The roofing industry has a new center of gravity — and on May 1, 2026, it was unmistakably Los Angeles.
The GAF Latinos In Roofing (LIR) Summit & Expo drew over 600 attendees to LA, making it the largest gathering in the event's history in the west. With 60% of participants hailing from the West Coast, the surge in regional engagement was impossible to ignore. Building on the momentum of events like the 2nd Annual Expo and the Atlanta Summit, the 2026 West Summit & Expo sharpened a single, ambitious message: it's time to stop working on the roof and start building the company beneath it.
AI, Lead Generation, and the Digital Job Site
The most talked-about sessions weren't about shingles - they were about software. The 2026 Summit made a deliberate pivot toward digital operations, with curriculum designed to meet contractors wherever they are in their growth journey.
The session "Use AI to Strengthen Your Marketing and Sales" walked attendees through practical AI applications: automating customer responses, recapturing lost website leads, and streamlining day-to-day operations. Crucially, the framework wasn't one-size-fits-all. Facilitators broke down specific AI strategies by revenue tier - from businesses earning under $1 million to enterprises topping $5 million - so every contractor left with a playbook relevant to their stage of growth.
Lead generation expert Jose Cueto rounded out the digital track with a deep dive into platform performance, helping contractors cut through the noise and identify which channels actually convert for roofing businesses.
Brand Identity: The Power of Saying No
One of the Summit's most provocative sessions came from Christian Flores, who challenged contractors to resist the temptation of doing it all. Trying to offer every construction service, Flores argued, dilutes your brand, confuses customers, and creates operational headaches that compound as you scale.
The alternative: build a specific, recognizable identity. Know what you're best at, communicate it clearly, and let that focus become your competitive edge.
Breaking Into Commercial: A Contractor's Roadmap
Victor Maya, a GAF GoldElite™ contractor, offered a frank look at the commercial market — and a practical path into it for smaller contractors who have long seen commercial work as out of reach.
His advice: start with maintenance, repair programs, and coatings. These services provide consistent recurring revenue and lower barriers to entry than large-scale new construction. Maya also walked contractors through a system for navigating commercial insurance claims, showing how to use technical data and building codes to ensure they're fully compensated - not just partially paid - for every job.
The Next Generation Is Already Here
Perhaps no moment at the Summit landed harder than the contractor panel featuring Jose Prietto Jr. — a high school senior who has been working in roofing since he was 12 years old. Today, Jose Jr. manages his family company's podcast and a YouTube channel, bridging the world of traditional trades with modern content and audience-building.
His story wasn't just inspiring. It was a blueprint - for families wondering how to bring their kids into the business, and for an industry that sometimes struggles to show the next generation why roofing is worth their future.
Community at the Center
No LIR Summit & Expo would be complete without the culture that makes these events unlike anything else in the industry. The 2026 West Summit opened with a Pre-Summit Fiesta at the Novo, setting a tone that balanced professional ambition with genuine celebration. Heritage, family, and business aren't separate things in this community - they're the same thing.
What Comes Next
The West Coast momentum doesn't stop in LA. GAF is expanding specialized training programs into the region, ensuring that Latino roofing professionals across the country have the tools, knowledge, and community they need to build lasting businesses - not just successful crews.
The industry is changing. The Latinos In Roofing community is leading it.
