A roofing company built by people who stayed

By Jesse Sanchez. 

The conversation starts the way it always has, with memory before momentum and laughter before credentials. 

There is a particular sound to people who have known each other for a long time. It is relaxed. Unrushed. A little teasing, a little reverence. That sound opens this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, as Heidi J. Ellsworth welcomes three leaders from BITEC® who have shaped, stretched and stewarded the company for decades. 

What unfolds is not a timeline so much as a shared remembering, carried by three voices who know the work from the inside. David Allen, BITEC’s CEO, speaks with the steadiness of a builder who has watched the decades turn and still recognizes the grain of the industry. Joel Shealey, the company’s president, brings the second-generation momentum, focused on growth, systems and what comes next. Shane Millwood, vice president of sales and marketing, leans forward into the future, measuring progress by contractor success and the speed at which support reaches the jobsite. Forty years in business does not arrive through bold declarations. It comes through showing up, again and again, when the industry shifts beneath your feet. 

In the early days, the work came first and the future arrived afterward 

David speaks with the calm clarity of someone nearing the horizon of a long career. He remembers breaking ground in 1986, starting production six months later and selling the first materials before sales teams even existed. The technology was new. The risks were real. The commitment was total. 

“We started small and we’re still considered small,” David says, “But we survived and grew for four decades.” 

That survival was not accidental. International partnerships, mineral surface innovations and steady contractor relationships carried the company through growth cycles, 9/11 and even COVID, which unexpectedly accelerated demand instead of slowing it. 

A second generation did not replace the foundation, it reinforced it 

Joel entered the business six years ago, carrying both legacy and responsibility. He did not come to preserve BITEC as it was. He came to expand what it could be. 

Under his leadership, the product line widened. Sealants, adhesives, coatings and single-ply systems joined the portfolio. Systems became more complete. Growth became intentional. 

“We don’t want the whole pie,” Joel explains. “We want a nice-sized piece of it.” 

The culture, however, remained intact. Growth did not dilute it. It tested it. 

Looking forward sometimes means refusing to rush 

Shane speaks like someone already standing a few years ahead. He thinks in futures, not quarters. Workforce challenges, cleaner installations and faster support all shape how manufacturers must respond. 

Single-ply systems, coatings and full deck-to-membrane solutions are not trends for their own sake. They are answers to how people want to work now. 

“We want to be a real partner,” Shane says. “We can get contractors certified quickly, we can get jobs started quickly, we can get jobs warranted quickly. We work to set contractors up for success.” 

Agility matters. So does restraint. Innovation is not released until it is ready. 

Forty years is not a finish line, it is proof of direction 

The common thread through every answer is the contractor. Not as a slogan, but as a discipline. Roofing will change. Materials will evolve. But people still build roofs. 

The future BITEC envisions is steady, deliberate and human. Growth without haste. Innovation without shortcuts. Relationships without expiration dates. 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about BITEC and how forty years of focus continues shaping what comes next!