Courtesy photo
A team from American Metal Roofs of Northern Wisconsin installs an Oxford aluminum roofing system.

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — American Metal Roofs (AMR) of Northern Wisconsin, LLC installs premium metal roofs and offers training to people of the central Upper Peninsula and Northeast Wisconsin. Since 2007, they have supplied products from Classic Metal Roofing Systems — installed by craftsmen certified by the manufacturer — in a variety of styles, including those marketed as “snow country roofs” for a design that snow slides off of.

During and after working in manufacturing in quality management for a handful of different companies, Ray Farmer — a graduate of Mid Peninsula High School who grew up in Rock — went back to school to obtain two degrees from Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wis., including a master’s in organizational leadership.

In 2007, Ray met with his brother, Frank Farmer, and Frank’s business partner, Daniel Lane. Frank and Lane have a business in downstate Michigan in the Flint area — American Metal Roofs of Michigan.

“Looking at his business model, basically, I brought the business model over to Northeast Wisconsin … developed then our brand, our brand name, and hired our folks here,” Ray explained.

The two operate independently; the company Ray started, American Metal Roofs of Northern Wisconsin, offers similar product to American Metal Roofs of Michigan and operate in different markets.

Ray and his wife, who is from Gladstone, now live in Suamico — a village just north of Green Bay with a population similar to that of Escanaba — and it’s there that the business is headquartered. Ray is one of three co-owners along with his son, Matt, and Trista Watermolen.

About a year after starting up, the business expanded into serving the U.P. As one example, about 15 years ago, Ray estimated, they installed a flat roof for the Trenary Home Bakery — the creators of the famous Trenary Toast. They’ve now also installed metal roofs on many homes in the central U.P., from Menominee to Ontonagon to Manistique, mostly in the Rapid River, Gladstone and Escanaba areas.

The various types of metal roof suit a number of different building styles. There are long panels with standing seams or designer shingles. One style resembles a cedar shake, with different tones that resemble the look of natural wood at a glance. One offers a slate look. Another is reminiscent of red-toned terracotta. 

Designer shingles make for what AMR of Northern Wisconsin calls a “snow country roof” — suited to the harsh winters of the North.

“These roofs are designed to shed feet of snow,” Ray said, adding that they’re durable, installed with attention to detail, and are designed to save heating dollars in the winter and cooling dollars in the summer.

When compared to wood and asphalt, AMR’s roofs are designed to last far longer. The majority of the work they do is residential roof replacements. 

“People are just tired of that replacement cycle of asphalt,” said Ray.

While asphalt roofs may need to be replaced every 12 to 15 years, AMR’s completed jobs come with a 40-year transferable warranty. Ray said this can be an appealing consideration for generational homes that are going to stay within a family.

Because of the warranty and the values of the company, Ray and his staff work closely with their customers and strive to form strong, positive relationships with them. Client satisfaction is shown in the testimonials they receive and add to their website.

Though some people may express concerns about what a metal roof will sound like when rain hits it, Ray said that it’s a different tone, but isn’t any louder. Often, installation goes over asphalt roofs, and AMR of Northern Wisconsin also puts a tarp-like synthetic underlay between the two. If the metal roof is going on a new build instead of on top of an existing asphalt roof, AMR puts down an ice and water shield barrier as the protective membrane.

AMR of Northern Wisconsin also offers training sessions to people who want to install their own roofs. Their own staff is all trained and certified through the dealer, Classic Metal Roofing Systems, which is based in Piqua, Ohio and uses American-made materials. Training takes place either electronically or at their showroom.

American Metal Roofs of Northern Wisconsin has been a major partner for the Kiwanis Home and Garden Show for years now, discussing their products with attendees at a large front-and-center booth space.

AMR of Northern Wisconsin operates seasonally with a staff of less than 10.

Ray said they are planning on attending between 12 to 15 shows this upcoming year.

To find out more, an interested party may visit americanmetalroofswi.com or call 920-434-4200. The company also has a Facebook page to help stay current with upcoming events.