TAMKO Building Products looks to the future with new products

Apr. 3—A local manufacturer founded in 1944 is celebrating recent products developed, tested — sometimes with an ice cannon — and built in the Four-State Area.

"As we have approached this 80th anniversary, we have really focused internally on where we're headed as a company," said Kim Eckerman, director of communications for TAMKO Building Products. "There's a really bright future ahead developing new products like these that have been so well received in the market. We're excited about where we've come from and where we're going."

Those products include the Titan XT shingle, which it launched in 2021 after two years in development, combining what company experts call its AnchorLock layer with advanced fusion sealants to give it protection in up to 160 mph winds. Its 160 mph warranty is the best in the industry, according to Eckerman, as typical shingles have warranties for 110 to 130 mph winds.

It was designed for long-term weatherability, with a Class 3 impact rating from Underwriters Laboratories. The rating is determined by tests of the shingle being hit twice in the same spot by a steel ball 1.75 inches in diameter without cracking.

The company's StormFighter FLEX shingle launched late last year after two and a half years in development.

Chris Freeborg, director of innovation, R&D and product development for TAMKO, said they went through 40 to 50 formulations of the shingle and rigorous testing.

It also has a 160 mph wind warranty and can be installed at temperatures down to 25 degrees.

The two shingles are designed similarly, with the Titan XT being the base.

"This gives us a couple of advantages from a production standpoint, but it gives the roofer an advantage because it's a shingle that they're familiar with," Freeborg said. "They get all the advantages and benefits from Titan, and then we just enhanced it for StormFighter."

Freeborg said the main advantage to the StormFighter shingle is the addition of a polymer to give the shingle more flexibility and strength.

"What the addition does is allow the shingle to recover," Freeborg said. "A lot of times people think of it as the hail hits, you want a cushion and then you recover. In reality, what you want is this mixture of stiffness, so you can ideally prevent a dent from ever happening. But then you want the idea of recovery as well, so that if it does dent, it's able to come back and reform."

And by making the shingle flexible in low temperatures, it enables contractors to extend their working season into the colder months.

StormFighter also has enhanced weatherability and comes in both a Class 3 impact rating variation and a Class 4 variation, determined by being able to withstand a 2-inch steel ball dropped multiple times from a height of 20 feet, Freeborg said.

In the past decade, TAMKO has seen a shift in product preferences, Eckerman said. They've talked with contractors about what they're looking for in a shingle, and these two products are the result. As extreme weather events escalate, there is demand for roofing supplies and shingles that can withstand severe storms.

TAMKO also has an ice cannon at a downtown Joplin lab. An ice ball, just a bit bigger than a golf ball, is shot at shingles at 65 mph. Once the ice ball hits with a loud strike and shatters, researchers examine the shingle sample for any damage.

"Our customers are not only contractors and roofers but also homeowners," Freeborg added. "We want to provide products that can meet their needs. One of those needs is to withstand the more extreme weather, whether that's high winds, hail or other types of events."

These shingles are all researched and developed at TAMKO operations in Joplin, Freeborg said. In addition to research and development, it's also a Joplin-led companywide effort across marketing, sales, manufacturing and all company operations. The products are made in manufacturing facilities across the country, including the Joplin area. Components that give the Titan and StormFighter shingles their features, like the fusion sealants and the polymers, are all being developed in Columbus, Kansas.

"While the products that TAMKO ultimately creates and takes to market are being developed here in Joplin, we are also producing them in this area and the raw materials that go into these products," Eckerman said. "It's exciting for the Four-State Area to know there are really high-level products and processes being developed right here."

"Our success in that development speaks to our talented people and ability to adapt," Eckerman said. "We continue to test products and figure out what comes next. It is core to what we are doing."