Generations of roofers

By Emma Peterson. 

A conversation with Jason Brandle and Jeff Gottron about how family, hard work and passion built their families’ roofing legacies. 

In a new episode of Stories from the Roof, Jason Brandle and Jeff Gottron shared a bit about their journeys in the roofing industry. Jason is the vice president/co-owner of Michigan-based Brandle Roofing and Sheet Metal Company. As for Jeff, he is part of the multi-generation legacy of Gottrons working as manufacturer representatives for Duro-Last. Both of these gentleman bring decades of experience to the roofing industry. In this podcast, they shared their personal journeys into roofing and their inspirations in the industry. 

Jason’s journey 

Jason has over four decades of experience in roofing and is the third generation in his family to join the industry. Going back a couple generations, Jason’s grandmother’s family ran MacArthur Roofing in Saginaw, Michigan. When she and Jason’s grandfather wanted to strike out on their own, they founded Brandle Roofing. That was back in 1883 and they had four employees – Jason's grandfather, grandmother, aunt and father. 

For Jason, it was natural to be involved in roofing, even before he turned 18. Jason shared, “I'd always worked for the family business during the summers. I was a yard guy; I'd load trailers and get all materials around for the guys to go out for the next morning. By the time I turned 18 and was hired on full-time, I moved from yard guy to up on the roof.” When he hit the roof, Jason started learning as much as he could. He explained, “Even though my last name was Brandle, I started at the bottom because grandpa said, ‘You're going to earn your keep.’ And that's what I wanted.”  

Today, Jason is helping lead Brandle Roofing, which has grown into a 35-person company. Looking back, he still thinks about his grandfather. He shared, “When I think about him starting this business 42 years ago, not having any idea if he was gonna succeed, he just opened this up and said we're going to give this a shot. Now 42 years later, to see what he's built and what we've continued to build off of his legacy, that makes me smile because I know he's happy.” 

Jeff’s story 

Like Jason, roofing has been a family affair in Jeff’s life. He was brought into the industry by his father, who was friends with Bob Pitts and John Burt. Jeff explained, “Bob was a salesperson for John, who started Duro-Last. Bob was also the largest custom pool and pond liner sales guy in the country. So, when John was just getting Duro-Last going and he asked Bob if he could wanted to represent Duro-Last in the state of Ohio, Bob was too busy with the pool business, but he recommended my dad.”  

Before Jeff and his dad knew it, they were joining Duro-Last. At that point, the spring of 1983, there were just 10 employees at the company. Looking back at that time, Jeff credits his dad as one of his inspirations, sharing, “My dad was really good at getting these people excited about using Duro-Last and explaining why it was a better choice than what else was out there, like built up roof or rubber roofing... It didn’t hurt that we had a way better warranty than anybody else.” 

By 1984, Jeff’s brother had joined them and the family’s path crossed with Jason’s family. Jeff explained, “We started visiting architects and whenever we'd ask them who the best contractors were in this area, because we didn't even have any roofers at the time, Brandle Roofing's name always came up. I remember calling Bob, Jason’s grandfather, and trying to get them to try Duro-Last. Eventually, Bob finally called me goes, ‘Jeff, I want to I want to try one of those Duro-Last roofs.’ And the rest is history.”  

Listen to the whole episode to hear more about Jason and Jeff’s stories.