Same Family, Next 30 Years: What's Ahead for Leaders Roofing
Three decades down. The next thirty start the same way the first thirty did. What's ahead — material trends we're watching, commercial work we're growing, and the community commitments that aren't going anywhere.
What stays the same
Same family ownership. Same Mount Prospect address. Same phone number — (847) 312-2727. Same Illinois Roofing Unlimited License #104.010248. Same Polish-speaking estimators on staff for the customers who prefer Polish. Same standards: every roof gets the ventilation calculation, every flashing detail gets the right metal, every estimate is written so the homeowner can see exactly what's in scope. Three decades of continuity isn't a marketing claim — it's the operational fact of how this company runs and how it will continue to run. Read the full continuity story on our 30 years anniversary page.
What we expect to grow
Several areas of our work are expanding meaningfully and we expect that pattern to continue. Premium-material residential — cedar shake, natural and synthetic slate, copper flashing — has been growing every year for the last decade and we expect that to continue as North Shore estate homeowners increasingly value authentic and durable materials over commodity asphalt. Commercial maintenance contracts as multi-year programs — not one-off replacement projects — have been growing as property managers and ownership groups build structured capital plans, and we expect that to continue. Architectural review and Historic Preservation Commission application work is growing as more communities in our service area formalize design review processes.
Material trends we're watching
Several material trends are reshaping the work and we're tracking them closely. Class IV impact-resistant designer asphalt shingles (GAF Camelot II, CertainTeed Grand Manor) continue to gain share in the upper-mid market — they offer designer aesthetics, hail resistance, and insurance-discount eligibility that homeowners increasingly value. Synthetic slate technology continues to improve, with newer products approaching the visual quality of natural slate at meaningfully lower weights and costs. Solar-integrated roofing (Tesla Solar Roof, GAF Energy) remains niche but is developing — we're watching whether it reaches mainstream specification volumes in the next decade. On commercial, white reflective TPO continues to dominate new commercial installations and we don't see that changing in the next 15-20 years. Modified bitumen will hold its niche on smaller commercial buildings, complex rooflines, and high foot-traffic applications.
What's changing on the workforce side
The skilled-roofing workforce in Chicagoland is aging. Many of the crews who learned cedar shake, slate, and soldered copper work in the 1980s and 1990s are at or near retirement. Building the next generation of skilled installers is one of the operational challenges of the next decade for any contractor doing premium-material work. We've been intentional about training and retaining crew members who can do the specialized work that estate-home projects require. The crews we develop now are the crews that will be doing slate restoration in the 2030s and 2040s.
Commitments to the Polish-speaking community
Polish-speaking estimators have been part of Leaders Roofing since 1996. The Polish-speaking community in Chicagoland — particularly in the northwest suburbs and across the North Shore — has been a foundational part of how this business has grown across thirty years, and we're committed to maintaining Polish-language capability throughout the next thirty. Mówimy po polsku has appeared on every estimate, every contract, every job site for three decades. It will appear on every estimate for the next three. Polski/Po polsku version of our website at leadersroof.com/polski is also continuously maintained.
Commitments to the commercial corridor we work
The Mount Prospect / Elk Grove Village / Arlington Heights / Wheeling / Bensenville / Des Plaines commercial corridor is our home territory. We've worked it for thirty years and we'll be working it for the next thirty. Property managers running portfolios in that corridor can rely on us as the long-term partner for maintenance contracts, modified bitumen, TPO, EPDM, and built-up replacement projects. The geographic concentration of our commercial work isn't going to dilute as we grow — we'll continue to do most of our commercial roofing within 30 minutes of our Mount Prospect office, where we can be on a roof for assessment within a day or two.
Commitments to estate-home work on the North Shore
Cedar shake, natural slate, synthetic slate, copper flashing, and designer architectural shingle work on North Shore estate homes — Lake Forest, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, Bannockburn — has become a meaningful share of our residential work over the last 10-15 years. We're committed to continuing as the contractor that handles this category of project at the standard it requires. Estate home roofing is a specification practice; the contractors who do it well do it because they've invested in the crews, the material relationships, and the architectural-review experience that the work requires. We've made those investments and we're continuing to deepen them.
What customers should expect from us in the next decade
Same standards. Same family stewardship. Same Mount Prospect address. Same license number. Continuing investment in skilled crews, material sourcing relationships, and architectural-review experience. Continuing commitment to Polish-language services. Continuing commitment to the local commercial corridor. Continuing commitment to estate-home work on the North Shore. The next decade of this business will look a lot like the last decade — with refinement at the edges as materials evolve and customer expectations shift, but with the same underlying operating philosophy that has carried the company through three decades.
Why three decades is a starting point, not an ending
Some companies treat a major anniversary as a moment to take a victory lap. We treat 30 years as a starting point. Three decades of accumulated knowledge, customer relationships, jurisdictional experience, and crew development is the foundation we're building the next thirty years on. The customers who first hired us in 1996 are now hiring us for second roofs on the original homes, or for roofs on their adult children's homes. Those compounding relationships are what we're investing in. The crews we develop now are the crews that will carry the standard into the 2040s. The materials we're learning today are the materials we'll specialize in for the next two decades.
Get in touch as we move into our fourth decade
Leaders Roofing Corp turns 30 in May 2026. Founded May 1996 by Jan Koszyk in Mount Prospect, IL. Family-owned, family-run, operating from the same Mount Prospect address under the same Illinois Roofing Unlimited License #104.010248 ever since. Our anniversary page tells the full continuity story; the 30 years page also outlines our 30 Years, 30 Free Roof Health Checks anniversary offer for May 2026. Call (847) 312-2727 for any residential or commercial roofing assessment. Mówimy po polsku. Same family, next 30 years.