Founded in 1994, Polyco entered the asphalt market as a small, family-owned business with big goals. Tom Nichols, our founder, recognized a need for better-engineered roofing and, eventually, paving solutions that embraced a green model of stability. Starting with nothing more than an idea on a napkin, $400, and a company of one, he realized he would have to build a team to achieve these goals. 

Being a family-owned business, employees are treated like family and share similar values. To do this, the leadership team at Polyco created an atmosphere of “togetherness” without silos. Tom Nichols, says, “My passion is people and ideas. Those two things are everything to me.” This inclusive approach to business has continued to this day and encourages growing the younger generation within the company to build its future and foster innovation. 

John Lopez, a legacy team member, was one of Polyco’s first employees. He reflects on his tenure with the company and its remarkable growth, “I came in as an Operator, sharing many hats as the Plant Manager. The company was growing rapidly, and my career did as well. I became a Lead, then Supervisor, and now most recently moved into R&D. You can do anything you put your mind to at Polyco, and the company encourages it. Now, my son works here and is very happy. I am very proud to be part of Polyco. I love this company.” 

Sumer Lucas, Director of Technical Services – Roofing, agreed, “It’s been pretty amazing coming up with Polyco for the last ten years and witnessing the insane amount of growth that’s taking place in the last decade. I’ve had the amazing opportunity to grow and advance with Polyco.”

When asked why she continues to work at Polyco, long-time employee Kaylea LaBee said, “The people. We cherish and rely on each other, creating an environment where we build innovative ideas off one another.”

VP of Marketing and Sales, Sam Nichols, said, “The reason that we’re such an innovative team is that nobody puts as many resources into people, technology, and equipment. This allows us to function differently than most of our competitors.” We do things differently, not just to be different, but because it needs to be better, and when we make things better, good things happen.” Tom adds, “At the core of everything Polyco believes is to make good things happen. A focus on what is possible and why it CAN be done. This leads to a culture of invention and innovation not equaled by our peers.” 

With this philosophy, Polyco has led the way in innovation with high-performance, sustainable asphalt solutions for the roofing and paving industry. “To me,” Tom said, “…sustainability is the moral obligation of every citizen.” And as we continue to build the best team in the industry leading the charge, Polyco will continue developing technology that propels sustainability for future generations to come.