Qui Tam Case Against Tremco, Inc. Alleged Defects In BURmastic Roofing Systems

Apparently, one of the charges in the Qui Tam case against Tremco that has just been won is that there are defects in the BURmastic roofing systems. 



The article is located here:

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/qui-tam-case-against-tremco-inc-alleging-defects-burmastic-roofing-systems-settles-6



It reminds me of the Quality Tile Roofing case in Boise, Idaho during the mid to late 1990's, where the owner, a Western Roofing Contractor's Association President, was accused by Tremco of mixing polymers into their product and diluting it.  



Turned out that the Tremco sales scheme of selling wayyyyyyy too much product of what they "think" would be on the job backfired.



He had about 1,000 unopened cartons of their SBS modified product left on his yard - because they wouldn't take back all that way oversold product.



He sent 10 unopened cartons of the Tremco materials to Dick Baxter at CRS Monroe in Monroe, NC, who tested it.



Sure enough, the material was bad alright.  And it came from their plant, where the only high-speed Austrian-made mixers were available to mix the product.



He proved that Tremco knowingly sold him bad product, and then when he got disgusted and stopped playing the "round robin" of contractors to get their jobs, and bid a Malarkey product - at way less - they went to the US Attorney General's Offices and asked to have him criminally charged for making the product bad.



That's right.  Tremco tried to have him charged with mixing bad product on two roofs at Mountain Home Air Force Base, only one of which he had done...... with products they knew were bad and sold him.



By the way, not only was the cost way less to use the Malarkey materials, Malarkey had a REAL warranty, not that cooked-up massively expensive "Maintenance Agreement" Tremco, Garland and Hickman used......and still use with the two left.



It also reminds me of the San Francisco Bay Area roofing contractor estimator, a former Tremco Field Inspector and a roofing rep all reporting the same thing to me:  the practice of Tremco Sales reps to force "shorting" of the material between the plies, to ensure that the roofs would get done way, way way too soon.  Around here, about years 6-8 we would see the roofs redone at enormous prices......  



Incredible amounts of Churning going on.  Fraud, in fact.



The classic example?



IBM facilities managers, enamored somehow, used Tremco materials over their SIlicone Valley plant, so I heard from a very reliable roofing rep.  He got a call one day, from them, frantic.



Seems that the roofs were shorted of the asphalt materials, dried out and were leaking.  



Only in this case, the roof was over a Clean Room for chip-making - and water had gotten in.  



They had called the Tremco rep, who had it "fixed" - and had to replace the Clean Room and throw out all the chips.



It leaked again.  And that's when they called the roofing rep I know - and many of you know him too.  Another Clean Room destroyed and many more chips.



Total loss I heard was around $160 million.



He got to the site, the Tremco rep arrived, and the Facilities Manager threw the Tremco rep off the site.  My friend got it fixed - with another system.



But look at how much IBM lost in the deal.





Hickman did the same thing in New Jersey shortly before they went under, paying about $40,000 out in kickbacks on about $300,000 jobs, taking the money out of the SBS modified materials to be put down and effectively shorting the materials between the plies.  A former Hickman rep in that area told me this - I don't make these things up.



In Hickman's case, the roofs were already leaking by year one - and frantic former Hickman guys called me to see what they could do about their warranties - so-called.  I heard later all of a sudden any number of their school roofs in New Jersey got redone right away - with "Green Roofs".  Which previously were done by Hickman.  Unnhhh-hunnnhhhh......right........"green" roofs.......all on schools.......



So the BURmastic systems have had their problems .... all to further sales..........



Me oh my.....it's finally coming out.......but look at how long it took.  



Wonder how many of all the scammers' roofs are done in the same manner?



You have to know - I hear way lots more than I put up on here....unbelievable but true things going on in the roofing world.   Now you know why I keep hammering away......



The guys doing it right need not be ashamed and need to be bold in going after work - we all need good competition from folks doing it right!