The future is fluid applied

By Dani Sheehan. 

Discover how fluid-applied restoration systems create new opportunities for your business and why building the right partnerships makes all the difference. 

Curious about adding fluid-applied roofing to your business, but not sure where to start or if it’s worth it? In this Coffee Conversations®, sponsored by Henry Roofing Solutions, Megan Ellsworth sits down with Pete Harding of GoGreen Roofing, Eric Thompson with Henry and John T. Hull from Gulf Coast Infrared to break down what contractors need to know about the opportunities, challenges and real-world strategies for success in the fluid-applied market. 

Why fluid-applied systems make sense 

Fluid-applied roofing is more accessible than you might realize. Eric highlights some of the benefits, sharing, “It's a very low cost of entry for equipment, so it's very easy to get into... [without] spending tens of thousands of dollars to start out with. It’s a higher margin portion of your business, and then even safety – it's safer than hot asphalt or torches on roofs.”  

This also creates long-term revenue opportunities. As Eric explains, maintenance is built into the system’s lifecycle, giving you the chance to extend the life of a roof well beyond their initial warranty, reduce waste headed to landfills and build lasting customer relationships. 

As building owners are becoming more educated, they’re asking for more options. Pete points out, “If you’re not supplying your clients with every type of material, you’re going to miss out because somebody else is going to do it.” 

Who’s making the shift 

John explains how the market has evolved: “It used to be most of your small roofers, and they would use coatings and restoration as their entry point, moving from steep-slope shingles and metal into commercial low-slope roofing. But now, especially in the last five years, we’ve really seen a surge in your national roofers and large companies starting to add this as a piece to their business.” He’s watched fluid-applied roofing grow from 1-2% of commercial roofing to around 20% of the market share today. And because of this growth, the industry has matured to the point where contractors of all sizes have the opportunity to succeed. 

Pete’s story shows exactly what that journey can look like from the contractor side: “Exactly what John said. We were the guys driving in our old trucks, picking up five-gallon buckets with rollers and it wasn’t much more than coatings back then... And now it’s 50% of what we do. And it was really good because when you’re doing the smaller jobs, you’re learning how to do it correctly... So, anybody can get into it, but it does take time to learn and to get set up.”  

Fluid-applied roofing has a place in your business strategy no matter what your business looks like currently. With rising demand from building owners, higher margins, sustainability benefits and long-term maintenance revenue, the timing couldn’t be better to explore this part of the industry. 

Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to discover what it takes to succeed with fluid-applied systems.