The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) is inviting roofing professionals to head to Capitol Hill and advocate for the industry during Roofing Day 2023.

Registration for Roofing Day is open now until April 5. The two-day event will take place at the Grand Hyatt Washington April 18-19.

Roofing Day invites members of the roofing industry from around the country to head to Washington, D.C. to speak with their congressional representatives and help them understand the critical issues facing the industry. Last year’s event saw more than 220 people from the roofing industry speaking with their representatives about immigration reform, the Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act and increased funding for career and technical education.

To help prepare attendees, the NRCA will have guest speakers present on various topics during morning presentations. Attendees can encourage their peers to join them with a communications kit featuring website banners and video testimonials. Networking opportunities during the event also provide a chance to connect with fellow professionals.

For more information, visit nrca.net/advocacy/roofingday#.

HERNDON, Va. — Beacon announced that it has opened greenfield locations in Durham, N.C., and La Vergne, Tenn. The Durham branch broadens service in the high growth Raleigh-Durham market.

“It is stocked with leading brands of roofing and complementary products, including Beacon’s own TRI-BUILT^® products,” said Brian Gibson, Beacon’s regional vice president, South Atlantic. “This branch adds further service capabilities to our Beacon OTC^® network serving Research Triangle Park. Contractors on the go will also save time and be able to work more efficiently using Beacon PRO+, our customer app.”

The La Vergne branch, located in the Nashville metro area, is specifically designed, stocked, staffed, and equipped to serve lumberyard, building supply and home center customers in predominantly rural markets.

“This branch will enable our team to provide additional products, service and expertise to our customers across the state of Tennessee,” said Clint Wade, Beacon’s national vice president for service to rural lumberyards.

With these new locations, Beacon has opened 15 greenfield branches in 2022, exceeding its original commitment to 10 for the year and executing on the growth and customer experience goals in its Ambition 2025 plan.

KENT, Ohio — SprayWorks Equipment recently worked with Natural Polymers to test spray foam materials from across the country. The application portion of the test was conducted at the SprayWorks Equipment facility in Kent, Ohio. After Owens Corning's 2022 acquisition of Natural Polymers, an Illinois-based spray foam manufacturer, the company sought a location to carry out customer focused learnings.

SprayWorks' 28,000-square-foot facility in Ohio provided an ideal location where the equipment, material, and technical support could be managed throughout the process. Contractors spent a full day spraying products on mock wall systems, overseen by experts from Natural Polymers.

"The event represents a milestone in the spray foam industry," John Davidson, operations lead at SprayWorks Equipment, a third-generation applicator said. "For years, Owens Corning has closely watched and competed with our industry through their line of insulation products. This acquisition says a lot about their commitment to spray foam. SprayWorks Equipment has a longstanding relationship with Owens Corning, and we look forward to working with newly-acquired Natural Polymers as they seek to grow the industry. We also share their commitment to increasing the expertise, knowledge, and training of material applicators."

PORTLAND, Ore. — Malarkey Roofing Products, a leader in sustainable performance roofing shingles, announced that Craig Lott is being promoted to director of sales operations.

In this position, Lott will direct Malarkey’s national sales account relationships, customer programs, order fulfillment process (OFP), product placement, customer pricing, contractor services, training, and other sales related functions.

Lott has over 40 years in the roofing industry, joining Malarkey in 2013. He was integral to Malarkey’s growth in the South-Central Region. In 2017, Lott was promoted to national account manager, where he provided sales management support as the company expanded geographically across the United States.

“The position exposed me to the additional business demands such as allocation OFP and price management coordination that we needed to implement to support our customers,” said Lott.

In his new, expanded role, Lott will elevate Malarkey as the company continues to amplify its capabilities to support customers and business partners.

“There are many details that will be enhanced as Craig starts turning ideas into action, but in the interim, I want to thank Craig Lott for his strong leadership of the sales operations,” said John Rabung, vice president of sales. “And for his willingness to take on even more as we build-out sales operations."

ALACHUA, Fla. — The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) released curriculum updates of its most popular titles and valuable translations in 2022 to expand access to industry-built education, including its roofing curriculum.

Each revision includes important content additions and updates to reflect current industry standards and new advancements in safety, technology, equipment and other best practices. Several of the new editions also feature a modernized layout and design with updated artwork to improve the reading experience.

The curriculum updates from 2022 continue NCCER’s commitment to enhancing its products and services to meet the needs of a digital-first age. The new title releases feature expanded digital resources, instructional videos, interactive self-guided learning features and more. NCCERconnect and eTexts are also available for many of these titles.

NCCER is also releasing Spanish translations of several popular curricula. The renewed Spanish translation efforts are part of NCCER's goal to help organizations train skilled craft professionals in an increasingly diverse workforce. These translated titles include:

• Core, Sixth Edition (Spanish): This foundational Introduction to Basic Construction Skills curriculum is once again available in Spanish and features a new elective module introducing construction careers, more rigorous performance tests, and extensive updates on math, hand tools, power tools and drawings.
• Roofing Level 1-2, Second Edition (Spanish): The newest edition of Roofing was developed in partnership with the National Roofing Contractors Association. This is the first time the NCCER Roofing curriculum has been translated into Spanish.
• Concrete Construction Level 1-2, Second Edition (Spanish): The Concrete Construction curriculum covers a range of specific content, such as the characteristics of concrete, using concrete as a building material and the process of curing concrete.

In addition, several crafts received new editions of higher levels after earlier levels of their track were updated in 2021. Those new releases include:

• Roofing Level 2, Second Edition
• Sprinkler Fitting Level 3, Fourth Edition
• Millwright Level 3, Fourth Edition

NCCER develops and distributes its curricula in partnership with learning company, Pearson, to ensure that it complies with the Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship requirements for time-based training. Individuals who successfully complete these training programs through an NCCER-Accredited Training Sponsor will earn industry-recognized credentials through the NCCER Registry System.

To learn more about NCCER curricula and purchasing options, visit the bookstore or contact your designated Pearson executive director.