Roofers are set to get some major new national competition in 2018. That’s because Window World, one of the nation’s largest replacement contractors, plans to begin offering roofing services as it continues to expand its offerings beyond windows, siding, and doors.

“We saw an opportunity to expand the exterior envelope of the house with roofing,” said Steve Newton, vice president of national products for Window World, which is consistently at the top of the Remodeling 550 list. “There’s going to be a lot of our competition that’s not excited about Window World stepping into the arena, but we will do it professionally and customer-driven. The consumer's experience is everything. Roofing could be a significant amount of our business over the next 10 years.”

Newton said the company saw about $670 million in sales last year, and it hopes to hit $1 billion in sales in the next five to seven years with roofing being a major part of that growth. He said Window World will partner with unnamed industry partners to achieve its goals and begin a nationwide roofing campaign. He expects Window World to take $5 million in sales in the first year and grow it significantly from there.

“The experienced roofing companies are obtaining business with little cost, as it is based on word of mouth predominantly," he said. “When we start promoting, then a portion of that business will come to Window World due to our national exposure and reputation in the home improvement industry."

But at least one prominent industry member said roofers needn’t fear Window Word’s entry into the market. “There is plenty of room for professional contractors in the roofing industry,” said Brad Beldon, CEO of the Beldon Group of Companies.

Still, Window World isn’t just any company. With more than 20 years in business and a customer base of 1.5 million, Window World’s lead well runs deep. “With our lifetime attachment to these owners and the trust they have with us as well as our partners in the banking industry, it just makes a lot sense to step into the roofing realm, especially when we see the service needs that are out there,” Newton said.

For example, he said he knows of companies that have added roofing whose sales have increased more than $100 million in less than a decade. A big part of roofing’s phenomenal growth is due to increasingly extreme weather. Just this week 2017 was reported to be the most expensive year ever for weather and climate disasters, totaling $306 billion, according to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were a big part of that cost and still haven’t fully recovered.

“If you go back 10 years and you see the amount of weather damage in the U.S., it is considerably higher. It seems to increase every year. Storm chasers can’t even keep up with the need for roofing jobs right now,” Newton said, though he added that Window World was not basing its sales projections on climate change modeling.

Instead, he said Window World is banking on its ability to do what it’s always done to be a top replacement contracting products and services company.

“At the end of the day, Window World is a marketing company that does the most trusted exterior home improvement in the industry,” Newton said. “We build value and relationships with customers everyday. Life is too short not to enjoy your home."