2020 Commercial Contractor of the Year: Empire Roofing

Building an Empire

Empire Roofing President Ronnie McGlothlin started in the roofing industry at age 13 and began Empire Roofing in 1982. It grew from being a small subcontractor to having 14 locations throughout the country

Ronnie McGlothlin worked for his father as a laborer at the age of 13, moving up to become a traveling foreman at the age of 18 and then a superintendent. By the time he was in his early 20s, he was making more money than ever, was just married, and drove a 1978 Trans Am he paid for himself. But something felt off.

Deep down, he knew the roofing industry could be better. A year-and-a-half later, he set out to make it happen, and when he told his bosses he was quitting, he received all the inspiration he needed.

“I gave them my two-week notice and they were kind of smart asses about it and said, ‘Well, I think we pay you too much money, you can come back begging for a job,’” he said. “If I ever had any motivation ever in my life, it was like, ‘I wasn’t going back.’”

Cover Photo by Jill Bloom.

VETERANS DAY 2020

On this day, we honor all current and former members of the Armed Services. Our country’s greatness is built on the foundation of your courage and sacrifice.

THANK YOU FROM THE EMPIRE ROOFING FAMILY

Empire Roofing thanks those that have served and continue to serve. "WE DONT KNOW THEM ALL BUT WE OWE THEM ALL"

Finding the Right Workers

Why do we call ourselves a grassroot recruiter?

Across the South of the USA and Mexico, Empire Roofing has been working closely with amazing contractors, professional tradespeople and skilled affiliates for nearly 40 years, and has become one of the most well respected construction companies in the country, with long standing blue chip clients and over 500 employees.

But a company is nothing without its people, and from day one, when our founders created Empire with a handful of talented professionals we proudly expanded our operations by never forgetting one key point: a company, especially one that operates in a vitally important construction niche, cannot grow without having the best in class on their roster.

So how do we find the right people for the right jobs, and how do we guarantee that only the best, most well trained and dedicated professionals will be working on your site, for your business and in your place of work?

Human Resource teams in every industry have a breadth of channels, tools and skills at their disposal to find talent. Whether it’s online, via sprawling jobs platforms; social media; networking and professional recommendations, or career’s fairs and door to door sales, opportunity comes knocking in a variety of ways.

Each industry has their own preferred way of speaking to and communicating with their potential next star worker.

However, when you’re recruiting for teams across a country-wide region, in a notoriously tough industry where diligence and ability is of a high priority, recruitment has to be focused, and efficient.

Recruitment at the scale Empire Roofing work at is a fine balance of quality vs quantity, and always has been.

The construction industry, especially one like ours which covers everything from basic roof maintenance to solar installation and management of installing entire roofing systems, is a fast moving, incredibly competitive industry.

We know that drawing the right talent takes an enormous amount of work, and that workers may not be able to find the right information, straight away, or at the right time, to tell them how we work and what we do. For instance, a job advert online tells you all about a job with us. But it won’t necessarily tell you about the charity work we do, and how the work you do helps others.

Also, working in the age of COVID-19 has put a strain on traditional recruiting and head hunting methods, not to mention work load limits or postponements, and client awareness of on-site social distancing and health and safety requirements has put a strain on teams across the region. We know the USA and Mexico has had a tough year, and many brilliant firms and amazing workers have struggled with the downturn in business.

However, our management and HR teams at our core office and with our affiliates have never swayed from some key recruiting tactics that had stood the test of time – we are still a grassroots employer. We know our company looks after its workers, but how we guarantee a worker’s buy-in with our company is by being an approachable grassroots employer, in your community, where you can find us, talk to us and understand what we do and why we do it!

What we mean by this is simple: we do engage with workers online, and we’re proud of our brilliant website and platforms where people can see the great work we do.

Be Storm Ready: 5 Things to know

WITH STORM SEASON UPON US, A BIT OF UNDERSTANDING AND PREPARATIONS CAN GO A LONG WAY IN MINIMIZING AND MANAGING THE IMPACT OF HEAVY RAINS TO YOUR PROPERTY.

1.Proper Drainage is Priority #1. During any rain, thousands of gallons of water are running across your roofs. Because your roofs have a “low slope,” it is very important that water reach the drains and evacuate as soon as possible. If you observe water exiting the roof via overflows and running down the walls on the exterior of your building, it may mean that the primary drain in that area is not operational or that a downspout is blocked. This condition has first priority and should be reported to your roofing consultant immediately.

2.Wind + Rain = Water Entry. Storms may have winds as high as 15 to 35 miles an hour and, while the roofing membranes on your buildings are watertight, every HVAC unit, vent, stack, louvered skylight and penetration is not. These rooftop penetrations are designed for rain to come straight down or at a slight slant. Intense wind will blow the rain sideways, not unlike taking a fire hose to every opening on your roof. If you observe water entering via these openings during a storm, you most likely have a one-time leak that cannot be serviced. Water entering via the fresh air intake of any HVAC unit is also a possibility, especially if the unit is shut down and there is no pressure in the unit.

3.Take measures to reduce interior damage. In each building and/or office, locate your HVAC registers. If there are computers or anything of value under these registers, move them. Likewise, if you have warehoused product that is under any type of venting, register, or louvered skylight and the product cannot be moved, find some way to cover it.

4,Know where the leak is coming from. It may sound obvious, but roofing contractors are often called for leaks coming from windows, doors, walls or under the foundation. Pay attention to where water is entering the building so you can engage the appropriate contractor to repair the leak. After a major storm, contractors are in high demand, so calling the right professional the first time can expedite the remediation process.

5.Be prepared to wait out the storm. If you have a roof membrane leak, remember there is very little a roofing contractor can do if it is raining hard or the roof is very wet. Available materials are very limited and getting something to stick through water is close to impossible—this is why proactive roof management is so critical to mitigating property damage. Once the rain has subsided, a proper repair can be made. Most importantly, please remember that during a storm, particularly if the winds are strong, it is not safe for anyone to be on a roof. Never send staff or a contractor onto a roof to inspect during severe weather.

Remembering 9/11

“September 11 was a reminder that life is fleeting, impermanent, and uncertain. Therefore, we must make use of every moment and nurture it with affection, tenderness, beauty, creativity, and laughter.”

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief.”