Atlas Roofing breaks ground on new headquarters

Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 26, 2024

Atlas Roofing leaders were joined by economic development officials and Hood Industries employees Tuesday as they broke ground on a new corporate headquarters on 31st Avenue South.

The roughly 11,000-square-foot facility, which is situated near the company’s manufacturing facilities on Valley Road, will replace the current Atlas corporate offices in College Park.

Matthew Bennett, vice president and general manager for Atlas Roofing, said the groundbreaking comes after more than two years of planning and discussions with both Meridian staff and executives.

“I think it’s a very deserving place,” he said. “We talked about different places and went back and forth about different places, and most of the time it was four of y’all against me on where the location ought to be, and I kept pushing for this. I had no idea it would turn out this nice.”

The new offices will also allow those working to look out at the company’s asphalt shingle plant, which was the company’s first manufacturing facility when it opened in 1982, Bennett said.

Atlas President Ken Roberts said the company’s motto is “products with purpose and people with passion,” and part of staying true to that vision is investing in the company’s facilities. As the new corporate offices are under construction, he said, work is also ongoing at the nearby paper mill and a project to update the shingle plant is expected to begin in 2025.

“So that’s investing in our products with purpose, but also investing in our people with passion is making sure we have office space that’s up to the standards we want, that’s in a good location so that all of you can come and work and keep us successful,” he said. “And that’s what we’re doing here today.”

Roberts said the new location will also make things easier on employees who frequently interact with people in the production process or research and development. Instead of driving out from College Park, he said, the office will be right around the corner.

Warren Hood, owner of Hood Industries, which owns Atlas Roofing, said the Meridian shingle plant was the second plant he ever purchased, and the company has since grown immensely since. Atlas currently operates 33 manufacturing facilities that supply shingles, building materials and more to the global market.

The company’s success, Hood said, can be attributed directly to the dedicated, hardworking employees who have been with the company a long time.

“This is the oldest operating facility that I have been involved with, and I couldn’t be any more proud of this facility. This is the mothership of Atlas Roofing, and it’s been successful and grown over the years because of you, because of those employees over there,” he told employees, pointing to the manufacturing facilities.

Hood said he has attended Atlas’ 30-year reunion and 40-year reunion and seen the same faces at both events. There are people working for Atlas today who have been with the company for half a century, he said, and that dedication is what has made the company able to grow.

“There’s people out here who have been here 50 years who are the reason this facility and Atlas Roofing is successful and will continue to be successful,” he said.

The new office is expected to be complete in 2025 and will house approximately 30 employees.