NBP Roofing Program

1. NBP Roofing Program Two Thousand One

2. The year 2001 brings with it yet another chance for us at a new millenium. Many purists contend that the arrival of 2001 brings with it the new millenium while others say that 2000 was the big change. Personally I’d like to put 2000 behind us and bet on 2001. Year 2000 had a rising Dollar and falling Euro that combined with skyrocketing oil prices to make our very best efforts at a shingle business across the Atlantic look rather weak. 2001 looks at least for now to be a much better bet for us. The currency situation has been moving in the other (good) direction for that last 12 weeks or so and is projected by most to continue (improving)through the spring. Also oil prices have eased off. We are not left with a situation which would predict a champagne year, but at least we should do well enough to have (in the words of a good friend) a two scoop ice cream for desert! On the pages that follow, the NBP team have prepared a presentation outlining our plans for the coming year. You can read it like a book, one page following the next (recommended) or jump to a specific section by clicking on a hyperlink on the index page. Various elements of the program will come into effect at different times but can combine offer a positive effect from the first of the season. As seen in the picture that makes up the background for this presentation taken a couple of weeks ago-we are still locked in winter here in Montreal but spring and the roofing season are just around the corner. We look forward to sharing a year of good health, good times and good business! Barry

3. Products Shingles Rolls Vents Cements Other Pricing Promotion Shingle Norms Web Site Modifications Order Forms Questions and Answers Warranty New & Updated Links Shipment Tracking Statistics Roofing Products Data Tables Table of Contents

4. Order Forms In an effort to improve efficiency and reduce paper, we have created a MS Excel based order form. This form automatically calculates maximum loading and eliminates the possibility of ordering materials that do not exist. Russell will be updating order forms and sending out to those who already use them in the next week or so. If you do not currently use our forms and would like a sample, e-mail russjames@nbpintl.com.

5. Shingles Two Thousand and One Products offered in the 2001 shingle program will be of particular interest to those of you seeking to gain favor and profit in selling something other than our basic models. Our new Europa brings us a product that can offer something that is both unique yet oddly familiar. It is sturdy, has a good colour selection and offers good value. The Tradition line brings some exciting new changes that should make it an easier up-sell over Citadel or Rampart and allow for use as a hip and ridge accessory for both Europa and Eclipse. Furthermore, additional products will be test marketed in Canada. We will follow the progress of these new models closely and may introduce them, where appropriate, after closely consulting with you.

6. Product section of our Web site now includes a table that will show you/give you one click access to a variety of information on that product. Take me to Roofing Products table @NBP web-site Roofing ProductsTable

7. Europa The NEW Europa is shaped similar to a beaver tail. Beveled edges are featured on Europa instead of rounded tabs on a typical beaver tail model. Europa features: • a 25 year warranty • 3m2 per bundle • a solid 33.7 kg per bundle

8. Europa colours Black= colours same as 2000 Red = colours no longer offered Green = new colours for 2001

9. Tradition TwoThousand One Our top of the line 3-tab shingle product is totally overhauled and now offers the following exciting new features: • 8 new colours: • Has a thin shadow band (see photo) • Will now be used as Hip and Ridge shingle in combination with New Europa as well as Eclipse shingles • Shadow Black • Autumn Brown • Twilight Grey • Boreal Green • Magenta Red • Stone Wood • Sunset Cedar • Weathered Rock

10. Tradition New product line has been created taking into account overall customer purchase trends and what we see as new opportunities. In order to accommodate some of you/your customers with regard to colours that are being discontinued, the factory has taken the following steps to make the changes as positive as possible: • New Tradition colours will be ready for shipment in the next couple of weeks. As long as old Tradition stock lasts, it will also be offered. (Let us know by return mail if you require samples of new colours or specific needs with regard to old product). (CONTINUED)

11. Tradition 2001 Colour shown is Sunset Cedar

12. Tradition II • Inventory of old Tradition colours will be posted in the customer lounge section of our web site indicating exactly what quantities are available for shipment. Inventory numbers will be updated weekly to enable you/your customers to sell out any/all stock. Of course, any of the old Tradition colours may be ordered on a bundle basis for top-loading to fill exact requirements of a project/job and target a zero inventory • As is standard warranty procedure, you may rest assured that if you have justified claims for quality in the future with regard to discontinued product, you will be compensated with colours available at that time (customer does not get identical roof - but does get a NEW roof)

13. Tradition Colours 2001 Black= colours same as 2000 Red = colours no longer offered Green = new colours for 2001

14. Roofmaster Colours 2001Roofmaster offering remains unchanged for 2001. Colour offering below. Black= colours same as 2000 Red = colours no longer offered Green = new colours for 2001

15. Rampart The following new colours have been added to the Rampart offering: • Cathedral Grey • Brick Red • Tone Green (After a year of research and development with granule supply, the factory has produced a granule that allows the return to a colour very similar to the old 2-Tone Green. Unfortunately, expensive technology means that this colour will not available in Citadel.) • Burgundy is being replace with Bordeaux. Colour is very similar to Burgundy, softer in appearance

16. Rampart Colours 2001 Black= colours same as 2000 Red = colours no longer offered Green = new colours for 2001

17. Citadel While our very successful Citadel will largely remain the same, a few minor changes have been made to the colour offering: • Cathedral Grey repositioned in Rampart programme • Winter Green is to be discontinued • White is to be discontinued

18. Citadel Colours 2001 Black= colours same as 2000 Red = colours no longer offered Green = new colours for 2001

19. Rolls 2001 • A natural fit with roofing product lines • An easy way for you to increase your sales • We offer a variety of products • # 15 Asphalt felt - This high quality asphalt impregnated felt product remains unchanged and a great choice for your customers to add protection and value to their roof. • Gripgard Membrane - A granular surface water proofing membrane impregnated with a rubberized asphalt. Easy to install, with a self-adhesive back that adheres to the roof deck. Provides a no slip surface during installation • Progard Plus - An all ready excellent membrane has been made better with an improved adhesion system and a new no slip surface. More information on our web-site shortly take me to rolls on NBP web-site

20. Vents 2001 • All roof installations need to be ventilated to be covered under warranty • Why not ventilate with the best product available? • NBP Ridge Vents - allows you to talk technical with your clients no matter who they are (roofer, distributor or end user) and share your roofing knowledge with them • A natural expansion and growth to your product line • A very unobtrusive way to ventilate a roof efficiently • Look for additional information at our web-site take me to ridge vents on NBP web-site

21. Cements 2001 • All installations require the use of cements • Cement is used; • to tab shingles down; • used to seal flashing, vents, pipes, valleys, roof windows, chimneys and gutters • Not all cements are created equal - the use of some cements can damage asphalt shingles and void warranties • NBP cement is designed to be used with asphalt shingles, stays flexible and is easy to apply take me to ridge vents @NBP web-site

22. Pricing • Foreign exchange levels have made our situation increasingly difficult over the last 2 years. Improved rates over the last 4 months have delivered some relief. • From a product point of view, we have had good cooperation from the factory in keeping increases for off-shore customers well below those in Canada and the USA. • Specific, separate details are attached with regard to your individual situation but,in general, situation is as follows; • Revised shingle prices are adjusted effective for shipments on or after April 1st. We anticipate a further increase in August. • A Temporary Freight Charge will be added to your invoice as a separate item effective immediately and as of April 1st will be incorporated in your price. • Revised Vent, Cement and other accessory prices, where applicable, are effective February 15th. • Promotional support from Canada will be minimal with the understanding that what you need are best prices and that you yourselves are best suited to arrange your own affairs locally • New Europa will carry a 7.5% temporary discount until April 1 2001

23. Over the last year, European manufacturers have increased promotion of their fibreglass shingle standard EN544. Just like North American CSA and ASTM standards, EN544 (which is a very poor copy of ASTM) is voluntary.The same industry group that designed this standard is now working on mandatory guidelines for fibreglass shingles designed to prevent North American manufacturers from competing in Europe. Slowly, but very surely, NBP is well on the way to securing its own standard guideline for Europe. The following presentation is to inform you of what is happening on the shingles standards stage and provide some ammunition for defense in the interim ( between obtaining a cellulose shingle standard). Last and most important, there is a need to put these standards into perspective vis-a-vis real life. NO STANDARD IN THE WORLD IS AS GOOD AS REAL LIFE PERFORMANCE HISTORY. Fibreglass shingles have barely one life cycle of real life performance (so EN544 is a shot in the dark!) while cellulose shingles have at least 3 and have had the benefit of technology upgrade associated with this performance history. When talking and thinking standards, let’s keep in mind that - nothing beats real-life performance. Mike Ferris - President NBP Standards and Norms

24. Norms & Standards Overview • The EU’s objective with standards • Standards organizations - the path for a product to get to market • Types of standards that concern us all • Status of shingle standards • NBP expectations for 2001

25. EU Objective I. All construction products made available to the market mustmeet 6 essential requirements of: 1.Mechanical resistance and stability 2.Safety in case of fire 3.Hygiene, health and environmental safety 4.Safety in use 5.Protect against noise 6.Energy conserving (For complete guidelines see:) http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/newapproach/legislation/guide/legislation.htm II. Each family of products shall have its own 6 criteria and shall be tested against those criteria III. Products meeting the criteria shall be allowed to use the CE marking/labelling system IV. Products not meeting the criteria mustbe taken off the market

26. Standard Organisations/the Path for a Product to Get to Market in the EU

27. EN’s – European Norms, a voluntary standard that has been published as a result of industry consensus throughout the EU. Almost by definition, these standards are not state of the art, are generallyweak as the negotiation process of 12 or more countries make compromises in order to reach a consensus. The rule within the EU is that no Member is allowed to make an EN a mandatory requirement. HS – Harmonized Standard is mandatory, and contains the 6 essential requirements to meet EU criteria for use. ETA – European Technical Approval, is a standard and guideline for a product or family of products not covered, or anticipated to be covered by an EN. ETA’s were created to overcome trade barriers written into EN’s and to provide for new, innovative types of products. ETA’s are generally of a much higher standard than EN’s or HS’s because they are written by a single entity, eg. NBP and ,therefore, the compromises necessary to reach consensus throughout all Members of the EU, are not made. Types of Standards That Concern Us All

28. Status of Shingle Standards • Cellulose shingles general– French AFNOR standards NF P39-301 and NF P39-304 are still in place as are North American ASTM and CSA standards. • Given that the usage of shingles in North America is approximately 100 times greater than in Europe and given subsequent legal liabilities should products not perform, ASTM and CSA could be said to be “state of the art” as far as shingles are concerned. ASTM and CSA standards also have the backing of decades of real life performance history behind them in the case of cellulose based shingles – probably the most overlooked and the MOST IMPORTANT criteria to look for in a construction product. • Cellulose shingles - NBP/ETA in process. • Fibreglass shingles – are covered by EN544 which was published in 1998/99. This voluntary standard was written to protect European producers.

29. En544 - A VERY POOR Standard; • EN 544 offers: • No fire protection requirement • No cold weather bending performance requirement • Sampling procedures for testing are, at best, inadequate • No tear test for windy conditions • No rain penetration test • No mineral granule quality requirement (this is critical if the shingle is to perform) • HS544 – the mandatory requirement is being worked on, it does not affect Cellulose based shingles but does currently exclude 25 year North American manufactured fibreglass shingles. HS544 is expected to become law in the next 12-24 months.

30. NBP EU Standards Expectations for 2001 • NBP • ETA should be approved by July 2001 • CE Marking/labelling approval by November 2001 • Fibreglass • CE Marking/labelling, 12-24 months (Jan 2002-Jan 2003)

31. Promotion 2001 • For 2001, we shall be continuing our policy of leaving local promotion in your hands and continuing our job to supply you with product pricing that is as low as possible • We will have limited quantities of Europa brochures and sample boards. These will be available to customers that will be participating in the Europa program • We will also have a limited quantity of Coroplast shingle boards available in the next 30 days or so. If you are interested, please ask Russ (russjames@nbpintl.com) to notify you when they are ready for shipment.

32. Warranties • Warranties as a Tool • Warranty Registration Form • Product Warranties • Filing a Claim

33. Warranties as a Tool • You may or may not realize that our shingle warranty is one of if not the best in the industry. Shingle warranty has now been posted on our web site. • We have experienced very little use of our warranty as a selling tool in Europe. A proper explanation of our warranty will emphasize the confidence the factory has in quality and allow you to underline features and benefits. • Warranty Registration allows you further contact with your customers as well as emphasize how serious you (we) feel about having the roof perform for decades to come. We are now offering you a number of options for registration. • A Letter of Clarification is now available that can seriously undermine the efforts of grey market pirates. If pirates are at all a problem in your market, then an emphasis on warranty and warranty registration is a must. • Claims, either Claims for Quality or Claims for Shipping are exceedingly rare however it is our job to make the process is as quick and easy as possible such that the solution makes the experience a positive one for your customer. This will ONLY happen if a claim is resolved BOTH in a timely fashion AND if the customer considers the solution to be fair. In order to make filing of claims easier, we have now posted both claims and instructions as to how to submit claims on our web site.

34. A good warranty can be a powerful selling tool - not all manufacturers believe in or back their products with performance guarantees. Be sure to make the most of this tool! The warranty explains; what is covered the standards that need to be met to validate warranty items that warranty excludes warranty period how to make a claim The warranty can be found posted at our web siteand can be downloaded in PDF format take me to warranty @NBP web-site Shingle Warranty

35. When making a large investment, as is the case with installing a new roof, it can be comforting for a customer to know that the manufacturer believes in a product enough to offer a strong, written guarantee. In order to benefit from the warranty, customers must register every shingle installation. To further validate the warranty, once we receive the registration, we will reply with with a return confirmation. This form and the instructions for filling it out can be found in the customer lounge section of the NBP Web site. This can be used, not only as an after sale tool, but also before…we will ask you to fill out this form such that your home is registered here as well as in Canada... take me to warranty @NBP web-site Warranty Registration Form

36. Emco warranty clarification letter is now posted at our web site in the “customer lounge” area (in the warranty section). Originals are also available on request take me to warranty @NBP web-site Letter of Warranty Clarification

37. Critical to resolving any claim is quick action. Such that the laboratory has all the necessary information to make a quality assessment, it is CRITICAL that the appropriate claim form be completed and returned. This report along with the following should be sent to NBP via express post or courier : at least one full 3 tab sample of the damaged/defective shingles pictures of the roof, both affected area and complete roof (from several angles) This form and specific instructions for filling it out can now be found in the “customer lounge” section of the NBP Web-site take me to the claims @ NBP web-site Shingle Quality Claim Form

38. This form is to be completed and returned to NBP whenever you encounter a claim for goods that were; damaged during shipping incorrect material was loaded incorrect quantity was shipped. As neither Transport insurance nor product warranty will cover materials damaged during unloading of the container, we urge you to keep a camera available to clearly document any problems that might be encountered. This form and specific instructions for completing it can now be found in the customer lounge section of the NBP Web-site. take me to claims @ NBP web-site Shipment Claim Form

39. Statistics • In order to help you with access to historical information, we will be posting both your NBP purchase history as well as relevant international trade data to our web site (in the restricted access area). • Data will be posted by end of February.

40. Questions and Answers (Q&A) The study of questions and appropriate answers should be an integral part of your sales and technical training. Nothing looks worse than a customer getting different and conflicting answers to their questions from different representatives from your company. We will be updating our Q&A section during the month of February and would appreciate any questions you might have with or without answers. If you share the Q&A with your team - they can be better equipped to answer and sell! take me to Q&A @ the NBP web-site

41. For every success in the WWW world, there are a dozen, if not many dozens, of failures. Many of those companies failed because they were relying on a simple .com at the end of their name to solve more fundamental problems or, equally as bad, allow them to get into business (often a business they knew nothing about) in the first place. Having an e-mail service does not change the care with which messages are prepared or the timely nature in which they are delivered any more than did the adoption of the fax machine roughly a decade earlier. A business associate that always needed 2 or 3 follow up reminders to answer your fax needed the same 2 or 3 reminders to answer you e-mail (although technology probably made it easier for you to do the reminding!) By the same token, organizations that were unable to maintain an updated price list and/or product offering on paper were typically no better at doing so in the cyber world. Personally I do feel that The WWW can be a very powerful tool and as such I cannot allow us to leave the virtual world without leaving you with some thoughts on it’s, well virtues. Efficiency is a big part of what it can offer you but you owe it to yourself to spend some time with the web to understand how it can be used in your business. Communication uses up a massive part of the web’s capacity - with billions – yes billions of messages being sent each day. It is up to you to make sure that your team members have appropriate access to the web for sending and receiving messages. It is also up to you to make sure that mail use is maximized through the use of attachments, phone books and that information can be properly filed (and backed up)for easy access. Powerful search (and rescue) features make finding information that you have filed electronically dramatically easier than in the filing cabinet but you still have to follow some basic rules. The person that always seemed to need you to “send the fax again” will be the one asking for the e-mail re-send. Technology will not change those habits. Transactions on the web are growing at a staggering rate – the only debate is exactly how fast business is growing. Writing this message, I have a magazine on my lap that tells me that worldwide B2B (from one business to another – as opposed to business to consumer) transactions will represent 237 billion US dollars this year and is projected to increase to 2.9 trillion by 2004. The challenge of course is identifying and optimizing web tools appropriate for you and to help you sell more (and be more profitable) and preferably before and more effectively than your competition. If you don’t already have a web site, then you need to create one - otherwise you are outside looking in – you are missing the train! Once you have your site – you have an excellent means of communicating with your customers and their customers . Customers will return to your site if they have a good reasons such as: Check order status Check product availability Use one or more of your hyperlinks Get technical details Get answers to questions Get contact co-ordinates Update product offering Identify associations The World Wide Web for You & Your Business

42. Most of the above are obvious but do not for example underestimate the importance of your links. Many of your own people will have suggestions for links – many of which could be for use in private as well as professional life. If you have good updated links - customers will come to your site – then you have the opportunity to guide them to whatever message you would like! Weather links are great. Roofers – want to know the weather. Now. Yesterdays paper is very old news and waiting for the radio forecast is not always practical. A little bit of research on your part will allow you to find at least a couple of different sites for weather. Some sites will even deliver weather by e-mail or text to a mobile phone – maybe more practical for a roofer! If I am picking up someone at the airport. I just checked 2 different sites in about 2 minutes to learn that if I was collecting someone on Air Canada from Paris, that flight scheduled 13.50 was revised to arrive at 14.02. A third site – the one I normally use - was down (technology is Not perfect) but that site would tell me aircraft location, altitude and speed and even show me a graphic if I wanted (maybe no more useful, but very cool). In this case 2 minutes the site would have allowed me to leave 10 minutes later and still be on time. Unfortunately flight are regularly delayed much more than this and time you can save – is greater. (Oops site that wasn’t working 2 minutes ago is now working. It tells me that AC 891 from Paris is 1158 miles East North East of Portland Oregon – travelling at 510 MPH and at al altitude of 35000 feet-and predicts an arrival time of 14.01) Most courier companies for example will give you live tracing such that you can, with the waybill quickly and easily find out exactly where that anxiously awaited parcel or envelope is. Without having to wait on hold on the phone while they access information on their PC. The situation in your country may be different, but we can purchase many items on line from a business supply point of view including but not limited to office, computer supplies and reference materials. Aside from being able to compare pricing, you have access to technical information and delivery schedules. There is one site I use that usually delivers goods to me here in Montreal the next morning – at latest day following. (I think they are in Vancouver – about 5000 kilometres away) The sites typically will allow you to save a list of favourite items and will process your order with just a few clicks. Can these sites help make your people better informed, more efficient buyers? Of course they can. My message? We at NBP are going to do what we can to provide web tools to help us work better together. A little time invested in the web will help you understand more about what opportunities there are out there for you. Check out the links in our web site at if you’d like a place to start or see what we find interesting/useful. This of course doesn’t mean that you should change your strategy – it just means that you may have an extra weapon or two for the next battle. The World Wide Web for You & Your Business

43. Favorite WWW Links... www.howstuffworks.com Explanations (english langauge) on a wide variety of subjects for kids and adults alike in both private and professional life. Knowledge is power. Learn for example about: • e-mail viruses at: www.howstuffworks.com/virus3.htm • How telescopes work: www.howstuffworks.com/telescope1.htm • How Autofocus cameras work:www.howstuffworks.com/autofocus.htm • Making Snow: www.howstuffworks.com/snow-maker1.htm http://pacific.commerce.ubc.ca/xr/ Exchange rate site with strong ability to manage and historical data tables and charts. Interesting feature for regularly used currencies allows you to save a graph in PLOT DATA section. When you make a selction (ie CAD to EUR last 91 days) check the “remember this selection” box in the bottom right hand corner of the table. When you return to customized PLOT DATA section, simply click on the Show me my customized plot link to return to your saved graph. (You must allow cookies for the “remember” feature to work) Check out our web site for other interesting links and send us your favourite sites too! take me to links @ NBP web-site