The first big roofer I remember was Gideon Roofing. He had a complex of stores over off Cayuga Drive in Dallas. Besides his roofing company he had a sheet metal shop, a fastener store, and a roofing distributorship. My first babysitter lived on that street too. Good old Mrs. Oneal is long gone now.
He went down leaving room for Latham to take over numero uno. As his company went down the Lon Smith, Needham, and Hollingsworth dynasties began.
Today there are lots of roofing companies in Dallas, as there always has been but a dominate company no longer exists. Some guys do a lot of business but no one company overshadows the region.
The big suppliers of yesteryear like Burris and Dallas Wholesale have been replaced by at least 20 stores. ABC, Southern, Shelter, Bradco, Home Depot, and Gulf Eagle all have multiple locations.
But there are some behemoths in the industry: the manufacturers. GAF, Certainteed, Tamko, Gerard, Owens Corning, IKO, and the evil ones: Atlas and Malarkey, have gobbled up all the mom and pop shingle factories. Gone are Elk, Celotex, Fry (showing my age), GS, Genstar, Flintkote, Georgia Pacific, Allied, Masonite, Johns Manville roofing shingles, and Dura-Loc while Bird has been pushed into the northeast.
Many of their product names still exist like the presidential, once a Celotex product and now by Certainteed, or Flintlastic modified, from Flintkote to Genstar to GS to Certainteed.
Boy did we love to yell "get the Bird pookie" and watch the homeowners freak
He went down leaving room for Latham to take over numero uno. As his company went down the Lon Smith, Needham, and Hollingsworth dynasties began.
Today there are lots of roofing companies in Dallas, as there always has been but a dominate company no longer exists. Some guys do a lot of business but no one company overshadows the region.
The big suppliers of yesteryear like Burris and Dallas Wholesale have been replaced by at least 20 stores. ABC, Southern, Shelter, Bradco, Home Depot, and Gulf Eagle all have multiple locations.
But there are some behemoths in the industry: the manufacturers. GAF, Certainteed, Tamko, Gerard, Owens Corning, IKO, and the evil ones: Atlas and Malarkey, have gobbled up all the mom and pop shingle factories. Gone are Elk, Celotex, Fry (showing my age), GS, Genstar, Flintkote, Georgia Pacific, Allied, Masonite, Johns Manville roofing shingles, and Dura-Loc while Bird has been pushed into the northeast.
Many of their product names still exist like the presidential, once a Celotex product and now by Certainteed, or Flintlastic modified, from Flintkote to Genstar to GS to Certainteed.
Boy did we love to yell "get the Bird pookie" and watch the homeowners freak
Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
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Read more in-depth on the history of roofs www.blogger.com
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