The Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) and Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT) revealed its keynote speaker will hit it out of the park at the associations’ 2022 conference.

Jeffrey Frye, a former Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman, will be the keynote presenter at the 2022 MRCA/RCAT Conference held Sept. 27-29 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Frye played for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays for all or part of eight seasons between 1992 and 2001.

Frye began his MLB career when the Rangers drafted him in 1988 and he debuted in 1992. He signed on as a free agent to the Red Sox in 1996 before being traded four years later to the Colorado Rockies. In 2000, he signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Among his career highlights includes making history on Aug. 17, 2001, when he became the second Blue Jay ever to “hit for the cycle” — which is when a batter hits a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. These have only occurred about 340 times in MLB history.

Frye’s last appearance in the MLB came on Sept. 20, 2001, and he has since become a player agent after retiring, representing players like Darren Oliver and Ian Kinsler.

The keynote presentation will take place 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Sept. 28 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. The conference includes an expo floor featuring manufacturers and suppliers of all sizes, educational sessions, specialty training for CERTA, and special events like golf tournaments, a welcome reception and more for networking opportunities.

Click here to register for the conference.

FOREST HILL, Md. — The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) is now accepting submissions for the 2023 Excellence in Asphalt Roofing Awards Program. ARMA encourages roofing contractors across North America to submit their best steep- and low-slope asphalt roofing projects from the past three years for consideration by Dec. 1.

“For over 10 years, ARMA's award program has celebrated excellence in the asphalt roofing industry,” said Reed Hitchcock, ARMA executive vice president. "Each year, we receive submissions showcasing asphalt roofing with dynamic, versatile, and innovative projects."

The program provides industry professionals an opportunity to display their work, gain inspiration for future projects, and share their enthusiasm for the roofing industry.

There is no charge to participate in the program and an applicant may submit multiple entries as long as each project meets the specified criteria. Submissions, which require a project questionnaire and high-resolution images, must demonstrate an exceptional level of asphalt roofing craftsmanship.

Projects will be judged in four categories:

• Beauty – Does the project embody either an aesthetic beauty or does it demonstrate beautiful technical complexity? Is it visually attractive and/or does it contain challenging technical obstacles overcome through the use of asphalt roofing materials?
• Performance – Does the project demonstrate asphalt roofing’s reliability, durability, and overall system strength?
• Asphalt: The Roofing Solution – Why was asphalt chosen for this project?
• Distinction – Is the project clearly distinct from its peers?

"We look forward to receiving award-winning projects that illustrate the beauty, affordability, and reliability of asphalt roofing," said Hitchcock.

Winning companies will be recognized during the 2023 International Roofing Expo, March 7-9 in Dallas. Winners will receive a monetary prize (Gold – $2,000; Silver – $1,000; Bronze – $500), plus recognition in national trade media, local media, and on ARMA’s website and social media.

The 2023 Excellence Awards submission form, along with the full program guidelines, can be found at asphaltroofing.org/excellence.

ROSEMONT, Ill. —The Roofing Alliance, the foundation of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), announces the 2022-23 Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Award recipients.

For over 30 years, the Roofing Alliance has invested time and funds to help educate the roofing industry and the industry’s youth. This has been made possible through the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program, which was named for Melvin Kruger, a former president of the NRCA, a former president of the Roofing Alliance and CEO of L.E. Schwartz & Son Inc., Macon, Ga. NRCA contractor and supplier members, their families and their employees are all eligible to partake in this program as long as they intend to pursue a career in the roofing or construction industries.

The Roofing Alliance approved eight new Roofing Alliance Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship recipients:

• Theodore Barton, son of Simon Barton, branch manager, Crowther Roofing & Sheet Metal of Florida Inc.
• Davis Edwards, son of Van Edwards, COO, Mid-South Roof Systems
• Caylin Angel, daughter of Adam Angel, project manager, Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal
• Cole Beyer, son of Steve Beyer, inspection/roof management, Allweather Roof
• Cade Edwards, son of Van Edwards, COO, Mid-South Roof Systems
• Grace Wear, daughter of Ryan Wear, service manager, Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal
• Erich Langstine, son of Erich Langstine, engineering co-op, GAF
• Julia Shanahan, daughter of Christopher Shanahan, business development and bid manager, Ruff Roofer

In addition, the Roofing Alliance approved two renewals:

• Morgan Patterson - attending DePaul University, Chicago, Ill.
• Zackary Cekalla – attending University of Minnesota: Duluth

“A total of $40,000 was awarded for new scholarships with an additional $10,000 awarded for renewal scholarships,” said Alison LaValley, Roofing Alliance executive director. “Roofing Alliance leadership is very proud to be able to support the roofing industry with these scholarships. To date a total of 149 students have received $1.01 million in scholarship awards.”

Details for the 2023-24 Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship program and the application guidelines will be available in mid-September. For more information on the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship plus information about the Roofing Alliance, contact LaValley at alavalley@nrca.net or visit roofingalliance.net.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) announced that it has issued new technical and performance bulletins as well as updated versions of previously issued bulletins.

New Resources:

• Technical Bulletin 204, “Comparing Fire Performance of Polyiso and Competitive Board Insulation Products,” compares certain fire performance advantages for polyiso, mineral wool board, XPS and EPS insulations.
• Performance Bulletin, “Comparing the GWP of Common Exterior Wall Insulation Materials: An Overview of Global Warming Potential,” assesses the global warming potential (GWP) impact of polyiso wall insulation versus other common insulation products used for exterior walls across the products’ full life cycles.

Updated Resources:

• Technical Bulletin 112, “Moisture Generated During Construction,” highlights how moisture generated during construction can affect the roof system and the construction practices that can be implemented to reduce problems associated with moisture in systems.
• Technical Bulletin 108, “Tapered Insulation Systems,” offers performance details about polyiso tapered roof insulation products and systems, why tapered insulation is used and design considerations for installing tapered insulation systems.

“PIMA strives to be a go-to resource for the roofing, building envelope and general construction industries for technical information on the performance of polyiso insulation products,” said PIMA Technical Director Marcin Pazera. “Maintaining a current library of bulletins is a key part of our strategy to serve the industry and its stakeholders.”

The more than 40 technical and performance bulletins published by PIMA can be found here and here.

ROSEMONT, Ill. — A coalition of industry trade associations representing contractors, consultants and manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada has completed its Quarterly Market Index Survey for Reroofing for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Survey participants included roofing contractors (73%) and roof consultants (27%). Most respondents indicated they primarily work on low-slope roof systems (47%) or provide low-slope and steep-slope roofing services (41%). All regions of the U.S. and most Canadian provinces were represented.

The survey results indicate opportunities in the reroofing industry improved during the fourth quarter of 2021 when compared with the same quarter in 2020.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents indicated their customer inquiries increased. Thirty-one percent of respondents reported no change in activity, and 21% indicated a decrease in customer inquiries. Project contracts increased for 44% of respondents, 33% of respondents indicated no change in activity and 22% reported a decrease in project contracts.

Two new indices offer insight regarding customer inquiries and project contracts across market segments. The indices are based on a 0 to 100 scale. A score of 50 or higher suggests expansion or optimism; a score below 50 indicates contraction or pessimism.

The customer inquiries index score for the steep-slope reroofing market is 58.9, the score for the low-slope reroofing market is 66.8, and the score for the blended low- and steep-slope reroofing market is 61.6.

The project contracts index score for the steep-slope reroofing market is 58, the score for the low-slope reroofing market is 61.6, and the score for the blended low- and steep-slope reroofing market is 61.5.

As of January 2022, 16% of roofing contractors reported no project backlogs, 39% reported project backlogs of one to two months and 23% reported project backlogs of three to four months. Twenty-two percent of roofing contractors reported project backlogs of five months or more.

The survey is an industrywide effort spearheaded by a coalition of trade associations, including the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, Canadian Roofing Contractors Association, Chemical Fabrics & Film Association Inc., EPDM Roofing Association, International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants, Metal Construction Association, National Roofing Contractors Association, National Women in Roofing, Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association, Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association and Single Ply Roofing Industry.

The complete results of the Quarterly Market Index Survey for Reroofing are available to those who participate in the survey via an online dashboard that enables users to filter results by region and other metrics. Any contractor or consultant who wants to participate in next quarter’s brief survey can sign up for a notification at http://bit.ly/37ank7D.