EP 60 · 2023-07-17 · 1:37:36
How a New Brunswick Cladding Company Beat the Labour Shortage with Single-Ply Roofing | Century Exteriors
Century Exteriors' founder Jeremy Mean and roofing director Jason St. Thomas walk through how a New Brunswick building-envelope company is using single-ply roofing, unionization, and cross-trade diversification to outmaneuver the Atlantic Canada labour shortage.
JM
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// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
1:22Origin stories: Jeremy's career path from Toronto penitentiaries to Century Exteriors — Jeremy recounts starting on PCL/EllisDon penitentiary projects in Ontario at age 19, then learning the building-envelope trade at Vic West under Paul Fournier. Spotting a gap when aging subcontractors were exiting, he began doing install work directly and launched Century.7:20Jason's background: 18 years in industrial project management and the road to roofing — Jason traces an 18-year career through food-processing plant builds in China, India, and Canada, glazing, and GC-side apartment construction before connecting with Jeremy through Arrow Construction supply relationships and joining Century to build the roofing division.12:40Operations overview: three provinces, CNC fabrication, and the Newfoundland logistics model — Century's head office in Woodstock handles drafting, programming, CNC fabrication of ACM panels and subframing. Panels are cut flat and shipped to a Newfoundland assembly shop to control freight costs. Nova Scotia is identified as the priority growth market. ~120 staff across three provinces.20:00Unionization decision and workforce investment: carpentry union, training, profit-sharing — Century joined the Carpenters Union in January 2023 after already offering wages above union scale, health benefits, and profit-sharing. The move was driven by wanting to leverage union training infrastructure (including Las Vegas building-envelope courses) rather than build it from scratch. Jeremy frames unionization as an extension of his 'building people, building buildings' motto.32:20Single-ply roofing strategy: Carlisle partnership, flameless advantage, and market education — Jason explains why Century entered roofing exclusively with single-ply (EPDM/TPO, Carlisle products via Arrow Construction as local rep): no open flame, faster installation (4-5 person crew, 5,000+ sq ft/day), competitive cost, and 20-35 year total-system warranties with non-prorated coverage. The New Brunswick market is dominated by torch-on two-ply mod-bit; Century is betting on the flameless shift already prevalent in the US and central Canada.43:30Major projects: Canard building Halifax, MARCO Newfoundland, and early-engagement strategy — Century is cladding the Canard development on Halifax waterfront (with Southwest) and doing an $8M+ building-envelope project in Newfoundland with MARCO. Jeremy describes a two-year pre-award engagement on the MARCO job — working budgets and details with the GC before the tender — as the preferred approach to large complex jobs.50:50Labour shortage realities: school-market avoidance, diversification as a labour play, and competition dynamics — Schools have poor margins and Century is largely stepping back from them. The New Brunswick roofing market has four dominant players (Flynn, ATEC, Atlantic, Enviro) mostly doing two-ply on government specs. Century cross-trains cladding and roofing crews for 12-month employment and labour flexibility. Jason describes his roofing crew as 'misfits' who are flourishing in a new environment.1:02:30Schedule pressures, weather risk management, and quality culture — Jeremy and Jason discuss the difficulty of hitting schedules in a labour-constrained market. Weather risk on roofing is managed by trusting experienced foremen's field judgement. The hospital roofing job used a remote-controlled spinning crane to keep crews out of the hospital entirely — cited as 'smart roofing solutions' in action.1:15:00Growth aspirations: glazing, Ontario expansion, next-generation trades recruitment — Glazing is on the roadmap but not rushed. Century has started pricing Ontario work and sent representatives to Niagara. Jeremy emphasises attracting young people into trades, framing the career path against high-profile Halifax projects. The company has hired seven international (Indian) engineering graduates as office staff to address the talent pool constraint.
// THE INTRO
Jeremy Mean (founder/president, Century Exteriors) and Jason St. Thomas (roofing director) detail how Century has grown from a cladding install-only operation out of Woodstock, NB into a three-province building-envelope company with 120 staff. The conversation covers: the strategic pivot to single-ply (Carlisle EPDM/TPO) roofing in a market dominated by torch-on two-ply mod-bit; the January 2023 transition to the Carpenters Union as a deliberate workforce infrastructure decision; an in-house training program with animated instructional videos and practice walls; the $8M+ Newfoundland cladding project with MARCO; work on the Canard building in Halifax; the school-market price squeeze; cross-training cladding and roofing crews to enable 12-month employment and labour flexibility; and a candid discussion of schedule reliability challenges in the current post-COVID construction environment. The episode closes with aspirations to add glazing, expand into Ontario, and build Century's reputation as a 'smart roofing solutions' partner rather than a price-race competitor.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸Join the union once you already exceed their standards — let them run the benefits and training infrastructure you were building anyway.
“we never approached you because you pay your guys good right so I paid better than the union”
Entering a trade niche with a single product system (no alternatives) forces focus and builds genuine expertise faster than trying to compete across all formats.
“we weren't using torch — that's not even an option for us right”
Spend two years working budgets and details with a GC before a tender is issued — early engagement converts relationships into awarded contracts on large complex jobs.
“I think it was like a two-year process even before being awarded the job”
Cross-train roofing and cladding crews so they can shift between scopes — it extends your employment year to 12 months and creates a more flexible, loyal workforce.
“now we're working 12 months a year instead of eight or nine”
Single-ply roofing requires roughly half the crew of torch-on two-ply for equivalent coverage — in a labour shortage, the system that needs fewer people wins.
“we don't need 10 guys to go into a roof we only need four to five due to the system”
Avoid racing to the bottom on school tenders — thin margins and government specs combine to make schools consistently unprofitable for specialty subcontractors.
“schools have not been uh great for anybody”
Solve the GC's adjacent problem (even when it's not your scope) to build the reputation that earns design-build calls — problem-solving beyond your contract is the long-term business development play.
“give me let me make a few phone calls let me see if I can find you something”
When selling a product alternate to architects who resist re-detailing, hand them the manufacturer's CAD files for free — removing the work barrier converts resistance into approvals.
“you don't have to do that — Carlisle web page they have all the details, all the CAD files”
Hire 'misfits' from other companies — workers labelled difficult elsewhere often thrive when placed in a culture that treats them fairly and with clear expectations.
“they were a problem somewhere else and they're in an environment now they're flourishing”
Diversify into adjacent building-envelope scopes when you plateau on labour supply for your existing trade — it's easier to grow headcount across related trades than to find more specialists in a saturated talent pool.
“it's easier to diversify and be you know 300 — divide that out and have a hundred hundred hundred”
When entering a competitor's market, maintain relationships rather than undercutting — you'll need those competitors as references, sponsors, and collaborators down the road.
“we're not out there to make enemies — you step on someone's toes and it's gonna come back and bite you”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Story · 2:15
“early after high school my wife and I we moved to Toronto”
Hot take · 17:17
“the reason that we never really got approached or never got unionized”
Framework · 18:42
“how do you build people well you have to put them on a pathway of success”
Hot take · 26:41
“there's been a couple of buildings that burnt because they were using torches”
Framework · 30:25
“with the labor shortage we don't need 10 guys to go into a roof we only need four to five”
Framework · 35:06
“so like when we start the job we fill out the warranty if we're doing a total system warranty”
Framework · 37:36
“coming from the GC side you want to get in that building as quick as possible”
Story · 42:08
“I was doing the Canard for them and the detail work on it is pretty intense”
Hot take · 49:57
“we've really haven't been bidding the tendered stuff as much anymore”
Story · 57:57
“I have an uncle that I'm very close to he's a top foreman for ATEC New Brunswick”
Hot take · 1:11:56
“I haven't seen the labor increases that we've seen in material increases”
Story · 1:15:27
“we're putting roof on it was nice and sunny in St John”
Emotional · 1:20:05
“sort of like the Vegas Knights you take all the Misfits and championship team”
Story · 1:21:52
“one of the things we did at the hospital we brought in a mini crane”
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
Century Exteriors Inc.
Family-owned building envelope systems contractor for commercial and industrial projects, installing m…
Marco Group Limited
Atlantic Canada's largest general contractor, delivering commercial, healthcare, education, multi-resi…
Southwest Properties
Halifax-based real estate developer, owner and operator of high-quality apartments, condominiums, reta…
Arrow Construction Products Limited
Canadian-owned distributor of specialty construction materials serving Atlantic Canada, including sing…
// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Century Exteriors Inc. ▸Jeremy MeanJason St. ThomasMarco Group Limited ▸Arrow Construction Products Limited ▸Carlisle SynTec Systems (division of Carlisle Construction Materials)Southwest Properties ▸Vicwest Building ProductsAtlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers (ACRC) — part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC)Canadian Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA)
// PROJECTS NAMED
Canard building (Halifax waterfront)MARCO Newfoundland building-envelope projectFredericton Hospital roof replacementRichmond Yards (Halifax)177 Towers (Halifax)Spring Hill School (New Brunswick)America School (New Brunswick)Sussex apartment buildingPlastrock NB project
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · fVbpWfQgpGY