Business Profile: Prestige Pro Contracting/Pro-Line Roofing Systems
“All the blue tops you see in Mahopac?” asks Gerard Ahler, owner of Prestige Pro Contracting/Pro-Line Roofing Systems. “That’s us doing them.”
Originally from Long Island, Ahler “learned the basics” of roofing by working for his uncle out of high school before opening up his own shop over 30 years ago. He’s been in Mahopac for the last 27 years and does work in Connecticut, New York City, New Jersey, and all of New York State.
“The difference between our company and a lot of other roofing companies is, we don’t have answering machines during work hours,” Ahler said. “You’ll always get a live voice. And after hours, we’ll always call back. We check our emergency numbers every hour on the hour, so you’ll always deal with a live person. If at two o’clock in the morning you get a roof leak, who are you going to call? You call our number, any hour, you get a live person back. We’re a 24 hour service.”
Ahler credits his company’s customer service for its success.
“That’s why when Super Storm Sandy hit, we were so busy,” he said. “We were topping roofs as the wind was blowing. We were out there along with emergency responders.”
Ahler recommends that people have their roofs checked every five years, especially after events like Super Storm Sandy.
“A lot of people don’t realize they have roof damage from the storm and by the time they realize they do it will be too late to put a claim in with their insurance companies,” Ahler said. “So they should really get their roofs checked out now.”
Prestige Pro is recognized by all the major insurance companies.
“We try to make the homeowner come out whole, so it doesn’t come out of their pocket,” Mr. Ahler said. “We look out for the homeowner. The insurance companies look out for the insurance companies, but we look out for the homeowners.
Five years ago, Pro-Line Industries purchased Prestige Pro, which gave it access to the Duro-Last roofing system, of which Ahler is a huge proponent and its lead contractor in the area.
“It’s a single-ply roofing system, no tars, no glues,” Ahler said. “The seams are heat welded. It’s the only roofing system that comes with a 15 year, No Dollar Limit (NDL) warranty and consequential damage, meaning if you have a problem and you have a leak where something gets ruined inside, Duro-Last covers it; they pay for the damages. And now they offer 20 year NDLs or consequential damage.”
He said, “Duro-Last is the best system out there because their warranty is unlike any other.”
Using Duro-Last streamlines the process as well.
“We come in, we negotiate a price,” Ahler said. “We take pictures, we sign a contract and then we go take measurements on the roof. The measurements get emailed to Duro-Last which makes the pre-fabricated sheets; 80 percent of the welding is done in the factory. They ship out the sheets. We crane the sheets up on to the roof of the building. We lay it out, fasten it down, and you’re done.”
With a lot of the work done ahead of time the jobs are completed quickly.
“A roof will take us anywhere from two days to a big, 10,000 square foot commercial roof will take us five days,” said Ahler.
Either Mr. Ahler or his project manager, Robert Lindenberg, will be present at every job.
“That’s why our customers love us so much,” Ahler said. “Because we don’t just take the money and send some guys up there to do the job. We oversee every job.”
Prestige Pro/Pro-Line Roofing Systems is located in Mahopac and can be reached at 845-520-3066.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.