EcoStar LLC

EcoStar LLC began in the early 1970s; EcoStar grew from creating synthetic roofing from a base formula of recycled rubber and plastic for various roofing contractors to becoming a leader in the market with its synthetic slate and shake roofing tiles.

“EcoStar earns its name after the compound integrated in the tiles Ecology and Starloy,” explains Charlie Taft, vice president of sales. “The product is made out of 80 percent postindustrial recycled rubber and plastic.”

Creative ingredients

To ensure a roof is protective and can withstand the elements overtime, the tiles and roofing material need to be made out of quality products. According to Taft, one of the more fun items in its tiles are baby diapers. “It can take 500 years for a diaper to decompose in landfill,” he says, “The Staroba’s took the product, ground it up, added it to the Starloy compound and it turned out to be a great weathering product.”

EcoStar has been building on the idea of creating premium roofing products for more than 20 years. The company’s products are very green and are sustainable through the years and to the elements, as well. There are four different types of roofing products, Majestic Slate, Seneca Shake, Empire Slate and Empire Shake.

Product line

Majestic Slate offers an environmentally friendly, lightweight alternative to traditional roofing products. The majestic slate tiles provide the beauty of slate while remaining strong and durable. Seneca shake is a great alternative to traditional cedar shake roofing tiles. The tiles are offered in numerous colors and work for any roofing system based on its various thicknesses.

The empire slate tiles are the newest addition to the EcoStar family. The environmentally friendly company decided that its recycled roofing tiles were not enough to conquer the greatest challenges being faced right now.

EcoStar decided that global warming and energy conservation needed to be addressed through its roofing materials. Empire slate was developed to achieve both high Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) performance and low emissivity. During the day homes or buildings tend to gather thermal heat, empire slate tiles’ SRI reflects that light back into space instead of absorbing it into the building. At night, the low emissivity in the tiles works the opposite way and retains the heat within the building which reduces the Urban Heat Island effect.

The final product that EcoStar makes is the Empire Shake, a simulated shake that carries the same characteristics of the Empire Slate line with regard to SRI performance and amount of recycled content used in the manufacturing process. Wood shakes are a popular demand in the market, because of the aesthetic appeal. Unfortunately, wood shakes don’t hold up well and require a lot of work over the years. Empire Shake is a great synthetic alternative to traditional wood shakes and are eco-friendly and hassle-free.

“We always have our eye on the future,” Taft says. “We’re looking at thicker slate tiles. We’re in the development stages for a new line of EcoStar products.”

With a 50-year warranty life, EcoStar tiles are the right choice for any client. “The greatest part of the job is meeting the customer’s expectations, whether the project is for a commercial job, an institutional job like a college university or church, or even a historical project,” Taft says. “When we’re asked to perform and create a look that the customer wants, through the breadth and width of the product line, which is where we excel.” The EcoStar product line allows the company to get very creative.

Family industry

Taft has been with the company since 1993 when it moved to Richmond Va. “I started out as the son of a man who worked in the fiberglass roofing division,” he details. “When EcoStar, formerly Majestic Slate, came into the scene in the early ’90s I was asked to represent the product.” Taft describes his time with the company as being a very satisfying and rewarding experience.

“If you look at the square foot roofing industry, the majority of it is asphalt shingles,” says Taft, “We started out as a very small piece of the pie in regards to the market share.” The popularity has since grown for EcoStar’s line of products and for its particular market segment, as well. With the rising demand brings new products and advancement from the asphalt roofing and shingle market. “We’ve done business internationally in places, such as New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom,” Taft states. “We’ve also done business in Canada, Mexico and Latin America.” EcoStar LLC is a creative and energy efficient company that brings style and sophistication to the roofing industry.