When Wilmington, N.C., resident Morton Freeman recently appeared on a local TV news segment, he couldn’t help but become emotional talking about the good gesture of an area roofing company.
The company was Above All Roofing, which celebrated two years in business in January.
Above All Roofing donated a roof to Freeman and his wife. The roof was badly needed following Hurricane Florence but the Freemans didn’t have insurance and had been turned down by FEMA.
“It’s a blessing,” Freeman told WECT-TV, a local NBC-TV affiliate.
“It’s not an easy thing…to be in this situation,” he continued, while choking up. “But I’m grateful that my wife and I are here and that it’s getting done.”
Above All Roofing Owner Michael Boyanski said on TV that “We do it for the reason we set out for…to help out certain families and to help out whoever we can.”
Boyanksi recently relayed the same message to Roofing Contractor: that helping others is one of the primary reasons he and his wife Kelly started the Carolina Beach-based company in 2017 — specifically, to “greatly impact the community.”
“Above All Roofing truly cares about our community and strives to provide the best customer service in the industry,” said Hailey Mason, a general manager at Above All Roofing.
She’s been with the company since it started.
In addition to helping people like the Freemans, Above All has sponsored local associations, organizations, and schools: the New Hanover Law Enforcement Association; Carolina Beach Fire Dept.; American Legion; Ashley High School activities; and more.
“Sponsoring the Cape Fear Disabled Sportsman Fishing Tournament the past two years have been an amazing experience for the company as well as made a significant impact with the team at Above All Roofing as well,” Mason said.
Striving to Be the Best
Michael Boyanski has nearly 30 years of experience in the roofing industry.
In addition to Boyanski and Mason, Chris Becker rounds out the Above All Roofing management team. Becker relocated to Carolina Beach in the aftermath of 2018’s Hurricane Florence to manage sales and production.
The team at Above All Roofing consists of 14 employees, including management and sales.
The company has five divisions: repair, sales, management, quality control and roofing crews.
The company specializes in new construction, residential, and commercial installations. It installs all “forms of roofing including: rubber roofing, rolled roofing, slate roofing, shingle roofing, architectural shingle roofing, metal roofing, and many more.”
About 75 percent of the business is residential. Of that about 80 percent of the jobs are reroofing.
Mason said quality workmanship is important to the company as it has full-time quality control manager and on-site project manager for each job. Above All Roofing also provides a five-year workmanship warranty at the completion of each project.
“At Above All Roofing all of our representatives are trained to be educated and keep their clients as well-informed as possible from the beginning to the end of the contracted project,” Mason said. “The representatives are also trained to consistently follow-up with their client throughout the project.”
Safety is a big issue for Above All Roofing, too, Mason said.
“Above All Roofing has an onsite project manager throughout the duration of the project to ensure that all safety equipment is on-site and utilized properly,” she said.
Training is equally important.
“Above All Roofing trains each employee in on-going weekly meetings as well as one-on-one meetings whenever permitting,” Mason said. “We continuously train each representative with weekly meetings discussing the current practices and methods used in the roofing and construction fields. Each Above All Roofing representative is highly quality and sufficiently trained in customer service.”
Mason said company officials work hard to create a good working atmosphere for employees.
“Above All has two facilities that are accessible to all representatives at any time,” she said. “The Above All Roofing staff works together as a team to assure a comfortable and efficient work environment.”
Managing Growth
The biggest challenge facing Above All Roofing currently is keeping up with demand.
The area continues to rebuild from Hurricane Florence, which hit the area in September 2018 and caused an estimated $3-5 billion in damage.
Still, that doesn’t keep the company from being “efficient and aggressive” with its sales force and tactics.
Above All Roofing markets itself through digital media, wrapped vehicles with the company logo, billboards throughout the company’s service area, yard signs and sign-toppers, and local mailers.
One of the biggest lessons the company has learned so far, Mason said, is that it’s impossible to take on every single project — and she offers that advice to others.
“It is not easy keeping up with the high demand for roofing needs in our community, especially with the devastation Hurricane Florence caused,” Mason said. “It is OK to say no to a project too large or too demanding. It is always better than taking on more work than you can handle or are capable of producing.”
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