The worst experiences are on par with the best for Medford, Ore.-based Pressure Point Roofing Inc.

Matt Stone, co-owner, said it’s because all experiences, good or bad, are one in the same — opportunities to learn, earn respect and trust from clients, and ultimately land more business.

The approach also is a key factor for the company projecting revenue of about $6.3 million in 2018, an increase of about 30 percent compared with last year — and substantially higher than about a decade ago when Stone wasn’t able to take a paycheck for about six months.

“I am a firm believer in that what sets great companies apart is how they handle problems,” said Stone. “I tell our clients we are a great company. We are not perfect, but we will make sure that if there is a problem, we will take care of it.”

Pressure Point is co-owned by Stone and Brian Fisher. It was started by David Judd — who’s no longer involved with the company — in 1989. Stone bought the company in 2008 and Fisher has slowly been increasing his ownership stake. Both are in their mid-40s.

The year Pressure Point was founded coincidentally was about when a 15-year-old Stone first climbed atop a roof to earn money. It was a roof tear off for a different company owned by his friend’s dad. Stone said he made “decent” money and he liked working with his buddy. He was asked if he wanted to come back the following summer, and was laying shingles by the end of his second season as a roofer. It was the start of a long career.

Launching Point

Stone started working with Pressure Point Roofing in 1995, after he returned from a church mission in Adelaide, Australia, representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

His idea was to put the skills he refined as a missionary to work in sales for Pressure Point. However, Stone said he quickly found it more rewarding to be on a roof as an installer.

With no openings at Pressure Point, Stone returned to the company he originally worked for as a teen.

“I loved working with my crew,” Stone said. “I just loved that teamwork aspect. I loved being able to get up on a job, install it, and look back on it and take pride in what I did.

“And I was pretty motivated to get jobs done quickly being that I was getting paid by the square,” he added. “You get up, you get the job done, you get paid and go on to the next one.”

In the ensuing four years, Stone said he strayed from roofing to take a crack at a few different jobs before being approached in 1999 about returning to Pressure Point Roofing. He did, and this time he stayed.

“(Judd) said he wanted me to come to work for him running a crew for about five years, then move into sales, then possibly move into a management type position,” Stone said.

Plans Change Quickly

Just 10 months in, Judd wanted Stone to switch to sales. After about a year in that role, Stone took on additional managerial tasks consistent with the company’s growth. Among other things, Judd and Stone met twice a week with the company’s bookkeeper to review financials.

“It was a great introduction to the business side of things,” Stone said. “I didn’t go to college so I thank Dave for a lot of the business knowledge I have.”

Stone said it was a natural transition that by 2008 Judd had moved on to other business ventures and sold Pressure Point to him.

Today, Pressure Point installs asphalt shingles, metal, tile, wood shakes and single-ply roofing systems. The company has 46 full-time employees who are non-union.

Pressure Point has been a Certified Master Elite Contractor with GAF since 1998 for steep slope, asphalt shingle projects. Further, the company has been a Certified Duro-Last installer since 2003 and a Carlisle Certified Installer since 2012 on low slope applications.

Pressure Point has three divisions: steep and low slope; maintenance and repair; and construction. About 70 percent of the company’s business is commercial with residential accounting for the rest. Stone said much of the company’s growth can be attributed to commercial jobs, such as the Oregon Youth Authority New Bridge High School, and facilities at the grounds of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

“We’re definitely going after some of the larger commercial opportunities — low slope, metal work, stuff like that is what we’ve started to get calls for because of our reputation for doing a good job, being on time, and if we make a mistake, we make it right,” he said.

Stone said it’s impossible to point to a singular factor that has helped Pressure Point experience sustained success.

Instead, he points to the company’s consistency on several fronts, like ensuring employees are happy.

“We try to create an atmosphere of teamwork where everyone feels a sense of belonging and responsibility to achieving the company’s and clients’ best interests,” he explained. “I believe a good working environment starts with the ability of our employees to trust that we are looking out for them.”

That means that in addition to competitive wages, Stone said, the company offers health benefits, a 401k plan, 40 hours of paid time off, and more.

Additionally, Pressure Point offers job bonuses for projects valued at more than $2,000.

“There are clear standards to be met, but we believe it motivates the employees to not only work quickly but with quality and efficiency,” Stone said.

Heavy on Happiness

Pressure Point works to ensure customers are happy, Stone said. It starts with an emphasis on the importance of quality via what he calls a “multi-stage approach.”

“From the tear off to the cleanup, we strive to exceed the customer’s expectations,” Stone said. “If the grounds are littered with nails or roofing debris, the owners often are afraid they got a less-than-quality install for their roof.”

Pressure Point uses a 17-point check of the project covering everything from installation to final cleanup. Stone said it’s been in place for years.

“If there is anything that does need to be addressed, the crew foreman is assigned to go back and take care of it with pictures showing the fix,” Stone said.

The approach stems from an occasional misstep — the kind that Stone points to when asked about the best and worst experiences the company has endured.

In one such instance, a “young crew” didn’t get the bottom of a valley dried in properly before a thunderstorm. The roof leaked during the torrential rain, resulting in drywall and wood floor damage that cost Pressure Point about $7,000.

“We told the homeowner we would make things right and we did,” Stone said. “The homeowner was happy and referred us to his friends, even with the damages. Just this year, the same homeowner called us back to replace some exterior doors, some siding, and gutters.

“We earned his trust by being honest and doing what we said we would do,” Stone said.

Looking ahead, Stone said he expects sustained growth for Pressure Point as it continues to target more commercial jobs and considers expanding its geographic reach.

In 2010, the company expanded to the Eugene, Ore. market with a new branch and Stone said he and Fisher are considering a third location that would be in the Bend, Ore. area.

“I kind of have this geographic triangle, and that triangle is Medford-Eugene-Bend,” Stone said. “It encompasses a good amount of the state, and those are areas that our business model does well in and the populations are such that there aren’t 200 roofing companies in town.”