Garen Armstrong, executive director of Shamrock Roofing & Construction, and his daughter Abby. Photos courtesy of Shamrock Roofing & Construction.

Shamrocks are said to bring good luck, and looking at the success of Shamrock Roofing & Construction, it’s tempting to think the roofing contractor had some luck on its side.

Not only has the business expanded to six locations across three states, it was named one of the top 10 Kansas City roofing companies by BloggerLocal, maintains an A+ rating and accreditation with the Better Business Bureau, and has high rankings on multiple review sites.

Executive Director Garen Armstrong will tell you there’s a little luck involved, but the vast majority of it is hard work.

“The constant strive for excellence and to be the best of the best pushes us to be successful in our industry,” Armstrong said. “There are 100,000 roofing contractors out there. If you want to be the best and grow, then you have to be focused on growing not only yourself but your production ability and your business acumen.”

“We also foster a great employee opportunity as we grow people into leaders both personally and professionally,” Armstrong said.

Growing a Legacy

Roofing was in Armstrong’s blood — he grew up in the business with his father, Jim, who started Shamrock Roofing in 1977 as a small business. Jim helped build his knowledge base of the industry, which Armstrong rounded out by learning the insurance aspect of storm damage restoration. When the senior Armstrong passed away in 2016, Garen took over, aiming to be the biggest roofing contractor in Kansas City.

"What I learned from him is the integrity part of the business itself," said Armstrong. "The work ethic is important, but the integrity part of it and taking care of the homeowner in the business owner aspect of it is the most crucial part of it."

Since then, the company expanded to five other locations throughout the Midwest, including Nebraska and Iowa. The vast majority of Shamrock Roofing’s work is residential reroofing, though it does offer commercial work as well. Both its commercial and residential divisions are coordinated by the company’s production team, which also gives directives to the maintenance division.

Among the standout projects it has completed include the Williamsburg Plaza Apartments, where the company contracted for both new construction and reconstruction, and completing one of the largest barrel roofs in America — the legendary “Cowtown Ballroom” venue in Kansas City.

“The most interesting and fun jobs are the historical or older buildings,” Armstrong said. “Going in and bringing an old building back to life can be challenging but well worth the hard work.”

Shamrock Roofing's Roofs 4 Heroes program provides a free roof to veterans and first responders on a quarterly basis. Video: Fox 4 Kansas City.

When it comes to its expertise and offerings, the company is well rounded. As its website indicates, it is a GAF MasterElite roofer, Certified Residential Contractor with Malarkey, Master Shingle Applicator with CertainTeed, an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor, and a DaVinci Roofscapes roofer.

To maintain so many accreditations, Shamrock Roofing prides itself on its training program. The company practices consistent and constant training to keep employees in top shape, which includes a training portal dubbed “Shamrock University.”

“We use multiple training resources for different aspects of the multifaceted responsibilities of our employees,” Armstrong said. “We bundle all our training programs, including our customer service training.”

Naturally, this training includes safety practices. Shamrock Roofing’s safety policy and program is available to all employees, and each project manager is fully trained in Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations and must adhere to these protocols on each jobsite.

The reward for all this training is a strong team mentality that’s pervasive throughout the company, bolstered by Shamrock Roofing offering medical and 401(k) benefits in addition to bonus opportunities.

“We also foster a great employee opportunity as we grow people into leaders both personally and professionally,” Armstrong said.

Since taking over his father's business in 2016, Armstrong has expanded Shamrock Roofing to multiple locations in the Midwest.

Keeping Customers Happy

Given its stellar training and multiple certifications, it’s not hard to see why Shamrock Roofing & Construction has a 4.8 out of 5 from more than 250 Google reviews as well as a 5 out of 5 from Facebook reviews. Multiple reviews speak to the professionalism of its employees, their helpfulness in the insurance process, and the quality of the final product.

Armstrong attributed its quality workmanship to multiple sources. First, the company’s production team and project managers oversee each job from start to finish, making sure to take multiple photographs and meeting with inspectors. The company also upgrades roof systems using the latest technology.

“We ensure quality workmanship by fully vetting all of our subcontractors. We ensure that all people working under the Shamrock Roofing & Construction name are committed to doing quality work,” said Armstrong.

In addition to the companies previously mentioned, Shamrock Roofing enjoys strong relationships with the Kansas Roofing Association, American Policy Association, suppliers like Beacon Building Products and professionals like Storm Venture Group.

The company also makes the effort to educate customers. Regularly updated content can be found throughout Shamrock Roofing’s online presence, whether it is blog posts comparing different roofing materials or videos uploaded to its YouTube channel.

The majority of Shamrock Roofing's business is residential reroofing, but the contractor also handles specialty commercial reroofs.

“We keep our marketing in-house where we focus on traditional marketing such as TV media, however, we find our marketing has been shifting to more and more internet marketing and social media,” Armstrong said.

To show appreciation for the communities that support it, Shamrock Roofing runs multiple giveback initiatives. Since 2017, the company holds its “Roof 4 a Hero” program to give away a roof to a veteran or first responder, choosing a recipient from submissions entered on its website. In April, Shamrock Roofing started its “Put Unity in Community Scholarship” program, where anyone seeking a college education can enter to win a $1,000 scholarship.

“Shamrock is fully invested in our community and this sets the stage for the type of organization we work hard to achieve,” Armstrong said.

All of this culminated to help Shamrock Roofing & Construction weather the pandemic. Not only did it escape relatively unaffected, it even managed to expand its business and hire workers amidst the industry’s workforce shortage, going from 48 employees in December to around 60 in April.

Lucky? Perhaps. Dedicated? Definitely.

“In the last few years, we have worked hard on growing our recruiting and training programs and, therefore, have been able to hire many more employees as well as open five new locations,” Armstrong said.