The Future of Diversity in Roofing With King of Texas Roofing Company

A third-generation commercial roofing contractor with King of Texas, Van Winkle joined the company officially in 2011 after her father joined the industry in 1979. During the Great Depression, her grandfather started a residential roofing and repair practice in 1931. The company began in Pennsylvania, and Van Winkle’s father opened a new one dedicated strictly to commercial roofing in Texas around 1982. 

From the beginning King of Texas’ values have included diversity as well as safety, high quality and ensuring excellence through a niche specialty (currently commercial single-ply roofing). The company also values a variety of experiences that bring diversity to the forefront. “Diversity is often thought of as race or gender, but it encompasses much more,” Van Winkle says. “Our employees’ experiences, background, personal history and age contribute to their diverse sets of skills obtained over time.” 

With this as a foundation, King of Texas continues to prioritize a broad definition of diversity in how they approach their business and how they lead in the industry.

Diversity at King of Texas includes much more than race and gender; it encompasses experience, age, religion, education, background and more. “We’ve made great progress in bringing more women into the industry,” Van Winkle mentions, “but there is more ground to cover with the younger generation” in the industry overall. Diversity in age may not be top of mind for some, but in a family business it’s a big factor.

“The former generations have so much experience to bring to the table, but ideally we’ll combine previous expertise with fresh ideas coming in from second- and third-generation owners,” Van Winkle says. Additionally, newer generations of owners can have the particular advantage of knowing the company’s history while also remaining open to advancements in technology that will help the business continue to thrive.

Van Winkle notes that future change is still needed beyond age diversity as well. “Diversity is great, but inclusion is also critical,” she says. “We need to make our employees feel welcome at the table, ensuring their experiences are relevant and that they feel appreciated for what they bring.”

“I’d like to continue working on our training programs and getting younger candidates and employees in,” Van Winkle continues. “Because we do have an aging workforce we have some internships we’ve developed, and we’re working with Texas A&M University.”

“At King of Texas, we look for the best person for the job—but we are very open to every type of person that applies. We’re eager to have everyone with an interest in construction join our organization,” says Van Winkle. And in order to keep the candidates they bring in, she notes that training, development and opportunities for advancement are key factors in retention.

“We’re at the forefront of the industry with the ProCertification program started at the NRCA,” she adds. “It allows workers to become certified in a particular discipline, which has been especially exciting for younger, diverse employees who want to move up the career ladder.” King of Texas already has a couple dozen employees on this path with plans to add many more. Currently there are less than 250 workers certified across the nation.

With the average age of roofers landing at 37.4 years, the roofing industry is familiar with the challenges of an overall aging workforce. Even though some roofers may work into their fifties and sixties, a generally older average employee age means that age diversity is critical to maintaining a roofing company’s workforce.

Mark Standifer, Metal Roofing Specialist at King of Texas, points to working with schools and universities as a key strategy for developing and diversifying the roofing industry. He views diversity not only as involving age, race and other qualities but also expanding into different areas of expertise as individuals develop in their careers. 

“We need younger people coming up in the industry,” Standifer notes, “so we need to train them first in how to do the job well.” For him, that starts at the university level. “I speak on campus at Texas A&M 2–3 times a year to invite and encourage students to invest in subcontracting while they’re in school.” Standifer also serves as a mentor for A&M students and actively works to push for a roofing curriculum to be added to the school’s educational opportunities. 

Internships play a critical role for students as well. Though King of Texas is still working on establishing an official internship program, plenty of students have come to their company with interest in a hands-on experience that gives them real training and significant work to do. “Our current project management and estimating intern has likely been to more jobsites than his contemporaries,” Standifer says, which helps him to see different scenarios and learn as much as possible. 

“Focus on training and career advancement,” Van Winkle notes. “We’re finding that people are interested in advancement, leadership and communication skills.” By providing these opportunities, roofing companies can not only bring in a more diverse candidate set but also retain the employees they hire.

Van Winkle adds that younger owners in family roofing companies may have to deal with misinterpretations of their roles. “People thought I worked at the front desk instead of being a member of the ownership group,” she says. “To combat this be humble and seek advice, but ensure you’re truly a subject matter expert to get the respect you deserve.”

Standifer notes the importance of investing in your company’s people as well. “I’ve never worked with a company that is so involved in training its people,” he says. 

With dedication to high quality work done by high quality employees, King of Texas has found that drawing in diverse candidates follows as they find a supportive environment in which to grow and learn.