Normally, when one thinks of a legacy, it’s in terms of the long-lasting impact that events that transpired long ago will have. Despite its relatively young status – first founded in 2011 – Legacy Restoration is already living up to its name.

With its revenue clocking in at $135 million in 2022, the Minneapolis-based company and the roofing business it acquired, Janney Roofing, earned a spot in the upper tiers of RC’s 2023 Top 100 List. This latest inclusion continues a streak that started in 2016, where Legacy earned $10 million in revenue, claiming the 83rd spot on that year’s list.

As pleased as Scott Mullins is with the Top 100 placements, the CEO said prioritizing the bottom line isn’t what the commercial roofing contractor instills in its employees, which is why it remains so successful.

“For me, as founder and CEO, the Top 100 has always been about our employees,” Mullins said. “I want our team to see their accomplishments as it relates to the overall market. The Top 100 has been a remarkably credible way to accomplish this for our team members.”

According to the Legacy Restoration website, the company aims to give back to its communities, deliver on promises to clients and team members, and provide excellence in exterior remodeling and storm repair, all while positively contributing to the roofing industry.

Building a Legacy

The Mullins family’s history with exterior restoration and insurance property claims goes back to the late 1980s. Mark Mullins founded ITEL Laboratories in 1993 to make the loss claims estimates process more accurate and fair. ITEL, an acronym for “Independent Testing Evaluation Laboratory,” provides unbiased benchmark pricing and matching services.

Initially developed for flooring, the lab diversified its offerings when Mullins’ father, Roger, joined the company in the early 2000s as its CEO. It added roofing to its material testing services in 2009.

Scott Mullins’ journey into roofing began in Northern Michigan, working at his uncle’s construction company during the summer by helping with cleanups and installations. He continued working there throughout college, working in sales in 2005. His family instilled in him a passion for the industry extending beyond simply doing good business. In 2011, he took that passion and founded Legacy Restoration with the motto “Raising the Standard.”

“[We] started with a clear focus on creating a culture that served the individual team member believing that if we can get people inspired by their own lives, we can then have more impact on a larger circle of influence,” he said.

Legacy Restoration built its first roof in May 2012. Within two years, it hired vital management, and by 2017, when it entered its second year on the Top 100 list, it expanded into new territories. Today, Legacy Restoration has 11 locations nationwide, including three each in Minnesota and Florida. Mullins admits this growth wasn’t without its difficulties.

“Early scaling of the company stretches both leadership skills and cash needs to an extreme,” he said. “Going through this is necessary and a valuable lesson on getting better but definitely not a pleasant experience.”

Bracing the company through tough times was its solid backbone, based on the idea that it should create a thriving work environment for employees to reach personal and professional goals. To ensure employees are cared for, they receive various benefits, including PTO, health care plans, 401(k) with matching, profit sharing and more.

Extensive onboarding and training programs bring workers up to speed, and continuous job training programs and leadership development keep all team members fresh. Mullins said the firm’s director of training keeps track of required training and ensures employees continue to advance. OSHA-compliant safety is chief among the training offered, with a mandate of reporting safety incidents, including near-misses. This even includes penalties for non-compliance from subcontractors.

Legacy Restoration earned a 2023 Pinnacle Community award from Owens Corning, recognizing its commitment to giving back to the communities it serves and beyond.

Crafting Culture

Company culture is just as much about giving back as it supports employees. Legacy Restoration is a charitable partner to organizations on every level, from local to international. It has donated more than $27,000 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Ian relief efforts, funded educational opportunities with the Josephine Lily Wolfe Memorial Scholarship Foundation, and provided roofing services to churches and supporting groups like Feed My Starving Children–Minnesota and Blank Children’s Hospital in Iowa.

“I think many founders, owners, and leaders in our space underestimate the importance of building their companies around solid business fundamentals, which consequently limits scalability,” he said. “We think too often of just building roofs and do not think often enough of things like culture in the company, quality of the leadership within the organization, or quality back office processes.”

With the right people in place and constantly training, Legacy can deliver on its promises of top-notch customer service and craftsmanship. A low builds-to-jobs supervisor ratio ensures the company isn’t overbooked or spread too thin, allowing the best crews to attack the right jobs. Results are constantly monitored through quality checklists, customer sign-offs, and Guild Quality surveys for each customer.

When something does slip through the cracks, Mullins said the company aims to “immediately” attempt to resolve the issue and use that to re-examine processes and personnel so the error doesn’t happen on future jobs.

"We always start with one question: ‘What did we do wrong?’ That can be a very hard question to answer in many situations we encounter in residential roofing. Being humble and knowing that we can always improve creates an environment where everyone is responsible for creating a quality customer experience,” he said. “We show customers that we are there to solve a problem and are really providing a service along with replacing their roof.”

Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minn.

Specialty: Residential roofing, siding, gutter and window replacement

Number of Employees: 385; non-union

2022 Revenue: $135.7 million

Website:www.legacyrestorationllc.com

Supporting these efforts are some of the biggest names in the industry, including relationships with ABC Supply, Beacon and SRS Distribution. As an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor, Legacy Restoration benefits from the resources and relationships it’s cultivated with the manufacturer. In turn, Owens Corning has awarded Legacy as recently as this year with recognition for product excellence, community service, and “Top Performer Platinum Warranty,” which honors the company’s commitment to serving their customers through warranty sales.

Consolidated Efforts

Consolidation in the roofing industry has become more prevalent with each passing year. Investors are swooping in, eager to grab a piece of the roofing pie thanks to the industry’s inherently stable condition, profitability, and fragmented nature. On the other side of the equation, more companies are partnering up, growing exponentially as they join to create new platforms.

Legacy Restoration partnered with Bessemer Investors in 2021 in its quest to grow. In 2022, while transitioning out of his Owens Corning Advisory Board position, Mullins met incoming board member Derek Janney.

For nearly 20 years, Janney Construction Services, dba Janney Roofing, has been in the roofing industry, seeing tremendous growth over the past decade. The company is one of the highest-rated roofers in Florida, serving Orlando, Tampa, Central Florida, North Florida and Southwest Florida, finding stable work in the hurricane-prone state. 

Companies frequently approached Janney, the sole owner, with offers to purchase the successful roofing business. He knew selling the company was something he wanted to do, but in doing so, wanted to respect the legacy he had built while taking care of his employees. 

“Nothing felt like the right fit. I didn’t want to just sell; I wanted to sell to somebody who has been where we want to go and has done things we want to accomplish,” Janney said.

Wanting the opinion of a respected peer, Janney ran some of the offers he received past Mullins. According to Janney, Mullins looked them over and, a few weeks later, told Janney he’d make him a better offer.

“I did my research on Legacy and realized who they were, and they were everything I wanted,” Janney said.

Thanks to similar values and business practices, the companies connect like two puzzle pieces. In addition to receiving the Owens Corning Pinnacle Award for Generosity, Janney has been named among the Top 10 Philanthropic Companies in Central Florida as a “Best Place to Work” for the last two years, and “Best of the Best” for the last two years. 

Janney Roofing officially joined Legacy Restoration last fall, allowing Legacy to expand into the southeast, a key market in roofing. Janney continues to lead the company under the Janney brand, happily reporting that none of his employees left due to the merger. Thanks to the broader range of resources Legacy offers, including a call center and accounting, the company has thrived.

“This merger has been everything I thought it would be plus, and our leadership team, the way Scott developed this, along with Bessemer, has done a fantastic job,” he said.

For those companies seeking their own simpatico partnership, Janney encourages staying within the roofing industry versus going the private equity route.

“I would say find the right company,” he said. “I would not just sell private equity … I sold with Scott because I was selling to a business manager who's a roofer ... I was selling to somebody who had been where I want to go.”

By focusing on fostering a company culture that promotes lifting others, Legacy Restoration creates a reputation for putting clients at the center of every project.

Moving Ahead

Mullins described the partnership with Janney as one of the best experiences his company has had in its 12-year history. He said the move elevated Legacy to the next tier of roofing, further allowing it to increase its positive influence on the industry. By sticking to its values and culture, Mullins said the company has become stronger than ever in a market inundated with mergers and acquisitions.

“There are positive players and neutral to maybe less-than-neutral players in the current consolidation of the industry,” Mullins said. “The positive players will create a more professional and sustainable environment for all, while the other players could create short-term disruptions. The roofing industry is a tough one and not forgiving of companies that want to damage it.”

Mullins warns this type of rapid growth comes with side effects. Like most other roofing companies, Legacy Restoration isn’t immune to the ongoing labor shortage. Enticing the next generation into the roofing industry has been and continues to be challenging. Mullins said that the company is embracing this challenge by increasing resources and creativity – whether through social media marketing or leaning on its membership with the National Roofing Contractors Association and Exterior Contractor Alliance Group. 

And his selling point to attract skilled laborers? You guessed it – an authentic and positive company culture.

“Our culture is and has been the reason for our success, it truly is the centerpiece of our organization. It’s a culture of buying into yourself and striving to reach your own potential,” he said. “Our company provides a methodology and environment for our employees to become their best in both their professional as well as their personal lives."

Those looking to hear more from Mullins can catch him as one of the speakers presenting at the 2023 Best of Success conference, scheduled for Dec. 3–5 at the Omni Frisco Hotel in Texas.