America Roofing nominated Dan Williams, ABC Supply’s district manager for Arizona, as a Most Valuable Partner.
Supervisor Tony Campbell, estimator Tony Smith and co-owner Kim Byrne share a moment at the America Roofing Christmas party last year.
“Great products, leads and advice,” Byrne toldRoofing Contractorwhen asked how Williams helps her company. “He’s an all-around great sounding board.”
Williams, ABC Supply’s district manager for Arizona, said the nomination by America Roofing “makes us feel absolutely honored.”
“When you think about it, we have been a long-time partner with America Roofing,” Williams said. “I remem-ber them as a small startup, pretty much on their own. Ray Byrne (Kim’s husband and co-owner of the com-pany) came from a large roofing company. I did not think they were getting the respect in the market that they deserved as America Roofing.”
The Byrne family showed up in force at America Roofing’s Christmas party last year. They are (back row) Ray Byrne, Josh Byrne and Jake Byrne. (Front row) Kim Byrne, Shelly (daughter in-law) and Sara Byrne.
How It Started
America Roofing has become synonymous with multi-family new development in Arizona. “My husband, Ray, was working for another roofing company before we started our own, but he was blessed enough to run into Jody Born out of Texas, who has his own company and was a very smart business man,” Kim Byrne said. “He was instrumental in us hooking up with ABC Supply.”Once a line of communication was opened with the distributor, the Byrnes were off and roofing on their own in 1999. “We met Dan, who was a valuable sounding board,” Kim Byrne said. “Lead-wise, the people under Dan were keys to getting us job leads. Back in the day we couldn’t afford to go the Dodge Room, but we knew what projects were in the hopper and whose door to rattle. That was key when Dan would let us go and knock on doors - a good starting point for us in 1999.”
Byrne said ABC Supply “kept prices competitive” and the results were better than expected. “They kept us competitive,” she said. “Roofing is a cut-throat market - workers comp, liability and labor force you have no control over. But when it comes to material, the cost end, Dan has always kept us informed early on price increases.”
Another key to the company’s success was simply making deliveries in a timely fashion. “They will bend over backwards to get the job done,” Kim Byrne said. “ABC has gone above and beyond, whether it’s a new boom truck, scheduling or pricing.”
“Dan is flexible,” Byrne continued. “In Dan’s mind, that enables us to be successful. When we bid multi-family homes, Dan’s profit margin was larger because ours is larger. He’s able to be flexible when we need him to be.”
What Has Transpired
America Roofing does about $5.5 million in annual revenue each year, but Byrne hopes to push that over $8 million. “I remember back in 2001, September 11, when the market died,” Byrne recalled. “We were getting bigger, but we had a cash flow problem. They really were key in working with us. Maybe we’ll grow closer to $8 million this year. But with ABC we can do the work without having to grow our over-head.”For his part, Dan Williams, who is responsible for complete oversight of all the company’s branches in Arizona, knows when he’s dealing with people who want to succeed in business. What Williams sees in America Roofing are two working/married partners who work well together. “Ray runs the jobs and Kim runs the office,” Williams said. “Having someone like Kim in there making sure day-to-day operations are running smoothly is very important.”
The Byrnes would rather think of their relationship with their supplier as a little bit more than “business as usual.”
“We’re a great team,” Kim Byrne said. “ABC is a huge part of our past and future, instrumental to our suc-cess. ABC is more than a partner, they are more like family.”
