Changing trends in Michigan roofing industry shingle preference

We love going to our local Michigan trade shows not because we are introduced to a bunch of new products, our building supply representatives do a pretty good job waving the latest and greatest in front of our faces every month. No, it is because we get to see the changing trends in the roofing industry and then analyze the motivations behind such changes. This year, Atlas Roofing had the strongest presence and this is something that literally came out of no where. Congratulations to them where it is due as it is not easy pushing out some of the big dogs like GAF. After seeing this change we went back to the shop and really starting doing some research to see if there was something that we missed. Last year we had sat down with the Atlas Roofing representative and were actually impressed with a couple features he presented to us. They had a really nice intuitive software program making it easy for customers to “redesign” their house while at an estimate. Everybody loves hearing about the Scotchguard product and its stain fighting abilities. Lastly, they are now touting a 40 year warranty, with up to 20 year labor and material warranty to boot. Quite the impressive package they put together, and by offering something that most roofing contractors are not confident enough to offer themselves they are capturing a lot of trade loyalty right now. Personally, we believe that every individual roofing contractor should stand behind his work personally as no one wants to try and contact the manufacturer if they have a leak in the future. Not only are they likely to refer you to the back of their “warranty” but even if they did intend on fixing the problem it would most likely take a long time to get the repair approved. That being said, we immediately pulled up the most current consumers report and took a second look at the Atlas shingle product, and we were pleasantly surprised. They rank much higher then in previous years across the board making us feel comfortable enough to recommend it as a viable material option for our customers. Is it the best option out there, no not yet, but if they keep making progress like they have recently they certainly are going to give Certainteed a run for their money eventually.