Roofer profile: Kevin O’Donnell – O’Donnell Roofing Co.

By DaVinci Roofscapes.

How composite products are helping an over 100-year-old company.

Kevin O’Donnell has roofing in his blood. A 4th generation roofer, he was on his first job site at 12 years old. So, it’s natural that he’s now heading up his family’s 102-year-old company, O’Donnell Roofing Co. in Pennsylvania.

As CEO and owner of the company, Kevin oversees three locations, a big step forward from 1924 when Clement Aloysius O’Donnell started the company in West Philadelphia. Back then his great-grandfather focused on roofing and heating, along with sheet metal fabrication. Today O’Donnell Roofing Co. handles residential and commercial roofing, windows and skylights, solar, siding, gutters and custom services.

“For more than 100 years our reputation has been solid in the same marketplace,” says Kevin. “We’re known for high quality work and technical expertise in all roofing and solar applications. That’s our heritage.”

How are composite roofing projects helping grow your business?
As we cater towards a more “high end” client, be it a homeowner or builder, composites are a great alternative to natural slate and cedar shake. Having a variety of high-quality roofing materials to offer the client gives us a greater chance of earning that client’s business. Offering options is key, and composites bridge the gap between asphalt and natural products. 

About how long has O’Donnell Roofing Co. been installing DaVinci Roofscapes products?
A: We have been installing synthetic materials since their inception, but we started gravitating towards DaVinci around 2012. In more recent years, and as we’ve gained more market share, we have been selling more DaVinci as a percentage of revenue than in the past. 

What makes your company recommend DaVinci products over competitive composite products?
We’ve installed other composite products, but they all had their known issues, or gave us a bad feeling. However, DaVinci has proven itself as the top-quality choice in the marketplace. As I say to my clients … they “figured it out.” To us, DaVinci is the only viable option if a composite roof is on the table. 

What’s one of your favorite DaVinci projects that your company has done?
That’s a tough one, as we’ve had a bunch of very large (80sq+) projects. I’m going to cheat and say two projects… First, a home we worked on in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania where we installed DaVinci Slate. Then second, A DaVinci Shake job we recently did in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. These are both really special projects for us.

Some roofers say that sample tiles close the sale. How many DaVinci sales do you feel you close once homeowners see the product samples? Why do you think this happens? 
I think it’s super important to have samples with any deal, but it’s very easy to sell DaVinci against a competitive material once samples are shown. The authentic look of the chamfered edge/thickness on the slate products, and the color/texture of the shake products are unparalleled in the composite market, so yes, samples are critical to illustrate these important attributes. 

Let’s have some fun. If you absolutely had to change professions tomorrow, what do you think you’d do?
I would be a professional poker player.

And finally, if someone gave you $5 million and you had to spend it within 24 hours, what would you do?
It’s tough to buy an asset that size in just a day, but I would probably buy land in a suburb of a major metro area.