Innovating with the contractor in mind

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how the experts at Everest Systems build their industry leading products by listening to those with their boots on the roof. 

In this episode of CoatingsCast™, Karen Edwards hosted John Linnell and Gabe Goepfert from Everest Systems to talk about how their company delivers innovation and excellence with every product. Gabe, who’s Everest’s VP of sales and marketing, explained that a lot of people in the company, himself included, started on the roofing side of things, “With our sales team being mostly from the roofing side of this, we spend a lot of time on roofs with contractors, a lot of time listening to understand what's going on and what kind of issues they're having out in the roofing space, what things can make their job easier, better, faster, then bringing those things back.” 

He and his team then take that information to John, the owner of Everest who has a background in chemistry. Gabe explained, “One of the phrases that I use is that I speak roofer and then John speaks chemist. So as Everest, we try and somewhere in the middle there have that conversation between roofer and chemist and what can we do to bridge the gap there.” This allows them to create amazing products that are designed to fill needs on the roof.  

An example of this process in action is Everest’s Eco-Level product. John explained, “It was a response to our customers saying, ‘We want a ponding water-resistant product.’” When he first tackled the issue, John began brainstorming a water-resistant product. But then, he realized that eliminating the ponds entirely would be more effective. So, they came up with a ponding elimination product. He shared some of the behind the scenes, “I observed the competitive products out there for ponding water elimination are troughed on. This means contractors must put a blob on the roof where it is ponding, which can be hard to see. So, in my design, I tried to make something that is actually fluid, finds the low point on the roof and then cures solid. Which became our Eco-Level.” It’s projects like this that show Everest’s talent at creating innovative solutions that work on the roof. Gabe explained, “At the end of the day, the contractor is the most important part of this business. That's where the rubber meets the road, and our goal is to put things in their hands that are truly helpful to them.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the conversation or Watch the recording to get more information about Everest and the innovative and effective coatings products they offer!