Greg Morrow - Setting Yourself Apart with Flashco - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

The following is the transcript of an live interview with Greg Morrow of FlashCo. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Speaker 1:
Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth, President of RoofersCoffeeShop and today I am road tripping around the country because our guests today are all over nationally doing something incredible for the industry. So I want you to please meet Greg Morrow, President and Founder of Flashco. Greg, welcome to the show.

Greg Morrow:
Thank you. Hello. Thanks for having me.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We're so excited to have FlashCo on our site. I love your products. I love what you do for the contractors, and we're going to talk about that today about really how this works, how the fabrication and the prefabrication of these products for the roof are making such a huge difference for the contractors. But first, I would love it, if you would just tell us more about yourself and FlashCo.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. Thank you. As you mentioned, my name is Greg Morrow. I'm the President and Founder of FlashCo. I've been in the roofing industry since the early nineties, starting first selling lead for a mill in Seattle and then a flashing fabricator in Northern California. In 2000, I started FlashCo because I saw an opportunity and I identified a need in the roof flashing and accessory space. Plus I knew, and I know, the value proposition of prefab is undeniable. It's probably very similar to a roofing contractor when deciding to start a business. I was very excited, but at the same time, I was really scared. But two years in, business was booming and we wanted to serve more contractors. To do this, we started selling our products through wholesale distribution. We did this for two reasons, distributors stock products and they know a lot of contractors.

Greg Morrow:
Today, FlashCo does business with all the major national, regional and independent distributors. Since 2008, FlashCo entered the single ply space staying strictly focused on roof flashings and accessories. Single ply, especially TPO and PBC, have really been our catalyst for growth over the last 10 years and currently represent about 75% of FlashCo's revenues. To be successful in this space, FlashCo partnered with the major membrane manufacturers and we make their standard and custom accessories. But it is important to note that the contractors are our ultimate customer, and I'm very passionate about that. From day one, our mission has been to save the contractor time. And on a personal side, I'm actively involved in the business. Last summer, I moved my family from California to South Carolina, where I live in Greenville with my wife and 12-year-old daughter. We have two children and our son is grown and still living in California.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow. We had a similar move into our family. We moved from Oregon to Pennsylvania, so big kudos on moving the family. I know that's not always easy, but it's such a great adventure.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. A lot of people moving out of California, but FlashCo still loves California. We have two plants in California as you know, one in the Northern and one in the Southern region.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. That's great. And I love what you're saying, really focusing on how this helps the contractors. It's just so important and obviously a passion of yours. So let's talk just a little bit about that evolution of prefabricated roof flashings and accessories.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. It's safe to say that prefabricated roof flashings have been around a very long time. I've seen patents going back over 100 years, so I know they've been around. Prefabricated accessories made sense then and they make sense now. It's never been practical to fabricate flashings on the roof. So the roofer either has to fabricate them in their shop, if they have one, or have them fabricated elsewhere. Early on, most of the prefabrication work involved metal being made into flashing and most roofing systems were not metal. So I think this is why we see so many sheet metal shops making custom roofing accessories. However, today there is a much larger variety of systems and flashings are made from all sorts of materials.

Greg Morrow:
Besides metal flashing on steep slope, rubber and plastic started hitting the scene a few decades ago. Most steep slope systems do not dictate what the flashing is made from and therefore are not dependent on the system. So for example, like on an asphalt shingle roof, you could use a lead flashing, galvanized, painted metal, neoprene, et cetera, the list goes on. However, low slope single ply systems usually require the flashing to be made from the field membrane itself or a combination of it and like coated metal.

Greg Morrow:
The proliferation of TPO in the eighties is a perfect example of this. TPO systems must have TPO accessories and it's the same thing with PVC. TPO manufacturers did not offer much in the way of prefabricated accessories early on, except some injected molded parts, such as the universal pipe seal and the T joint. This left a lot of field fabrication to be performed by the roofers spending countless hours on the roof.

Greg Morrow:
In the early two thousands, the industry started to see the first prefabricated parts hit the market, as opposed to just premolded. Prefabricated flashings have always made a lot of sense, but with TPO, they really make a lot of sense because field fabrication of TPO can take three to four times as long. I think the latest evolution, at least as it relates to FlashCo is the combination of standard and custom prefabricated accessories. The ability to simply provide dimensions and quantities and submit online is a big deal too.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. During this time that you're talking about Greg, I was at Carlisle, so I was in charge of marketing communications at Carlisle, and I watched this evolution. I watched you come in, I'm not saying specifically, but I watched your evolution and also being part of Carlisle, of what a difference that made for the roofing contractors to have these prefabricated TPOs [crosstalk 00:07:14].

Greg Morrow:
Huge. Carlisle was actually the market leader in bringing prefab.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes. I was there. When we talk about technologies, it's not always software, right? Prefabricated was a technology that came, that made such a huge difference. So let's talk a little bit about that, that how that evolution with the prefabricated changed the success and performance of roofing companies, because it's so amazing.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. It is really amazing. Just it's the prefab, just in the whole general construction industry because of the labor situation has taken over. You're seeing houses being built and shipped and all sorts of hotels even, I saw a hotel built in Santa Rosa that was made up in Idaho and they actually shipped it in modules and put the hotel together in units. And these units, they have the beds inside them. They had the sheets on the beds, the blankets, they had everything. So it's crazy.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is crazy.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. But yeah, it has changed the success of roofing companies because prefabricated accessories reduced the reliance on labor and the art of field fabrication which requires higher skilled labor and experience. A long time ago, I got invited to a roof in Phoenix, by the owner of a roofing company, working on a TPO job. I said, "What is that guy doing over there?" And he said, "Well, he's field fabricating a tee top." He went on to tell me that they got the tee top, a galvanized tee top, from Allied for about five bucks. Keep in mind that was over 10 years ago. But I asked him how long it takes his guy to field fabricate a TPO flashing around a tee top. And he told me about 30 to 40 minutes, all of which includes installing the galvanized tee top, tracing and cutting bases and risers out of detail membrane, heat welding, all the components together, then heat welding the base to the deck, caulking and hose clamping for counter flashing.

Greg Morrow:
I asked him next, what he bills his worker's time at and that is when he told me his foreman had to do the detailed work because no one else on the crew knew how. If I remember right, I think he said $80 an hour. So with material costs including the membrane hose clamp, caulking and tee top, he was in it at least $50 each, if he could field fabricate at a rate of two per hour. I think at the time I was selling the prefabricated tee top that looked beautiful and did not have a need for a counter flashing for $25. Needless to say that contractor was all over it.

Greg Morrow:
But you asked me about performance too. Prefabricated flashings are made in the factory where we control all the variables while making the parts. Machines and hot air tools are calibrated a few times throughout the day and quality checks such as tear tests are performed. Prefabricated flashings perform better because of this. They usually look a lot better and are consistent from part to part. If you're asking about the performance of the roofing company, as opposed to the part itself, I would say prefabricated flashings are a no brainer, if you are looking to improve the performance of your company, for the simple reason, they get you off the roof sooner, and that's what it's all about, right? If the roof looks better and can eliminate field fabrication and install faster, that means your performance is better.

Heidi Ellsworth:
And talk about such a huge need in the industry right now. With the labor shortage, of really a shortage of talent, skilled labor, because there's so many trying to get new people in who maybe don't know. You are really changing the way. When you look at this, you're saving money. You don't need as many people on the roof and it performs better.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. And has really prepared our growth. Like I said, at the beginning, the value proposition is undeniable, even when you have labor, so now it's just a snowball effect really with the situation that we're faced with.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. And you know what I love too about it is it's going to bring, even though, as we're bringing new people into the industry, it's not as hard, right? So you can bring different folks who maybe don't have the training or the skill and they're able to do a lot more on the roof sooner.

Greg Morrow:
That's a really great point. Like my example of the foreman having to do the work. When TPO first hit the market, it was really challenging for roofing contractors to learn how to do it. And now you look at your example Carlisle. You look at the training center they put in, they realize that training's real important.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. It's the number one. So knowing how much you've already brought to the market and how important it is, what do you see new for the industry around prefabrication?

Greg Morrow:
Yeah, boy, I feel like we are developing new parts every day, especially in the TPO single ply space. We're also looking for ways to improve the parts we make by making them easier to install while reducing cost and maintaining our competitiveness. Within the last couple of years, FlashCo hired a new role in product management and this role has helped support our efforts to create innovative solutions to improve design and construction. Recently, venting products have really been hot. Our gravity vent has exploded as well as our louvered wall vent. We also recently improved our breather vent with the help of our manufacturing partner and it is really doing well. Currently in the hopper is a line vent for service lines coming out of the wall or through the deck on a single ply roof. Other things that are new besides products are technical in nature, like our automatic notifications and our contractor portal. We are also working on a distributor portal. We have always prided ourselves in bringing innovative solutions to the market to make life easier for the contractor.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love technology, Greg, and so I would love to hear a little bit more about those notifications.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. I'm excited about that. So at FlashCo, we are not only striving to automatically notify the manufacturer or the distributor at key points in the order process, but we are also notifying the contractor at the same time. This saves the contractor time because they don't have to call and ask things like, "Has the quote been sent yet? When's the order scheduled to ship?" And then they find out when things happen by getting this alert notification, things like, "Hey, your order just got delivered." Bringing notifications to the contractor for quotes and orders about their jobs is definitely new, and in my opinion, a game changer. If the contractor contacts FlashCo first, we can guarantee they will be set up to receive notifications on their jobs.

Heidi Ellsworth:
This is a little side note, but I just did a nice big print run. I'm printing some posters and the machine went down. There was no notifications. It's a week late and I'm just so frustrated as a consumer. What you're doing is not only amazing customer service, but it also, again, it takes out some of the labor needs, even in the office where it's hard to find talent nowadays and they aren't chasing you. They have it at the fingertips. That's amazing.

Greg Morrow:
You think about the accessories too, these are the little things, but the critical things, right? And when you're a contractor doing a job, your focus is on getting that job and usually on the bigger things and you don't really always think about the little things. So that's what we focus on and giving that peace of mind, "Oh, the flashings are coming today," or, "Oh, they got delivered. I got to send somebody over to get them," or, whatever that might be. It's just that comfort piece of mind.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes. I agree. And technology, just like we talked about at the beginning, it's not always software, but software, all the technology that's coming out is making a huge difference. So what will some of the new technologies continue around prefabrication and also just on what you're doing for your customers?

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. Well, technology can be a real time saver with accessories. We all know accessories are the last part of the job and having the right parts at the right time is critical for the roofer to finish the job and move on to the next one. Unfortunately, accessories often get put on the back burner. So accelerating the process when they're needed and ensuring accuracy is critical. This is where technology can play a big role. With our online systems and portals, the roofer can enter their list at any time, day or night. And since we have relationships with distributors and manufacturers, we can handle the job if it's NDL or not. We'll create the requests and send them directly to all the parties involved. With the technology, the roofer can readily see all the parts, get information on sizing and usage and make sure they are getting exactly what they need.

Greg Morrow:
Technology can help reduce errors, confusion, the back and forth that often happens with older communication methods. I think technology now more than ever, facilitates direct lines of communication, while keeping everyone involved, informed every step of the way. In the accessory business, there are a lot of steps in the process, so this is super helpful. For contractors knowing when they will be getting their parts is a major of planning and executing on jobs. With our online portals, this means we can take a list of accessories for a job provided by the contractor and have it uploaded automatically into our ERP system. We want to get the software on our portals to be easier and faster than a phone call. Using technology, FlashCo can provide a quote or confirmation of an order, while keeping everyone in the process, from manufacturer to distributor, to reps, so on and so forth, all in the loop.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow. Yeah, so important. And I love how you said, accessories are sometimes the smallest part and the most important part of a job. So that technology, that communication is really important. I know that you've also with your passion for the contractors and really helping them grow their businesses, you've put together a program, FlashCo Edge. How is that benefiting the contractors doing? Tell us a little bit more about that.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. The Edge is mostly about directly helping contractors so we can better deliver on our brand promises speed. When contractors contact FlashCo first, the accessory process is just better and faster and it gives them the edge.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Nice.

Greg Morrow:
FlashCo is in a unique position to make the roofing contractors lives easier when it comes to accessories, because of our trusting relationships with manufacturers and distributors. This gives contractors the edge over the job they're bidding on and their competition. Here's why FlashCo gives contractors the edge. FlashCo partners directly with most manufacturers and distributors, thus can handle both NDL and non NDL jobs. If the contractor tells FlashCo first what they need for a quote or a job, and they get their questions answered right the first time, that's it, FlashCo handles the rest. You see, most jobs go through manufacturers or distributors. The unique thing about FlashCo is we handle both while keeping everyone involved, informed.

Greg Morrow:
Contractors get the edge when directly providing FlashCo with a list of what they need and get their questions quickly answered. Once we get the accessory list, FlashCo springs into action and sends the quote or a confirming order while informing the contractor every step of the way. This way, the list doesn't go through multiple parties before it gets to FlashCo wasting valuable time and then goes back through the same parties before finally getting back to the contractor. Sometimes this process can take more than a day.

Greg Morrow:
Currently, FlashCo has an online flash form @flashco.com to assist in filling out a list of parts needed and soon we are going to have a contractor portal. The portal will provide even more of an edge because the list of items will automatically be uploaded into our system reducing mistakes. When contractors provide the list to FlashCo first, we take care of the rest and hold partners accountable to get the pricing and other information back to the roofers ASAP.

Greg Morrow:
I've always half joke, we are in the details of details. Flashings or accessories are literally all the details on the roof, and as the roofer and a fabricator, you need to know a lot of details before proceeding. It has been our experience for over 20 years, that crucial information or details can be left out by the distributor, leading to flashings not fitting or being the wrong part for the application. Throw in the possibility it's an NDL job and that even adds another layer. So coming to FlashCo first through our Edge program, eliminates the head.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That makes so much sense to me and really when you think about it, we're all used to that, right? We're all used to Amazon now. We're used to going online and having our portals and having our information. And so for contractors to be able to really have a place, the FlashCo Edge with the portal, to manage all their prefabrication, I think it's brilliant.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. I think with the accessories you are getting into the details and it's really impossible to be fair to the distributor, to know all those questions to ask. And I've had multiple distributors over the years just tell the contractor, "We'll just call FlashCo." It just makes it easier for them too, because they don't know all the questions to ask and that leads to that back and forth that I was talking about.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. And I love your win-win attitude where you're bringing everybody, you're keeping everybody involved, manufacturer, distributor, contractor, FlashCo. That's the ultimate win.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. At FlashCo, we decide several years ago to brand identify all of our products, which was really a big deal for the manufacturers because we're basic. That's why I mentioned a trusting relationship with those. We're not trying to play any games here. We're being legit with our business practices. So for instance, that NDL job, that has to go through the manufacturer, they're the ones putting their warranty on the job. They're the ones signing it. If anything goes wrong, they're going to be the ones picking up the tab. So that was really beneficial, which we refer to as our branding promise.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Promise, yeah, I love it. That is great. So with all of this, that you've done, everything, growth with technology, but the product, you also are seeing huge growth overall. In fact, you're continuing to grow with new plants in Utah and Dallas, Fort Worth and a new one coming in Seattle, my part of the country. How does your national footprint help contractors get the products faster?

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. Well, our production at FlashCo is twofold because we make standard and custom parts. Each of our eight plants, produce both the standard and the custom parts. So essentially, we have the same capabilities at every plant. The reason we do it like this is because our brand promise of speed. That promise is to ship 90% of our orders within three days. And it does not matter if it is standard or custom. Another major component and differentiator that sets FlashCo apart is its own delivery fleet at each location. To meet the brand promise in Fort Worth, surrounding cities and states, it became much easier with a plant there. We've had a plant now in Chicago for over five years, but it'll be highly beneficial to FlashCo and its partners to have the Dallas/Fort Worth plant in the south central portion of the country.

Greg Morrow:
The plant in Utah is also a vital link in our supply chain out west and the local market is growing too. We needed more space up in the Pacific Northwest due to our significant growth. And since 2004, we've had a plant in Woodland, Washington just outside of Portland, Oregon. This plant has been servicing the entire region, including the Puget Sound area. Growth in the Puget Sound region has exploded and we decided adding another location closer to the distributors and contractors, would be ideal. Our production plans can and do change and it is really nice to have redundancy when mother nature strikes or a lot of large orders hit at once. We also do a significant amount of business for our manufacturing partners, which is also both standard and custom. As you can imagine, having capacity to make and ship parts in most parts of the country is very appealing to our partners and their contractors, and is another reason for our explosive growth. FlashCo really is about saving the contractor time.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. Congratulations, Greg, what an awesome story you have. It's just so much, really a heartbeat of the roofing industry, the innovation, the growth, fitting in need and helping the contractors. Congratulations on just a great company and all your recent successes and growth, it's amazing.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. Thank you. We have a lot of good people working at FlashCo and it's been a pleasure.

Heidi Ellsworth:
It's so great. And we are so happy to have FlashCo on RoofersCoffeeShop. You can find all kinds of information, including videos. This podcast of course, are on the FlashCo directory and you can find all kinds of information throughout the site. So, Greg, thank you so much for being here today. This podcast, I've loved it. I've learned a lot. Thank you.

Greg Morrow:
Yeah. Thank you, Heidi. And thank you RoofersCoffeeShop.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We love it. We love having you on the site and part of our wonderful community. So for all of you listening, you can find this podcast underneath Read, Listen, Watch, on the navigation under Podcast, but of course you can always find it on your favorite podcast channel, just search RoofersCoffeeShop, subscribe and hit those notifications, so you don't miss a single podcast. Thank you for being here today and we'll see you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

Speaker 1:
Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the rooferscoffeeshop.com.