Performance Roof Systems Inc. (PRS), manufacturer of DERBIGUM, DERBICOLOR, DERBIBRITE and DERBISOLAR, invited members of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) to tour their Belgium manufacturing facilities and Roof Integrated Photovoltaic (RIPV) system installations.

Performance Roof Systems Inc. (PRS), manufacturer of DERBIGUM, DERBICOLOR, DERBIBRITE and DERBISOLAR, invited members of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) to tour their Belgium manufacturing facilities and Roof Integrated Photovoltaic (RIPV) system installations.

Earlier this month, the NRCA visited sites in Belgium, including a visit to the vegetated rooftop of the Commission of European Community in Brussels and a roof tour of VMM, a Brussels-based television station with a 400-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic installation. These stops were followed by a trip to France for a DERBISOLAR installation visit in Nantes.

The installation will be the largest RIPV installation on modified bitumen in the world.

DERBISOLAR features flexible photovoltaic panels attached to a modified bitumen sheet enhanced by a proprietary acrylic integrated surfacing, technology proven with the DERBIBRITE system. The surfacing prevents the migration of oils to the surface of the bitumen sheet. The oils are known to attack the adhesives used with most thin film panels and degrade the bond with the roofing substrate over time. DERBISOLAR technology prevents this occurrence.

The group included Rob Therrien of Melanson Co., Inc., Rob McNamara of F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co., Inc., Reid Ribble of Ribble Group, Jerry Schaeffer of Sellers & Marquis, Craig Silvertooth of the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing and Bill Good of the NRCA. Members of DERBIGUM’s European and U.S. executive officers, and members of e-PGEN, the Energy Preservation and Generation division of DERBIGUM accompanied them.

Bill Good, Executive Vice President of the NRCA said the invited contractors were all founding members of the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing, and all have an interest in learning about emerging technologies.

“There is no better way to learn than to actually see roof installations using the newest technologies, and they are impressive,” Good said. “We’re grateful to our friends at Performance and Derbigum for allowing us all this great opportunity.”

The trip was equally beneficial for DERBIGUM, said Travis Wallace, Director of Marketing and Customer Support. “We used this as an educational opportunity for us as well, understanding the roofing contractor’s prospective on the changing landscape of our industry and ways we can make sure that roofing professionals still own the roof,” Wallace said. For more information, visitwww.derbigum.com.