Our story
Sixty-seven years, two families
Katz has been roofing in Michigan since 1959. In that time it’s belonged to two families: the family who started it, and us.
Since 1959
The family that founded Katz ran it for forty years, mostly around Battle Creek and Marshall, father and then son.
- 1959The company starts in Marshall.
- 1979The founder’s son incorporates it as Katz Roofing & Siding, Inc.
- 2000We buy Katz.
- 2002We earn CertainTeed ShingleMaster, and we have held it every year since.
- 2026CertainTeed makes us ShingleMaster PREMIER, and our son Shane takes over the siding crew.
How it was handed over
We bought Katz in 2000. The man who sold it to us did more than sell it.
He checked Mike out first, with people who’d known Mike in the trade, because he wanted to know his customers would still be taken care of. Then he spent six or eight months of Saturday mornings in the office teaching Sarah how he ran it. He’s still in touch with us.
He left us two things he used to say, and we still go by both:
“You can’t run a company on the roof.”
“One unhappy homeowner will undo ten good ones.”
Mike, Sarah and Andy
Sarah
Sarah has answered this phone for twenty-eight years. When she’s on another call, our daughter Madison picks up. Sarah has a business degree from Olivet College with a concentration in insurance. She also holds a real estate license, so when a house is being bought or sold and the roof or siding is part of the deal, or a family has inherited a house that needs fixing up before it’s listed, she can help with the sale and the work, all in house.
Mike
Mike came up through roofing, from storm work across the plains in the nineties to running crews here. These days he runs production: he walks the crews through every work order, hauls the dump trailers himself, and handles the warranties. He still goes up for repairs.
Andy
Andy has done our estimates and run our jobs for more than fifteen years. He was a teacher and a coach before he came to roofing, and it shows: he’ll explain anything. He measures your roof, writes the estimate, and comes back for the final walkthrough himself.
From the first call to the last walkthrough, you’ll work with one of those three people.
The people who stay
- 20+
- years: our roofing foreman
- 28
- years: Sarah answering the phone
- 15+
- years: Andy, writing estimates and running jobs
Most of the men on our crews have been here nearly as long as the foreman. They’ve had chances to go elsewhere, and they’ve stayed. Our siding crew is run by our son, Shane.
Where we’ve grown
Katz used to keep close to Battle Creek and Marshall. We took Katz to Lansing and then west, into the farm towns between Lansing and Grand Rapids. Sarah grew up in Woodland, and these days a lot of the roofs we drive past are ones we put on. Some of them we’re doing for the second time.
Still here
The man who sold us Katz wanted to know his customers would be taken care of. We’ve tried to run it so they keep coming back. One customer has had us do fifteen houses. Another is on her fourth roof with us, and Mike drives two and a half hours to do it, because she doesn’t want anyone else on her roof.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably deciding. Take your time. When you’re ready, call Sarah.