What roofing looks like in a post-pandemic world

By Cayden Wemple. 

Listen to industry pro Justin Koscher talk about the trends he’s witnessed in roofing since the pandemic began.  

If you’re a contractor, you have probably noticed some massive changes taking place since the COVID-19 pandemic. From material shortages to environmental policies, a lot has shifted in the last three years. Justin Koscher, president of Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA), recently sat down with Heidi J. Ellsworth to discuss some of these changes on an episode of Roofing Road Trips.  

In order to learn more about the material shortages surrounding the roofing industry, Justin and other associations started conducting more studies and surveys. “I think everyone was really reevaluating their use of materials, asking themselves why [they are] using the materials since they're in such scarcity,” Justin explained. “There were other like-minded associations that really thought now is a good time to double down on putting facts behind our value proposition.” 

In the last two years, we have seen a lot of new sustainability measures for infrastructure. “In late 2021, we saw the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law that included a fairly robust component focused on making our buildings more sustainable, whether that be through adding insulation, using more renewables, renovating lighting systems to reduce energy use,” said Justin  

In 2022, the sustainability trend continued. Justin explained, “In 2022 over the summer, we saw the Inflation Reduction Act resurrected and include really a massive climate component. And in that bill, again, we saw quite a bit of federal funding and other incentives for the improvement of buildings.” 

With these new sustainable energy acts, there came a lot of opportunities to make new money. However, Justin did not want people to lose sight of more traditional ways of landing jobs. “We knew that there was going to be a lot of competition for those dollars in clean energy. There are things that get all the attention, solar panels on rooftops, wind turbines, electrification and heat pumps, which are all great technologies and have their place. But we feel that sometimes people get caught up in the shiny new thing and forget about the easy things that are right under their nose.” 

Listen to the full podcast to hear the whole conversation about post-pandemic roofing.