Garland Co.`s roofing materials out on top

Garland Co.’s product line incorporates grass-top roofs. Photo credit: PHOTO PROVIDED

By CHUCK SODER

for Crain`s Cleveland

4:30 am, August 3, 2009

The environmentally friendly products that protect Garland Co.`s customers from the weather are providing the Cleveland firm with another type of shelter.

The manufacturer and distributor of roofing materials and building maintenance products has been trudging through the recession without taking a major hit, thanks in large part to its lineup of green products, said Brian Lambert, director of products and systems for Garland.

Mr. Lambert said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the company this year can match last year`s sales, which says something, given the state of the economy and the company`s performance in 2008.

“We had a very good year last year,” said Mr. Lambert, who declined to release revenue figures.

The 120-employee company, which is the largest unit of Cleveland-based Garland Industries, has seen “nice growth” in the sales of core products that incorporate environmentally friendly attributes, he said.

For instance, Garland Co. makes the parts for white roofs, which reflect sunlight to keep buildings cool in the summer, as well as the waterproofing materials for vegetative roofs, which are covered with grass and plants. It also makes roofing systems designed to be equipped with solar panels, and it incorporates recycled material, such as tire rubber and bottle glass, into many of its products.

Garland first got into making and distributing green products in the mid-1990s when the company began recycling tire rubber at the request of a customer in New Mexico. Since then, more customers — beginning with those on the West Coast before spreading to the rest of the country — have been demanding green products, Mr. Lambert said.

“Now, everybody is there,” he said.

Although Garland is more than happy to benefit from the trend, he added that the company also enjoys knowing that it`s having a positive impact on the environment.

“We`ve always tried to be a responsible corporate citizen,” he said.

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