Battery power and bots: How smart tools are reshaping roofing

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Automation and AI-driven tools are quietly transforming rooftops, one battery pack at a time. 

While the North East Roofing Contractors Association (NERCA) convention in Atlantic City was filled with the usual camaraderie and community spirit, it was the rise of smart tools and labor-saving tech that truly caught the attention of John Peck, incoming 2025 NERCA president and co-founder of PB Roofing. John, stepping into his leadership role with a disruptor’s mindset, shared his observations from this year’s trade show during this Roofing Road Trips® podcast. For John, it wasn’t just the flashy booths or traditional networking that made an impression, it was also the shift in tool innovation and technology that hint at change in the roofing industry's near future. 

“When I walked the floor of the convention,” John said, “I continue to go back to something that was said to me years ago at an earlier NERCA convention: What's the biggest challenge for a contractor in our industry? And it's always going to be continuing to have enough resources of labor to sustain the growth.” John pointed to a surge in battery-powered equipment, robotics and AI-enabled tools being developed specifically for roofing contractors as resources to help ease the strain of labor shortages. 

“We're starting to get an increase in battery technology,” he said. “We can kind of house it within a safer environment and not have as many open flames or combustible materials on the roof.” Even more intriguing? The robots. Not the hypothetical kind, but the actual, on-site machines now being called “dogs” or “bots” by contractors in the field. “I’m actually really waiting for these  to have a computer learning component,” John said. “They’re going to continue to help us augment our own ability and install roofing in a safer way.” 

This evolution isn’t just about flashy tools, it’s also about advocacy. John expressed that contractors must stay active in conversations around innovation so that their voices are not lost in a market dominated by large manufacturers and clients. 

“Sometimes I feel like we're the lonely little contractors,” John noted. “We have very big corporate manufacturing on one side and we have very big corporate clients on the other side. Having the voice of the contractor being more than just a consumer of equipment and technology, I think is important.” 

As the roofing industry balances tradition and transformation, leaders like John are calling on contractors to be not just consumers of technology, but active participants in shaping its direction. 

Read the transcript or Listen to the episode to dig deeper into the strategies John has for keeping NERCA responsive, inclusive and ahead of the curve!