a roofing boom when the recession’s over.”

Some roofing contractors do commercial work, others primarily residential and many are active in the public and government sectors but all of them share some commonalities that have been instrumental to surviving the recession.

Among the keys to success, said Qualls, are “Diligent bidding that covers everything and making certain suppliers are giving you the best deal. Add excellent customer service and your chances of surviving any economic situation increase dramatically.”

According to Heath, a company needs to stay in its comfort zone whether a specific niche within the industry or diversified. “We’ve always been diversified so we made some reductions and remained diversified because it’s our comfort zone,” he said.

Thus far, A-OK Roofing has beaten back the recession doldrums the old fashioned way, said Hicks, by keeping the company in the public eye “with the phone book and our website. There’s no need even now to have more than this to get our message out.”

Central Valley roofing contractors are survivors and the industry as a whole is hoping the economic recovery has truly begun so the market will at least remain flat or slightly improving rather than declining as it has over past two years.

Heath’s approach may represent one that any business owner, including roofing contractors, must have in order to prosper: “It is a fun challenge to do this. I really enjoy the wheeling and dealing, working with clients, suppliers and the industry in general.”