Reflecting on the 2026 Western Roofing Expo

By Emma Peterson.

Industry leaders look back on a standout WRE and the education, networking and collaboration drawing roofing professionals to the show.

We recently had the chance to host a special Coffee Conversations® episode live from the 2026 Western Roofing Expo (WRE)!

This episode featured a panel of four roofing experts – Marc Hansen, senior VP of marketing at JobNimbus; Greg Hlavaty, president of Western Colloid; Melissa Dunson, VP of sales and marketing at Central States Manufacturing; and Ron Lloyd, president of Western States Roofing Contractors Association (WSRCA).

A large part of the conversation surrounded the 2026 WRE show, which was filled with opportunities for education, networking and more! As Ron put it, “We don’t have a final tally yet, but this year was either our biggest show or second biggest in terms of attendance!” Melissa, who was a first-time WRE attendee this year, echoed Ron’s point, “I'm so excited to be here. There's so much energy and it’s not just vendors, there’s so many contractors and associations here – it's just a really good show.”

Looking at this growth, Marc attributes it to a renewed drive in the industry for education. In his words:

I think part of the reason why we probably see this growth, people are hungry for education and best practices and how can they grow... Everyone’s dealing with limited hours in the day and a struggling market, I think I just read a report that described the market being about 40% down this year. And so, roofers are coming to these shows to look for the ways to overcome that and grow.

For Greg, seeing this growing interest and participation in WRE in particular has been extra special. He shared, “At Western Colloid, we're proud to have been in the very first Western Roofing Expo back in the ‘70s and we’ve been at every one since...So it’s really amazing to see this kind of turnout!”

The rest of our discussion with this panel dives into technology, weather and other big topics impacting contractors today. You can watch the whole episode on-demand on YouTube to hear that discussion.