‍He started with barn paint.

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In 1977, Conklin Company was trying to develop a durable red coating for farming communities. Something that could take Midwest weather, the freeze, the thaw, the sun, the wind, and keep a barn looking like a barn. What they accidentally invented was the commercial acrylic elastomeric roof coating. A liquid that stretches, seals, reflects the sun, and bonds to almost any surface.

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They put it on a barn. It worked. They put it on a church. It worked. They put it on a factory. It worked. Forty-eight years later, that liquid chemistry has covered over two billion square feet of American commercial rooftops.

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And it all started because a farmer needed paint.

The Farmer Who Bought the Factory

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Charles W. Herbster is a fifth-generation farmer and rancher from Falls City, Nebraska. He did not grow up in a boardroom. He grew up on land that his family homesteaded in 1847. He started raising registered Angus cattle at age 10, purchased by his Grandmother Carico, and built that into Herbster Angus Farms, an elite genetics operation marketing semen worldwide.

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On December 1, 1976, Herbster became a Conklin independent distributor. By July 1, 1977, seven months later, he achieved Director status. That was a company speed record. He served as National Sales Manager, then returned to building his independent distribution business.

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In 1992, he purchased 52% of Conklin from the Conklin family. By 1994, he was sole owner. He described it as fulfilling a 15-year goal. His wife Judy served as President and COO until her passing on May 2, 2017.

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“In the last four years, we’ve grown sales from $75 million to $154 million, and I remind people in that four-year period, three of those years were during the worst pandemic that we’ve had in this country since my grandmother lived through the Spanish flu.”

— Charles W. Herbster, Business View Magazine, 2023

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That is a 105% revenue increase. During a pandemic. With no Wall Street capital infusion. No private equity leverage. No IPO. Just a farmer from Nebraska who understood chemistry, understood distribution, and understood that if you treat people right, they will tell other people.

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Herbster also owns Carico Farms (homesteaded 1847), Herbster Angus Farms, North American Breeders in Berryville, Virginia, and Agri-Solutions in Red Oak, Iowa. He is an actual farmer who happens to own a roofing chemistry company. Not a Wall Street financier who acquired one.

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The Amish Connection

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If you hire a Conklin contractor in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Indiana, there is a meaningful chance your crew has Amish or ex-Amish roots.

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This is not officially quantified. Conklin does not track the religious or cultural background of its contractors. But the evidence is everywhere once you start looking.

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Amish Contractor Connections, a directory specifically for Amish contractors, lists “Roofing - Conklin” as its own distinct service category. Separate from metal roofing. Separate from shingle roofing. Separate from commercial roofing in general. Conklin is the only manufacturer brand name given its own category on the site.

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Conklin distributor directories are full of distinctly Amish and Mennonite family names: Glick, Byler, Yoder, Detweiler, Yutzy. Glick’s Exteriors in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania explicitly states: “Coming from generations of Amish roofers, we use Conklin Roofing Systems.” Keystone Commercial Roofing is co-owned by Kenneth Byler. MJM Solutions Midwest operates in “Amish Country, Ohio.”

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Why This Connection Makes Perfect Sense

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Agricultural roots: Conklin started as a farming company. The original products were agricultural chemicals and livestock supplements. The Amish farming community was a natural first market. When Conklin developed roofing coatings, those same farming relationships carried forward.

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Word-of-mouth distribution: Conklin’s direct-to-contractor model, where existing contractors recruit and mentor new ones, mirrors how Amish communities already operate. Trust-based referral networks within tight-knit communities. No corporate advertising. No digital marketing funnel. Just one person telling another: this works.

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Simple equipment: Liquid-applied coatings can be applied with rollers, brushes, and airless sprayers, relatively simple equipment compared to the heavy machinery required for membrane installation. This aligns with Amish business practices that favor straightforward, skills-based work.

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Generational craftsmanship: The Amish work ethic and attention to detail are legendary in the construction trades. When a Conklin contractor applies a three-layer liquid system, primer, base coat with fabric reinforcement at the seams, and topcoat, the quality of that hand-applied work determines the 20-year warranty outcome. This is craftsmanship work. Not machine work.

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The strongest Conklin contractor concentrations correspond precisely with major Amish population centers: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Holmes County, Ohio. Elkhart and LaGrange Counties, Indiana.

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No Wall Street–owned distributor can replicate a generational craftsmanship culture. You cannot acquire it. You cannot franchise it. You cannot hire McKinsey to engineer it. It grows organically from shared values, shared work ethic, and shared trust. That is Conklin’s most defensible competitive advantage.

Three Solutions. That’s the Menu.

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Conklin believes there are exactly three viable materials for commercial flat roofing in 2026 and beyond. Everything else is legacy technology running on fumes.

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ACRYLIC

URETHANE

VINYL PVC

Flagship

Puma XL / Rapid Roof III

Affinity

Flexion 2.0

Application

Liquid — rolled or sprayed

Liquid — rolled or sprayed

60-mil membrane — heat-welded

Warranty

Up to 20 years NDL

Up to 20 years NDL

25 years / 300 months NDL

Fire Rating

UL 790 Class A

UL 790 Class A

UL 790 Class A

Best For

Most commercial flat roofs. Metal restoration. EPDM recovery.

High-moisture. Ponding areas. Extreme weather.

Restaurants. Grease/chemical exposure. New construction.

Renewable?

Yes — add topcoat every 20 years. No tear-off. Ever.

Yes — recoatable

Yes — recoatable every 20 years

Colors

White, Gray, Tan, Black + custom on Puma XL (8 colors)

Clear and standard

White

Cold Apply

Equinox version down to 36°F

Affinity down to 40°F

Year-round installation

Reflectivity

85%+ solar (CRRC verified)

Varies by topcoat

86% initial / 70% aged (CRRC)

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What We Don’t Install and Why

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Plastic wrap (TPO): Documented history of premature seam failure, shrinkage, and UV degradation. ASTM tightened heat-aging standards from 28 days to 224 days after failures were formally discussed in 2009. MRCA issued advisory bulletins. Multiple manufacturers have quietly reformulated. We only install TPO Outpost if specifically required by an engineer for legacy compatibility.

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Expired rubber (EPDM): Black membrane that absorbs heat instead of reflecting it. Seams rely on adhesive tape rather than molecular fusion. The 1980s called and they would like their technology back. We recover EPDM roofs with Rapid Roof III acrylic, turning a dark heat sponge into a bright reflective surface.

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Torch-down modified bitumen: Tar-based. Traps moisture. Difficult to patch properly. High-risk open-flame installation equipment. Should have retired this material in the mid-1980s. ARMA shipment data shows it declining 12.7% in Q2 2025.

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Built-up roofing (tar and gravel): Less than 5% of new installations and falling. The most labor-intensive method in commercial roofing. ARMA reports BUR declined 21.2% in Q2 2025, the lowest quarterly total in their reporting history. The purpose of science is to explore the future. We cannot be stuck using tar and gravel of the past.

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Silicone: SiliconeIsSilly.com. Silicone doesn’t stick to silicone after it cures. So your “renewal” topcoat has adhesion problems from day one. You are kicking the can down the road toward an inevitable tear-off. The next generation called and they were not thankful.

Flexion 2.0: The Vinyl That Ends the Argument

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Conklin discontinued Flexion XL and replaced it with Flexion 2.0, a copolymer-alloy PVC membrane that is the most heavily engineered single-ply product in the Conklin lineup.

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FLEXION 2.0 SPECS

• Classification: PVC Copolymer-Alloy, ASTM D4434 Type III

• Thickness: 60 mil overall, 27 mil minimum over scrim

• Reinforcement: Kevlar®-reinforced fastening edge (ballistic-grade fiber at every attachment point)

• Chemistry: DuPont Elvaloy copolymer-alloy technology

• Scrim: Non-moisture-wicking (upgraded from Flexion XL)

• Fire: FM & UL Class A (UL 790 / ASTM E108)

• Wind: FM I-90 hurricane-force rated

• Cold: -40°F low temperature bend rating

• Tensile: 300/300 lbs

• Puncture: 75 lbs

• Tear: 95/95 lbs

• Reflectivity: 86% initial solar reflectance (CRRC verified)

• UV: 26,000-hour UV resistance

• Warranty: 25 years / 300 months, factory-certified NDL (non-prorated, no dollar limit)

• Extended life: 30-year performance horizon under active lab testing

• Chemical resistance: Lab-proven against animal fats, grease, acid rain, petroleum

• Claim rate: Less than 0.5% — fewer than half of 1% of installs see a warranty claim

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Conklin will only warranty a restaurant for 25 years against corrosive animal fats, fire, and chemical degradation when Flexion 2.0 is secured. No other material in the Conklin lineup carries that restaurant guarantee. Plastic burns. Rubber burns. Flexion 2.0 is Class A fire rated by chemistry, not by additive.

What It Takes to Be Conklin Preferred

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Not everyone qualifies. The Conklin Preferred Contractor Program has real barriers to entry. This is not a sign-up-and-sell consumer product.

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PREFERRED CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

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•Silver level: $175,000 annual purchase minimum

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• Gold: $225,000 | Sterling: $300,000 | Platinum: $500,000 | Diamond: $1,000,000

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• Liquid products count at 100% toward qualifying volume. Flexion PVC counts at 50%. TPO Outpost counts at 25%. The structure ensures the majority of volume comes from liquid products.

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• Completion of 3-day Advanced Roofing Systems Training within prior 5 years

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• Ownership or 33% partnership in a roofing business

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• Minimum 3 completed roofs submitted for on-site factory inspection

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• Agreement to ongoing project evaluations by Conklin quality inspectors

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This is how Conklin maintains a sub-0.5% warranty claim rate. They do not let unqualified contractors represent the brand. Every Preferred Contractor has skin in the game, training in the science, and inspectors checking their work. That is why the insurance companies are willing to stand behind 25-year coverage on the membrane and 20-year coverage on the liquids.

Made in Minnesota. Expanding to Missouri.

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Conklin manufactures at its Shakopee, Minnesota facility (551 Valley Park Drive) and has opened a second facility in Kansas City, Missouri (3951 N. Kimball Drive). The Kansas City expansion was driven by three factors: the roofing division’s explosive growth, more central U.S. geography for shipping, and the practical reality that acrylic coatings do not love being shipped from Minnesota in January.

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The company manufactures 82% of its 130+ products in-house. Flexion 2.0 vinyl membrane is manufactured by partners to Conklin’s specifications. Everything else, Puma XL, Rapid Roof III, Equinox, Affinity, Benchmark, all primers, all fabric systems, is made by Conklin, in America, by American workers.

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Revenue: $154 million. Roofing division alone exceeds $100 million annually. Over 11,000 independent distributors across six product divisions. The roofing division is the largest and fastest-growing.

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2+ billion square feet.

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That is the total installed footprint of Conklin roofing products since 1977. Two billion square feet of American commercial rooftops protected by chemistry that started as barn paint. Every square foot installed by a contractor who bought direct from the factory, trained at the manufacturer’s facility, and passed an on-site quality inspection. No other coating manufacturer can make that claim.

The Renewable Roof: Thanks, Gramps

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Here is the idea that changes everything. A Conklin acrylic system with Puma XL carries a 20-year non-prorated warranty. At year 20, you do not tear off the roof. You do not call a dumpster company. You do not shut down your building for three weeks. You add a topcoat. Fresh Puma XL over the existing system. New 20-year warranty cycle begins.

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Year 40. Same thing. Topcoat. New cycle. Year 60. Same thing. The original substrate is still there. The fabric reinforcement is still there. The base coat is still there. You are just refreshing the surface every two decades.

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The next generation called. They were super thankful. They even wrote you a note of gratitude. Thanks, gramps. Roof seems everlasting.

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Compare that to a brittle plastic-wrap TPO membrane at year 12, showing seam failures and UV crazing, requiring a full tear-off at $10 to 18 per square foot. Or an ancient rubber EPDM membrane at year 20, black and heat-soaked, with adhesive tape seams letting go at the corners. Those are disposable roofs. Conklin builds renewable ones.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Q: 1. Who owns Conklin Company?

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Charles W. Herbster, a fifth-generation farmer and rancher from Falls City, Nebraska. He purchased 52% from the Conklin family in 1992 and became sole owner in 1994. No foreign parent. No private equity. No public shareholders. (Source: Conklin.com/owner-bio, Business View Magazine 2023)

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Q: 2. How big is Conklin’s roofing business?

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Company-wide revenue reached $154 million (up from $75 million four years prior). The roofing division exceeds $100 million annually and is the largest of Conklin’s six product divisions. Over 2 billion square feet of commercial roofing installed since 1977. (Source: Business View Magazine 2023, Conklin.com)

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Q: 3. What is Flexion 2.0?

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Conklin’s premium PVC copolymer-alloy membrane (ASTM D4434 Type III). 60-mil thickness, Kevlar-reinforced fastening edge, DuPont Elvaloy chemistry, FM I-90 hurricane-force wind rating, UL Class A fire, -40°F cold flexibility, 86% solar reflectance, and a 25-year/300-month non-prorated NDL warranty. It replaced the previous Flexion XL.

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Q: 4. What happened to Flexion XL?

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Flexion XL has been superseded by Flexion 2.0, which features an upgraded ASTM D4434 Type III classification, Kevlar-reinforced fastening edge, non-moisture-wicking scrim, and a 25-year warranty (up from XL’s 20-year).

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Q: 5. Does Conklin still install silicone coatings?

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Conklin still lists silicone products (Activate LS, Activate HS) in their catalog. However, Pristine Industrial Roofing does not install silicone because silicone does not adhere well to itself after curing, making renewal topcoats problematic. Acrylic and urethane systems offer superior long-term recoatability. (See: SiliconeIsSilly.com)

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Q: 6. What is Puma XL and what colors are available?

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Puma XL is Conklin’s flagship polyurethane modified acrylic (PMA) coating with a 20-year non-prorated warranty (recently upgraded from 18 years). Available in 8 colors beyond standard white: Light Gray, Tan, Mystic Gray, Black, Blue, Green, Barn Red, and Brown. Color versions are sold in 55-gallon drums only.

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Q: 7. Why are so many Conklin contractors Amish or ex-Amish?

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Conklin’s agricultural roots, word-of-mouth distribution model, and liquid-applied products (which require relatively simple equipment) align naturally with Amish business practices. The Amish Contractor Connections directory lists “Roofing - Conklin” as its own service category, the only manufacturer brand with its own listing. Strongest concentrations are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana Amish communities.

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Q: 8. What does it take to become a Conklin Preferred Contractor?

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Silver level requires $175,000 in annual purchases, with liquid products counting at 100% and membrane at 25 to 50% toward qualifying volume. Additional tiers: Gold ($225K), Sterling ($300K), Platinum ($500K), Diamond ($1M). Must complete 3-day Advanced Training, own or co-own a roofing business, submit 3 completed roofs for factory inspection, and agree to ongoing quality evaluations.

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Q: 9. What does “renewable warranty” mean?

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A Conklin acrylic system carries a 20-year NDL warranty. At year 20, instead of tearing off the roof, you add a topcoat. A new 20-year warranty cycle begins. This can be repeated indefinitely, year 40, year 60, and beyond, without ever removing the original system. No landfill. No dumpster. No disruption. The next generation inherits a roof, not a problem.

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Q: 10. Where does Conklin manufacture?

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Primary facilities in Shakopee, Minnesota (551 Valley Park Drive) and Kansas City, Missouri (3951 N. Kimball Drive). The Kansas City facility was added to support roofing division growth, improve central U.S. shipping logistics, and reduce cold-weather shipping challenges for acrylic coatings. Conklin manufactures 82% of its 130+ products in-house.

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Q: 11. How does Conklin’s warranty claim rate compare to the industry?

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Less than 0.5%, fewer than half of one percent of installations result in a warranty claim. This extraordinarily low claim rate is what allows the insurance companies backing Conklin’s warranties to extend coverage to 25 years on Flexion 2.0 and 20 years on Puma XL. The 30-year extended warranty on Flexion 2.0 is pending based on continued lab testing and maintained claim performance.

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Sources

Charles W. Herbster biography — conklin.com/owner-bio

Conklin Company profile — Business View Magazine, Kansas City, Missouri, 2023

Charles W. Herbster personal site — charleswherbster.com

Conklin roofing products catalog — conklin.com/roofing-systems

Flexion 2.0 specification guide — Conklin documents library (conklin.com)

Puma XL 20-year NDL warranty documentation — conklin.com

Affinity urethane specification guide — Conklin documents library

Rapid Roof III specification guide — Conklin documents library

Equinox specification guide — Conklin documents library

Conklin Preferred Contractor Program — 2023 program document via keystonecommercialroofing.com

Amish Contractor Connections directory — amishcontractorconnections.com

Glick’s Exteriors — company website (“generations of Amish roofers, we use Conklin”)

Keystone Commercial Roofing — keystonecommercialroofing.com (Kenneth Byler, co-owner)

ARMA shipment data Q2 2025 — BUR -21.2%, modified bitumen -12.7%

MRCA Technical and Research Committee — TPO advisory bulletin, 2010

ASTM D6878 TPO standard revision history — heat-aging increased to 224 days, 2011

Choice Roof Contractors — choiceroofcontractors.com (Conklin contractor network data)

White Roofing Systems — whiteroofingsystems.com (2+ billion sqft reference)

Conklin manufacturing locations — Building Clean database, SPFA directory

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This is Part 3 of The Ownership Series.

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Part 1: “Who Really Owns Your Roof? The Big 8 and the Money Behind Your Materials”

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Part 2: “The Distribution Game — Middlemen, Markups, and the Model That Bypasses Them All”

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Pristine Industrial Roofing

Lake & Porter Counties  │  Commercial Flat Roofing  │  Conklin Certified

(219) 529-1995  │  ModernRoofChemistry.com

A Gospel Business  │  Community Outreach & Worldwide Missions

We love you enough to tell you the truth.

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