Borsche Roofing Professionals, Inc. Owner Eric Schultz works a crane to load materials onto the roof. Schultz started his career with Borsche “as a grunt,” he says, learning every aspect of the business.

Borche Roofing Professionals, Inc. maintains the roofs for the Hortonville Area School District. In this photo, Borsche removed a ballasted rubber roof and installed a gray TPO RhinoBond system.

Barely a whisper has been heard since Eric Schultz officially became the new Owner of Borsche Roofing Professionals, Inc. (Borsche) on Jan. 1, 2019.

For the fourth owner since the Hortonville, Wisconsin, company was bought in March 1945 by Arthur Borsche, that lack of fanfare has been a good sign.

“Nothing really changed,” Schultz says. “My dad was already pulling back before retiring and I have been running the company the past five years, so if we didn’t tell anybody, nobody probably would have known or noticed. That’s probably a good thing because people don’t always like change; but it also shows we’re continuing on with how we’ve always done business.”

Borsche is celebrating 75 years in business this year and Schultz knows the Borsche way well. Very well.

He joined the company in 2003 when his dad, David Schultz, purchased it from Gerald Borsche, Arthur’s son. At age 18, Eric Schultz was going to school for mechanical engineering and working on job sites doing any tasks necessary.

Now 34 with two kids of his own, Eric appreciates his humble beginning.

“I started as a grunt just helping out and doing what was needed and worked my way up. I took some business classes and learned the business on the job,” Schultz says. “We have a core of employees who’ve been here more than 10 years and Eric DeWine, our Estimator, has been here over 32 years. He’s really an awesome guy to work with. He’s very knowledgeable about the industry and knows everyone, everywhere. We have a great staff that takes pride in what they do and treats people well.”

The Borsche Way

So, what is the Borsche way?

Simple: Stay on top of the latest trends in the roofing industry, make sure employees and job sites are safe, customize each roof to best fit each client’s needs and, even if the roof will never be seen by anyone in the public, take personal pride and the extra step to ensure it looks professional and clean.

“We want it to be picture-perfect even if nobody else will see it,” Schultz says. “We are not a cookie-cutter company that believes one size fits all or that the solution for each roof is the same. We pride ourselves on meeting with each client and recommending what is best for them. There are so many factors to deal with: foot traffic, sun, winter, slope, materials—we take it all into consideration.

“The bottom line is, once we step down off the ladder for the last time, there shouldn’t be any problems and if there is, we will step back up to fix it. It is satisfying to drive around and see our work in the community. There was one day when my wife and I were out with our kids (Wyatt, 11, and Lucy, 8), and my daughter pointed to a building and said ‘Daddy, did you roof that building?’ It was kind of funny, but it felt so good to say ‘yep, we did.’ ”

Maintaining Relationships & Roofs

Tim Diestler is the Director of Facilities for the Hortonville Area School District and has been working with Borsche for more than a decade.

“We have more than a million square feet of roofing so if you don’t have a plan in place, you’re setting yourself up for disaster,” Diestler says. “I work with a lot of peer groups and I have no hesitation in recommending Borsche. They get on all of my roofs at least twice a year to look for wear and tear, clean the drains, check the flashings and let me know if they see issues. I rely on their maintenance reports and it allows me to plan for replacements and upgrades. We have to bid out projects and I’ve always felt their estimates were fair and honest. When they’ve had to work while classes are going on, they are careful not to be disruptive. They also plan bigger projects when school is out in the summers.”

Both Diestler and Schultz say roof maintenance is essential for tracking a company’s bottom line.

“Having a plan for replacements, for annual maintenance, saves a lot of money in the long run,” Schultz says. “We come out to properties in the spring and fall to do inspections and give a report and let you plan for a replacement. That’s a much better solution than the alternative of, ‘I have a leak and need a fix.’ By the time you notice it, you may have structural damage, mold and other problems. Sometimes, it isn’t the roof that is leaking. It can be window leaks, HVAC systems…if there is a leak, we will go the extra mile to figure it out and we will help fix it where we can.”

Safety & Vision

Borsche employs 10 to 12 people year-round, Schultz says. Its primary focuses are new construction, re-roofing, maintenance and roof engineering.

Among its accomplishments, Schultz points to the company’s safety record and training. The firm has been recognized with a Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) Award certificate from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Borsche has received the prestigious Gold Level of achievement and recognition for continued development of its quality safety program.

“We’re proud of our award-winning safety program,” Schultz says. “We meet with ABC and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) often and make sure we know what they are looking for. Ultimately, we want all of our guys to go home without injury. Last year, we had zero accidents and we’ve done it in past years, too. Kudos to all our guys for that. We have Monday morning safety talks where we talk about pre-job risks for upcoming projects.”

He adds, “I really think customers look for that. They will look for a company that has a reputation for safety, quality and dependability.”

Changing With the Times

It wasn’t that long ago that a roofing job meant bringing up wheelbarrows and extra materials to deal with hot tar or asphalt and more hands were needed to heat it, spread it and make it look good. It was a grueling, long and sometimes dangerous process for a commercial rooftop.

No more.

Borsche got out of the hot asphalt business about 12 years ago, Schultz says, and the company now likes to use single-ply membranes. “Manufacturers are coming out with products that make the process easier and faster,” Schultz says. “We don’t push one product. We look at what’s best for each client. Rubber is a great choice. We even consider the color of the roofs. Gray hides dirt, for example, and looks phenomenal.

“The industry has changed so much and keeps changing. We pride ourselves on keeping up with the latest information and putting it to use. It used to be you needed six to eight guys to work with asphalt. With single-ply you need four to five guys and we can cover 5,000 to 8,000 square feet in a day.”