Supporting their contractors through thick and thin

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how Progressive Materials helps their contractors through all parts of their coating projects.  

In a new episode of CoatingsCast®, Megan Ellsworth sits down with Jeff Romero, the technical and education coordinator for Progressive Materials (PM). Their conversation is a continuation of a discussion started a month ago in the episode “Training Pt 1: Certification for Roofers, by Roofers.” This month’s episode, “Training Pt 2: Learn while you Roof,” explores how manufacturers like PM support roofing contractors through the entire coatings process.  

Jeff started by emphasizing the importance of manufacturer-contractor relationships, sharing, “Contractors need to be confident that when they install or apply a manufacturer's roof system, they're going to have the support that they need when they need it. A lot of times the support is there, but it's kind of after the fact. That's not how we look at things here at PM. We really want to be supportive before the job, during the job and after the job.” This type of support not only helps the contractor have a successful job, but it also gives the manufacturer confidence that their products are going to be installed properly so they can perform as designed.  

So how does PM support the contractor through all parts of the installation process? It starts with making sure that a contractor has the training they need. Jeff explained, “Whenever we find a contractor that doesn't have any or a lot of experience with coatings, our certified licensed applicator (CLA) training is super helpful. It’s really designed at an elementary level that can introduce anyone to coatings.” Not only does it cover the basics of working with coatings for those new to the industry, but it also offers unique insight into PM products specifically, which can even benefit contractors who have been doing coatings for years.  

And the support doesn’t stop there! Jeff shared, “Beyond the training, we'll also go and walk jobs with them to help them look for those key points that qualify or disqualify a job for coating. So we help them apply the training we offer in the field with assisted job walks.” Further, their regional managers even help contractors estimate materials, price out jobs and other aspects of the pre-job process. Then, once the job has started, PM can send out members of their technical team to advise contractors throughout the process. Jeff himself has done this, explaining, “I've spent three days in a city just to go and be on a job with a contractor for those three days. Just pointing out little things and little tips that we can help you with along the way.” 

And the support continues all the way to the post-job phase. Jeff explained, “Post-job obviously is super important. We want to make sure that the finished product is to our contractor standard... So we will go and walk that roof and really dive into what's going on and, if there are issues, work with the contractor to try to figure out why it happened and more importantly, how do we get to the other side of it? How do we fix it?”  

At the end of the day, PM sees every coating project, and every phase of those projects, as a collaboration. Jeff summed it up, saying, “It's a give and take kind of thing. We really want to work with contractors who are going to hold our standard, and contractors really want to work with manufacturers who are going to support them and be there when they need them. That's really one of the bigger reasons why that relationship is so important.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the episode or Watch the recording to learn more about how PM supports their contractors.