Rising to the Topps

By Emma Peterson.

Learn how Topps Products has stood the test of time around the world.

Topps® Products has been a leading provider of roofing solutions for decades now. They are known in the industry for their global footprint and high-quality, innovative products. In this CoatingsCast® episode, Megan Ellsworth sat down with four members of their team to talk about their story and how they have stood the test of time.  

Wayne Altizer, who is the president of Topps Products and has been with the company for about eight years, started the conversation by sharing some of Topps history. He explained, “Our origins start in about 1958. We began making rudimentary roof coatings, and then in about 1983, we introduced our thermoplastic series with polyprene and it took off.” From there, they developed Topps Seal, which is their flagship product. Mario Villasenor, a sales and technical representative at Topps, highlighted why this product is so game-changing, saying, “The reason polyprene is such a big product of ours is it's an all rubber sealant designed to have long resistance. Customers really love this product for use on flat roofs, on commercial roofs, because it has a two-year shelf life, even after they open it.”

It is dedication to innovation that drove the development of this incredible product, and it is that same dedication that has carried Topps forward all these years. Giovanni Lemus, Topps’ commercial director of six years, shared, “We constantly move forward, have new solutions, first, that fill the needs of the market, and then also that align with our portfolio of solutions. That's how we stay competitive, we innovate.” Recently, Topps has been doing a lot of work innovating sustainable solutions as a response to the market's need for environmentally friendly and energy efficient solutions. Sarah Mark, their head of corporate social responsibility and the head of sales for the Caribbean, gave some examples of this, sharing, “One of our notable initiatives was the Royal Palace in Kuala Lumpur, where we did a cool roofing project there. And it's such a great product that they'll be using us again for the same thing. And we're working on a project here right now, where we are going to be repairing and cooling the roof for a school for special needs kids here on the island in the Caribbean that I'm on.”

Read the transcript or Listen to the full episode to learn more about Topps and their innovative work over the decades.