Not the Biggest. Just the Best.
Nations Roof was started with the intent to service national accounts throughout the US and the Islands. We spoke to CEO, Rich Nugent as we look to find out more about the success of the firm.
Nations Roof has performed successful projects in every state, including Alaska and HI. The company provides commercial roofing services to its customers including service calls, preventive maintenance and roof replacement.
Describing his responsibilities as CEO, Rich outlines his leadership style, commenting on how important it is to open up new opportunities and avenues for people to succeed.
“As CEO, my style and responsibilities are the same. I create an environment for people to succeed in ways they did not think possible. We have a culture of accountability and reward. People in Nations Roof are well compensated but very accountable. Most managers are incentivized based on either their business unit performance or the overall consolidated performance. This creates a very attractive workplace that is attracting many of the best in the industry to us.”
An integral part of Nations Roof’s success, is the fact that it is a sales driven organization and this is the number one key to our success. The company also benefits from the culture within the company, with Rich explaining how this ensures that this is all understood by staff.
“The fact that we are a sales driven organization is the number one key to our success. In addition, our model of highly compensating our people in accordance with contribution has proven itself.
“Culture is a very important part of any organization. We enjoy ourselves and work hard to make everyone a success with safety being the number one goal of everyone. Once a year, we have an annual meeting at resorts like Cabo and others with all our managers, sales professionals and operations persons. Spouses are invited and we have great meetings every day teaching management techniques as well as self-improvement techniques.”
Outlining what challenges he and Nations Roof have had to overcome throughout his career, Rich details how he has dealt with a range of issues, mainly referring to the financial aspects of running a business.
“Throughout my career, I have dealt with the good the bad and the ugly. I have seen banks and investors ruin companies, so my number one goal while building Nations Roof from 0 to $200 million in 13 years was of course financing it. We have pretty much financed the company on our own earnings and an ABL line. This has allowed us to avoid outside influence that may not align with our goals. At the expense of the bottom line, we have invested heavily in safety, sales and people. I do not think that could happen when the only goal is EBITDA.”
Operating within an increasingly technology dominated world, Rich describes how important it is that the firm is able to keep up to date with the latest technology trends throughout the industry.
“In my role, I need to keep up with business and business-related technology. It is critical that we are up to date in order to keep pace or be ahead of the rest of the industry, but also for our customers. The technical side of the commercial roofing industry is something that all of our people keep up with, in order to be sure that we are providing the best solution in accordance with codes etc. to our customers.”
Adapting to these technological developments is something that Nations Roof as a company is looking forward to. However, there are many other developments which the industry will see, including rising customer expectations in all areas of the market, as Rich alludes to.
“Fundamentally, I think the main change I see is consolidation at all levels of the industry from manufacturers, distributors and contractors. This is changing the landscape significantly and is something that we need to watch closely. In addition, our customers are becoming more and more demanding in every area including safety, financial stability and many other areas.”
Lastly, in his concluding comments, Rich signs off by summarizing the future aspirations of the company, mentioning where he sees Nations Roof being in five years’ time.
“Ultimately, our current rate of growth is almost concerning to be able to keep up with. We have grown to 200 million in revenue in 13 years and I do not think it will go slower now. I think in the next five years we will grow at least another 100 million dollars. We are not trying to be the biggest. We work every day to be safe, profitable best in class as well as the destination company for professional people in our industry. Also, we have many initiatives that are all around our ability to service customers faster and more professionally.”
