Increased homeowner interest in cool roofs and authentic-looking slate and shake roofing products will continue to spur the growth of polymer roofing products in 2017. That’s the prediction of roofing industry leaders at DaVinci Roofscapes®.
“We set new sales records for sales in California in 2016 as people prepared for the launch of Title 24 requirements in 2017,” says Ray Rosewall, president and CEO of DaVinci Roofscapes. “West Coast residents are clamoring for energy-efficient roofing products. Fortunately we were ahead of this surge by launching four new DaVinci EcoBlend® cool family colors earlier this year.”
The EcoBlend polymer roofing color options have all been approved by the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) to reflect sunlight and heat away from a home or commercial structure, helping the building or home stay cooler in the summer and helping to lower energy costs. The new color blends all meet Title 24 requirements for California.
“We expect this trend will accelerate in 2017 as people across the country learn the value of energy-efficient synthetic roofing products,” says Rosewall. “People are quick to invest in our polymer roofing when they see the authentic look of the slate and shake tiles and then learn about the fire-, impact- and high-wind resistance of these tiles.
“Most importantly, we’ve heard from distributors, roofers and builders that these polymer products are becoming more preferred to natural roofing materials. People desire the expected look of shake and slate, but they truly want the benefits that a manmade product offers. We’ve achieved that goal by creating realistic-looking products with exceptional features.”
Affordability Reigns
During the third quarter of 2016 DaVinci made a unique decision to lower pricing on a majority of the company’s roofing materials. This occurred as the company’s core business grew again by double digits within the year.
“We were able to enhance efficiencies at our operations in Kansas and decided to pass those savings on to our customers,” says Rosewall. “By adding more workers and line equipment at our plant (along with accelerating other advances) we’ve been able to leverage our operational efficiencies.
“We decided to ‘break the mold’ and share our cost savings with our customers to make composite roofing products even more accessible and cost competitive in the marketplace. This decision has paid off in a very short period of time as homeowners, contractors and architects have become aware of how affordable our polymer roofs are for their projects.”
Reroofing Projects Rule
DaVinci offers seven different lines of simulated slate and shake roofing in 50 standard colors and a multitude of color blend options. Slate Gray, Tahoe and Mountain blends continued as favorites in 2016 for both residential and commercial projects.
“More than 80 percent of our product sales are driven by reroofing projects,” says Rosewall. “We often see people replacing their rotting real wood shake tiles or failing asphalt shingles with our product.
“We have a ‘one-two slam dunk’ recipe. We manufacture the broadest product family in the synthetic roofing segment right in the USA. Plus, our infinite color palette and authentic looks set us apart from the natural and metal alternatives. Anywhere there is real wood or stone coated steel roofing in place we see as definite sales opportunities for our synthetic roofing materials.
“The combination of our quality product and price repositioning means we anticipate seeing escalating sales in 2017 that should be very dramatic.”
The experienced team members at DaVinci Roofscapes develop and manufacture industry-leading polymer slate and shake roofing systems with an authentic look and superior performance. DaVinci leads the industry in the greatest selection of colors, tile thickness and tile width variety. The company’s reliable products have a limited lifetime warranty and are 100 percent recyclable. All DaVinci high-performing roofing products are proudly made in America where the company is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Roofing Contractors, the Cool Roof Rating Council and the U.S. Green Building Council. For information call 1-800-328-4624 or visit www.davinciroofscapes.com.