This Shingle Manufacturer is a Titan of the Roofing Industry

By Evelyn Witterholt. 

For over 75 years, TAMKO has been an innovative force in the building products industry. 

TAMKO® has long been a trailblazer in the roofing industry. Since the manufacturer’s inception in 1944, TAMKO has not only crafted innovative products, but they have also built a company that empowers its employees and strengthens their communities. They strive to improve the lives of everyone who works for them as well as the customers who use their products. 

Earlier this year, we spoke with TAMKO representative in a Read, Listen, Watch about the history of their company as well as their plans for the future. Kim Eckerman, corporate director of marketing and communications, highlighted the rich history of family leadership within their company. She discussed the life of Ethelmae Humphreys, the daughter of founder E.L. Craig, who went on to lay the foundation for the manufacturer’s successful endeavors. 

“We all know she was the matriarch of the roofing industry. Unfortunately, she did pass away last December, but we are continuing to honor her as we move forward and grow as a company,” Kim said. “She laid a beautiful foundation for us and then passed the reigns onto her son, David Humphreys, who is now leading our company and continues to do so.” 

Kim also discusses the history of TAMKO’s continuous improvement strategies they’ve been implementing for decades now. Since the early ‘80s, the manufacturer has adopted the strategies of Dr. W. Edwards Deming who believed in constant improvement of products and services.  

“Continuous improvement is where we're rooted,” Kim said. “If you've never heard of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, you have at TAMKO. It’s very important to who we are and driven into every piece of what we do in our day-to-day operations to our product development all across the board.” 

What lies ahead for TAMKO? Staying true to their improvement and innovation strategies, the company has recently released the TITAN XT® shingle. This shingle was specifically designed with contractors’ top shingle concerns in mind. A notable feature of it is its wide nailing zone which only requires four nails to be installed. It’s also incredibly secure and can withstand winds of up to 160 mph. 

Melissa Dunson, TAMKO’s manager of marketing and communications, said that when they showed the shingle to skeptical contractors, they had this to say: “The immediate question that came from contractors, ‘Okay. That's all well and good, but I have to cut this shingle. How does it cut?’ And overwhelmingly what we've heard from the field is that, ‘Man, that cuts really clean.’” 

Learn more about TAMKO in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.tamko.com. 

Read Listen or Watch the webinar to learn more about the history of TAMKO and their Titan XT Shingle. 

About Evelyn  

Evelyn works as a writer for RoofersCoffeeShop, MetalCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. When she isn’t writing about roofing, she’s either at the gym lifting weights or curled up on the couch watching a movie.