A history of building community in the roofing industry

By Jenny Yu.  

For almost 70 years, ARC has been a place for roofing contractors to gather and share important industry information. 

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, host Alex Tolle sat down with Mark Madeira, president of the Associated Roofing Contractors of Oregon and Southwest Washington (ARC), and Torrey Yungeberg, secretary of ARC, about the organization’s origins and ongoing mission.  

Founded in 1957, ARC was a place where union commercial contractors could get together and talk about different topics in the roofing industry. “It was just a place for them to get together and converse about union items, negotiations, etc.” Mark said. Since then, it has expanded to include residential contractors, too. He shared, “We’ve got manufacturers involved, we've got suppliers involved. It's a really good spot to network and share information.” 

Today, with 85 affiliated companies, membership to ARC is valued by contractors, suppliers and manufacturers throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. One of the biggest values ARC provides is the opportunity for networking. “I've gotten so much value out of having close contacts with other local roofing companies who are dealing with the same things that my company is dealing with,” Torrey shared. “I love having a lot of close friends that I can ask for advice from, going to the meetings every month and discussing things that are happening.” 

Along with networking, ARC monthly meetings include opportunities for education through various types of speakers so members can stay informed of the latest industry topics.  

“I can remember one gentleman was discussing leaks: how to find leaks, mistakes others have made and some tips,” Mark noted. “We've had OSHA come in and talk. We try and get Oregon legislature to come in and talk about the business climate and things of that nature.” 

Read the first article in this series or Listen to the podcast to learn more about the ARC and how to get involved.