That's super interesting. Having been on the manufacturing side initially, why did you need distributors?

Selling directly as a manufacturer on the residential side didn't make sense. Our contractors didn't have the equipment or sophistication to operate that way. Additionally, we didn't want to handle accounts receivable. It's much easier to manage three or four suppliers than hundreds of small contractors with bills of five or ten thousand dollars.

What's so hard about growing organically in the region and starting from scratch? You mentioned building locations, having established relationships with contractors, and manufacturers. But at your scale, being a major distributor of roofing products, don't you already have relationships with national contractors and manufacturers?

Yes, we have strong relationships from a national to VP level to executive level, which are absolutely critical. However, when you get down to the local markets, there's the whole buddy buying thing. There are relationships that have been established for 10 or 15 years between a manufacturer rep or regional rep and someone else. Those can be tough to break into at times.