Product development experts from Johns Manville sat down with key industry media Wednesday at the 2016 International Roofing Expo (IRE) for a Q&A forum on TPO membranes. Zebonie Sukle, JM’s manager of product engineering for single-ply solutions, Kim Tokarski, TPO product manager, and Jennifer Ford-Smith, director of marketing and single ply systems, provided an overview of TPO as a high-quality energy-saving membrane solution for the commercial roofing industry.
The three JM product experts are also founding members of National Women in Roofing (NWIR). An organization focused on the education, mentoring, networking and recruitment of women in the roofing industry, NWIR also supports the empowerment and collaboration of women and men in roofing, concentrating on the overall growth of careers in the roofing industry.
The Denver-based company announced plans to build a second production line at its Scottsboro, Ala., manufacturing facility. The new line will increase production capacity for JM TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin), a roofing membrane that continues to be the preferred choice of the industry’s top commercial roofing contractors, consultants and building owners.
In October 2008, JM’s commitment to single ply manufacturing was solidified with the opening of a state-of-the-art TPO facility in Scottsboro. JM furthered its investment in single ply in 2012 with the opening of an EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) manufacturing plant in Milan, Ohio.
The new TPO production line will bring JM’s total investment in commercial roofing over the past eight years to approximately $200 million. Together with putting money back in the American economy and bringing more than 175 jobs to the manufacturing sector, JM’s continued investments allow growth in the industry and extend JM’s areas of roofing expertise and available products.
To meet recent demand for JM TPO, JM began a capacity expansion project in March 2015 at the Scottsboro plant. Construction was completed in May, and now work will begin to construct the second production line.
“The plant expansion was a huge success and made our Scottsboro facility what is, in our view, the most productive and efficient TPO facility in the United States, enabling us to meet our customers’ needs for the foreseeable future,” Ford-Smith said.
