Jeff Murray Biography

Jeff Murray Biography

Jeff Murray

My destiny was given to me at a very young age. When I was 5 years old, I use to climb up a tree at our home next to our garage and sit on the roof. I still remember to this day how the tar paper was laid out and how the morning sun would warm the roof surface. I would dangle my feet over the edge and say to myself…someday I am going to own a big roofing company! This is what I wanted to do when I got older. Many times my mother would come out of the house and say “Jeffery, get off that roof”, “You’re going to fall”, and “ If you don’t come down I am going to tell your father when he gets home”! That was only a threat. The next day, I would be back up there, and I would tell her “mom, someday I am going to be a roofer and own a big company. She still told me to get down! More than once I would eat my lunch on the roof. It was nice and warm up there. Then I would go cool off in our pool.

When I was sixteen, I started laboring for a neighbor who owned a small roofing company. Next summer when I was a junior in high school, I went to work for a different roofing company after school every day. My teachers knew that school was not for me. I got along with everyone, and never gave them any trouble, so they all passed me. When I graduated from high school, I had broken my arm. It was the only time I ever fell off a roof. It was about ten feet high, and I can still remember, to this day, where that house is. My cast was dirty and had roofing tar on it so I painted it white and that night got my diploma and never looked back. I had a dream.

My dad loaned me $750.00 and said son, that is all I got, and I thanked him. Fortunately, I had my mothers ambition and drive. I started my own company when I was 19 years old. I still remember my first customer in Lackawanna, NY. I knocked on the door and I said “Sir, you need a new roof. I am just starting out and I will give you a good price”. He gave me my first roofing job. From there I got twelve more jobs in that neighborhood that year. It was a great thing and it helped build my confidence. In the beginning, it was tough to pay the bills. Some weeks I went without a paycheck. I used to work from six in the morning loading my truck for the day and work till five. I would eat dinner then do estimates at night. I would work a long 70 hour work week.

When I met my future wife Pam, she was a single mom. We were very young when we were married. She was twenty and I was twenty-two. Her father was a commercial roofing estimator. He showed me the ropes on commercial roofing. I liked working on flat roofs much better. I never went back to residential.

I focused my business strictly on commercial roofs. My company started out with three men and myself. I learned many hard lessons over the years. I could have paid for two Harvard educations! However, these are hard lessons you never forget. It built character in me personally. When rubber roofing entered the market in 1979, it came naturally to me. We stayed with it to this day. Over the year’s I added more employees, crews, and equipment. People say “You see our green trucks everywhere”!

43 years later, Murray Roofing Company Inc. is the Number 1 Premier, Commercial Roofing Contractor in the area. We beat our competitors because we never take shortcuts! Our talented employees do excellent work. We buy directly from the manufacturer then pass the saving onto our customers. Our forte is offering solutions to roofing problems. We have over [sv slug=”40-million”] feet under warranty. To date, Murray Roofing Company, Inc. has 67 Total employees and continues to grow. We offer full benefits to our employees. Our company has a high employee retention rate. I cannot take all the credit for all my success since I have very loyal and great employees. Some of my employees have been with me for over 35 years! Sales are over 15 Million a year.

Looking back, my father would be proud. 42 years went by so fast, but God willing I think the best is yet to come!

Jeff Murray
President & Owner
Murray Roofing Company, Inc.

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