B Four Plied Inc.

After nearly 18 years in business, B Four Plied Inc. has made a name in commercial and industrial roofing and reroofing. Based in Memphis, Tennessee, B Four delivers quality workmanship in roofing and sheet metal, built-up, modified and metal roofing, remodeling and restorations throughout Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, specializing in solving roofing headaches.

 “I think B Four really stands out when it comes to working with property managers and owners and helping them solve problems others cannot,” says John M. Boren Jr., vice president of B Four. “Sure, we do typical, more run-of-the-mill jobs, but where we really shine is solving a roofing challenge and making the owner’s problems go away.”

Big enough to serve, small enough to care

B Four has stood behind this concept since opening its doors in 1997. “I’m a second-generation roofer,” says John. “I grew up in the industry, watching my father, John [Boren] Sr., work in the trade. My father worked for another roofing company out of Louisville for 24 years and I followed in his footsteps, starting when I was 17 years old.”

With many years of field experience, in 1997, John, along with his wife, Deborah Boren and his parents, joined forces to launch B Four. “We decided to start B Four to create an unbeatable force in roofing construction,” says John.

After the passing of both parents, John and Deborah have kept the business running strong, carrying it through the recession and lean times with a foundation of unwavering ethics and quality workmanship. “Deborah is company president, so we’re actually a certified woman-owned business,” shares John. “With our family ownership, our motto is, ‘big enough to serve, small enough to care.'”

Headquartered in Memphis, B Four serves a 200-mile radius of the city. “Any farther than that and we can’t deliver the level of service that’s important to us,” says John. “Right now we’re running at about 35 to 40 employees, but we were up to 48 before the recession.”

While the recession certainly put a strain on business, forcing B Four to rein in, John says the company remains stable. “We’re back up to the same operating capacity as before -we just haven’t really grown a lot; things have remained stable.”

But focusing on cost-effective project delivery, exceeding expectations and delivering value have paid off for B Four and led to repeat business. “I run a small ad with our name and phone number in the local papers, but other than that we do not do advertising,” says John. “Most business is generated by word-of-mouth and our reputation for solving challenging roofing problems.”

Reliable roofers

John says B Four consistently delivers quality installations and repairs because the company has a reliable team of roofers. “We treat our employees well, because at the end of the day, you’re only as good as your team,” he stresses. “They take pride in their craft -if it takes them a little extra time to finish a job it’s because it’s going to look much nicer than most because they view their work as an art form.”

Just as the company holds its installers to a high standard, John says sourcing higher grade products makes all the difference as well. B Four is a certified applicator of many roofing products and systems, including Soprema, Carlisle, GAF, Siplast, Englert, Fabral and more. “We go for higher-end products or whatever the best product for the building is,” says John. “The product is only as good as the people putting it down, so higher end suppliers pick us to carry their products because they know we’ll do it right.”

B Four performs a range of government and school projects. “We’re working on a job at Parchman Prison and we just finished reroofing five buildings at the University of Memphis; we were given nine months and completed the job in seven,” notes John. “We also do a lot of work for Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW).”

For John, it’s about working with property managers and owners to solve any range of roofing problems. “This is where we excel,” he says. “Solving a problem for someone and build a lasting relationship – that’s the goal.”

Since 1997, B Four Plied Inc. has solved a range of roofing headaches for commercial, industrial and institutional clients, adhering to the highest standards in workmanship, installation and service to count on.