Contractors today are asked to do two hard jobs at the same time. They have to master the work in the field, and they also have to build a company that can market well, manage money, serve customers, hire people, control risk, and keep growing. That challenge sat at the heart of the CertainTeed Business Building Workshop held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Looking back at the event, the CertainTeed Business Building Workshop at MetLife Stadium brought more than 200 contractors together for a full day built around business education, technical knowledge, hands-on product experiences, marketing guidance, financial and legal insight, industry relationships, and peer conversations. CertainTeed, part of Saint Gobain and one of North America’s leading building materials manufacturers, used the Contractor’s Edge experience to do more than show contractors what it makes. It created a place where the companies using those products could learn how to become stronger businesses.
The MetLife Stadium workshop has already concluded, but the idea behind it still carries value for contractors today. Strong companies need more than good products. They need useful knowledge, trusted relationships, practical tools, and access to people who understand the problems they face.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, attended the New Jersey event to experience that model firsthand, meet contractors and vendors, and understand why the workshop was creating such a strong response. “We are here in New Jersey at MetLife Stadium. We’re very excited to check out the CertainTeed event today,” Cummings said as Power100 began covering the experience. His visit gave Power100 a firsthand view of a contractor business growth workshop in New Jersey, where the focus moved far beyond products and into the people, ideas, and relationships that help contracting companies grow.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry.
By the time contractors walked through MetLife Stadium for CertainTeed’s Business Building Workshop, the setting had already changed what a normal industry training day could feel like. Premium stadium spaces became places for learning, conversation, product discovery, and business ideas. Field-level areas and private lounges gave contractors room to move from one experience to the next while staying connected to the people around them.
CertainTeed Business Building Workshop held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
More than 200 contractors took part in the event. They came from roofing, siding, exterior remodeling, and other parts of the building industry, but the day was not built around product knowledge alone. Contractors were exposed to ideas that could help them run stronger companies, from marketing and lead generation to finance, legal planning, technical performance, and business growth. That mix helped turn the event into a contractor business growth workshop rather than a standard product training session.
The hands-on parts of the day also made the learning feel practical. Contractors could see products, explore tools, ask questions, and talk directly with people who understood the work they do every day. At the same time, the business sessions gave them a chance to think beyond the next project and look at the bigger health of their companies.
Just as important were the conversations happening between sessions. Contractors met peers, vendors, CertainTeed representatives, and business experts who brought different ideas into the same space. One attendee summed up that value by saying, “There’s so many hundreds of good people here to meet today and like make the connections and like get yourself around good high level people.”
Looking back, that may be one of the clearest reasons the event stood out. MetLife Stadium gave the day energy and made it memorable, but the real value came from what happened between the people inside it. The lessons, connections, questions, and ideas gave contractors something they could carry back into their own businesses long after the event ended.
As Greg Cummings moved through the CertainTeed workshop at MetLife Stadium, the story of the day became clearer. The venue gave the event excitement, but the strongest lessons were coming from the sessions, the conversations, and the people contractors were meeting along the way. What started as a visit to see a large contractor event became a closer look at how education, access, and relationships can help contractors build stronger companies.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 at the CertainTeed Business Building Workshop held at MetLife Stadium
The rapid conversations captured during the event helped show what contractors were feeling in real time. Some spoke about the people they were meeting. Others spoke about the value they had already gained from a single session. Together, those reactions revealed six larger lessons about what made the workshop work.
Knowing how to install a product well will always matter. But running a strong contracting company now calls for many more skills. Owners have to think about customers, marketing, money, people, legal risk, systems, and where the company is going next.
That is where the workshop widened the conversation. Rather than keeping the day focused only on roofing, siding, or product use, CertainTeed brought several aspects of running a business into the same experience. Contractors could hear ideas tied to business growth, digital marketing, financial planning, legal needs, technical work, and better ways to operate.
That made the event a form of contractor business education in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that could speak to both the work in the field and the company behind that work. A contractor may know the product well, but the health of the business also depends on how well leads are handled, how money is managed, how teams are built, and how customers are served.
The value of that approach goes beyond one contractor. Stronger companies can create better jobs, serve homeowners with more care, build better teams, and bring more trust into the industry. By helping contractors improve the business around the product, CertainTeed was also helping strengthen the network that brings those products into homes and projects every day.
Learn more about contractor resources, building products, and education from CertainTeed.
Some of the most useful moments at an industry event never happen on a stage. They happen when two people meet between sessions, compare what they are seeing in the market, and leave the conversation with a new idea.
CertainTeed Business Building Workshop in Progress
One attendee captured that feeling while speaking about what brought him to the event.
“There’s so many hundreds of good people here to meet today and like make the connections and like get yourself around good high-level people.”
That comment reveals why the room itself mattered. Contractors were surrounded by CertainTeed representatives, trainers, vendors, business experts, and other contractors who understood many of the same problems they were trying to solve.
The workshop became more than a place to receive information. It became a New Jersey contractor networking event where the people sitting beside you could become part of what you learned.
Even contractors who compete in the same market could still share ideas. One company may have found a better way to manage leads. Another may have learned something about hiring. Someone else may have a different way of handling customer service. Those ideas can move from company to company through simple conversations.
That is why growth does not always begin with a new tool or another presentation. Sometimes it begins with meeting the right person.
Explore how CertainTeed continues to support and connect the contractors who work with its products.
The location did not replace the education. It changed how education was experienced.
Contractors could have spent the day in a normal meeting room. Instead, they were inside one of the best-known football stadiums in the country, moving through premium spaces, club areas, lounges, and other parts of the venue that helped the day feel different from a standard contractor meeting.
For Greg Cummings, the setting created an immediate reaction.
“Does it get any cooler than this?”
It was a simple question, but it captured something important about the event. CertainTeed had created an experience that told contractors their time mattered.
The contractor event at MetLife Stadium gave attendees something they could remember, along with what they learned. The setting added energy to the conversations. It made the sessions feel less routine. It also gave contractors the feeling that the day had been built with them in mind.
That sense of recognition matters. Contractors spend their days serving homeowners, managing crews, solving problems, and carrying the pressure that comes with running a company. Giving them an experience inside a venue like MetLife Stadium sent a message that their work was worth celebrating.
A contractor can hear someone explain a product. It is different when the contractor can see it, ask questions about it, and understand how it may work in the field.
That is why the practical parts of the workshop mattered.
CertainTeed mixed business sessions with product experiences and tools that contractors could explore. The day was not built around sitting in one room and watching slide after slide. Contractors had opportunities to move, engage, ask questions, and connect what they were hearing to the work they already knew.
This kind of building materials training for New Jersey contractors matched the way many people in the trades learn best. They work with real materials on real projects. Seeing how something works can make the lesson easier to understand and easier to remember.
The same idea applies to business education. Information becomes more useful when a contractor can see how it fits into the company. A marketing idea matters when it can help bring in better leads. A financial lesson matters when it can protect profit. A product lesson matters when it can improve what happens on the job.
The strongest education is not measured only by what people understand inside the room. It is measured by what they can use when they return to work.
Discover more building products, tools, and contractor support through CertainTeed.
One attendee had already begun thinking about the effect of the workshop after his first session.
“If I could add or double up what I just experienced on my first session, I think we’ll be in good business. CertainTeed has it all locked down. They have really honed in and made this an amazing event.”
That reaction matters because the attendee was not talking about what he hoped to learn later. He was responding to a value he believed he had already received.
The contractor business training at MetLife Stadium was working when contractors could connect a session directly to their own companies. Information stopped being something to simply hear and became something they could think about using.
That changes how people take part in an event. When the first session gives someone a useful idea, the next session carries more promise. People listen more closely. They ask more questions. They begin thinking about what they can take back to their teams.
It also helps explain why a workshop series can build repeat attendance. Contractors do not return only because they had a good time. They return when they believe the next event can help them again.
CertainTeed’s wider workshop model has continued to use fresh information and new experiences to keep contractors engaged across different markets. The lesson from MetLife Stadium remains simple. Give people value they can use, and they have a reason to keep learning.
The MetLife Stadium workshop eventually ended. The sessions stopped. Contractors left the stadium and returned to their companies.
But that did not mean the relationship had to end with the event.
CertainTeed’s workshop model has been used in more than one market, giving contractors more chances to learn, reconnect, and receive new information. That turns a one-day experience into part of a much longer relationship.
For contractors, that kind of relationship can matter more than another promotion. Products can be compared. Prices can change. Offers can come and go. A company that continues helping contractors learn, connect, and improve can build a different kind of trust.
The event also showed the value of building a community around contractor success. Vendors, experts, company representatives, and contractors were all part of the same experience. Each group brought something different to the room.
That is why the current value of this past East Coast contractor growth event reaches beyond the day it happened. The larger idea still applies. Contractors want partners that understand the business they are trying to build, not only the products they are trying to buy.
By the end of the experience, Greg Cummings summed up what stood out most.
“Great vendors, great people, great contractors. Overall, we really enjoyed our experience. Look forward to the next one.”
The workshop was held in the stadium. It had the sessions. It had the products. But the people and the relationships were what gave all of those pieces lasting value.
Explore more conversations and stories focused on leaders and companies moving the home improvement industry forward through Power100.
By the end of the CertainTeed Business Building Workshop, the sessions had wrapped, the product demonstrations had stopped, and contractors were beginning to leave MetLife Stadium. The field-level access, premium spaces, speakers, vendors, and conversations had all been part of a day built to stand out. But the real measure of the event was never going to be how impressive the stadium looked. It was going to be what contractors carried back into their businesses.
CertainTeed Business Building Workshop
The ideas shared during the day could be used long after the event ended. A new connection could lead to a future opportunity. A better business idea could change how a team works. A lesson from a session could help a contractor make a smarter decision. Those are the kinds of results that give a past event value in the present.
That is also what makes the CertainTeed Business Building Workshop worth looking back on today. The event showed that contractor education can be more than a one-day experience. When people are given useful knowledge, real access, and the chance to learn from others, the impact can continue well after everyone goes home.
A strong contractor event should not only create a great day. It should help create a better next day for the business.
CertainTeed showed what that can look like by building the experience around the contractor and the company they are working to grow. The stadium made the event memorable, but the lessons and relationships gave it staying power.
After seeing the full experience firsthand, Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, closed the day with a simple reflection.
“Great vendors, great people, great contractors. Overall, we really enjoyed our experience. Look forward to the next one.”
The MetLife Stadium workshop is now in the past, but the lesson it left behind is still clear. When an industry event helps contractors return home with better ideas, stronger relationships, and more confidence in what comes next, its value does not end when the doors close.
Power100 uses a five-layer proprietary ranking system rather than public voting or simple brand recognition. For its 2026 National Power Rankings, the platform says it reviews a national database of more than 7,600 qualified home improvement leaders and considers areas such as leadership, company culture, customer experience, performance, innovation, and market reputation. This gives Power100 a wider base of information when recognizing the leaders and companies making an impact across the home improvement industry.
Power100 covers more than rankings. Its editorial work follows the CEOs, companies, strategic partners, ideas, and industry experiences shaping home improvement. Attending events gives the platform a chance to see those ideas in action and hear directly from the people taking part. At the CertainTeed event in New Jersey, Greg Cummings was able to experience the workshop firsthand, speak with contractors, and capture what attendees believed made the day valuable.
The stadium made the event memorable, but it was not the main purpose of the day. More than 200 contractors attended sessions and experiences tied to business growth, technical knowledge, marketing, finance, legal needs, products, and industry relationships. CertainTeed’s current contractor resources support that same approach. The company says its Business Building Workshops bring contractors together to talk business, while its wider contractor program includes hands-on training, business tools, and expert support designed to help contractors grow.
Product education was part of the workshop, but the event went much further. Contractors were also exposed to business development, marketing, financial guidance, legal insight, networking, and ideas for running stronger companies. That wider focus matches CertainTeed’s current contractor strategy. The company offers business tools, sales support, training, credentialing, and affinity partner resources that address needs such as lead generation, sales coaching, estimating, insurance strategy, and customer presentations.
The MetLife Stadium workshop has ended, but CertainTeed continues to provide contractor education through several channels. Its LEARN platform offers no-cost learning in areas including product knowledge, installation, building science, and system solutions. CertainTeed also offers online courses, webinars, in-person education, credential programs, and hands-on training. That means the larger idea behind the past workshop, helping contractors keep learning as their businesses grow, remains available today.
Experience in the field does not remove the need to keep learning. Products change, customer expectations change, sales tools improve, and businesses face new challenges as they grow. CertainTeed says its contractor programs are designed to help professionals strengthen skills, build credibility, improve installation quality, access business resources, and stand out in their markets. Its credential programs also connect eligible contractors with tools and benefits designed to support the business around their craft.
Yes. Contractors do not have to attend a Business Building Workshop to access every form of CertainTeed education and support. CertainTeed LEARN provides free online educational resources to independent learners, while its Mobile Training Vehicle can bring hands-on training directly to building professionals. Credentialed contractors can also use resources such as MyEDGE and CertainTeed’s affinity partner network for tools and services designed to help them operate and grow their businesses.
The attendee response captured during the workshop suggests that networking was one of the strongest parts of the experience. One contractor pointed to the value of meeting hundreds of people, making connections, and getting around what he called “good high level people.” Those conversations gave contractors access to peers, vendors, CertainTeed representatives, and business experts who could bring different ideas to problems they face inside their own companies. CertainTeed continues to describe its Business Building Workshops as places where contractors can come together and “talk a little shop,” showing that connection remains part of the purpose of the program.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by Greg Cummings, Power100 gives exterior remodeling CEOs, contractors, and industry partners a trusted place to discover the people, companies, ideas, and experiences helping move the industry forward. Through national rankings, leadership conversations, event coverage, and industry stories, Power100 brings attention to the leaders doing meaningful work while helping contractors learn from the businesses and relationships shaping the future of home improvement.
Membership unlocks every Power100 interview, PowerChat episode, and expert playbook - free for industry leaders.
Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
