Page 18 - BusinessWest February 20, 2023
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Last year, Home Depot gave one of its three innovation awards to OMG’s Cortex Hidden Fastening System.
you’re not willing to let it just deteriorate; you’re going to get a new roof if you need it. Or you’re going to have a lot of buckets and be running around like a chicken with your head cut off every time it rains.”
Hot Stuff
During BusinessWest’s recent visit to OMG’s factory in Agawam, Shaffer point- ed out a Chinese advertisement for RhinoBond, the first non-penetrating, induc- tion-based roof-attachment method in North America, which OMG introduced in 1999.
“RhinoBond is a global leader in induction heat welding, and a leading-edge technology in the commercial roofing industry,” he noted. “So we make stuff in Western Mass. and export it to places like China, which is pretty cool. It usually goes the other way.”
McGovern said OMG has a family of about 20 patents on its induction roof- ing technology, which uses heat to meld the roofing membrane to a fastener plate without having to puncture the membrane with a screw. “It’s a different way of doing roofing — and we lead the market with that.”
On an aerial photo of the Agawam campus, he pointed out a building dedicated to research and development that houses about 30 employees, mainly engineers, who work on developing new products. Over the years, the company’s develop- ments have included TrapEase, the first composite deck screw that does not mush- room; OlyBond Insulation Adhesive, a two-part, low-rise polyurethane foam; Oly- Bond500 canisters, a new method of applying adhesive, and many more.
“A lot of the growth has come from looking at our customers and saying, ‘what else can we sell these guys that will help them build a better roof?’” Kolvek said. “And that’s where you see our drains come in, or the solar mounts and other things. Those accessories have helped grow the business, as well as new technolo- gies that cannibalize some of our original product line or allow a more premium solution to builders.”
Shaffer agreed. “We’re really getting out there to the customer and saying, ‘how can we help you? What are your challenges you’re facing?’ And maybe we can bring a solution to the table.”
FastenMaster in particular has been introducing new products at a brisk pace, as evidenced by an innovation award it received from Home Depot in November, for its Cortex Hidden Fastening System, which is used to build a deck with fully hidden hardware and fasteners. That kind of continuous development is possible only by staying atop and even spearheading industry trends, McGovern said.
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