The Story of IKO...

When IKO started in business, there were eleven manufacturers of asphalt roofing products in Canada. In this tough and competitive industry, IKO has always been a strong and consistent leader, known for setting the standard and offering a quality product at an affordable price. Today, out of those original eleven manufacturers, only two have survived. IKO is one of them.

At IKO, we believe the success and longevity of our company is attributed to three key ingredients: Top quality products, continuous innovation and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities.

This spirit of innovation and quality is the driving force that began the company in 1949 when IKO began to investigate the suitability of using Alberta asphalt for roofing products. Up until that time, Alberta asphalt was dismissed as unusable, in the manufacture of roofing products. Not willing to walk away from a problem, efforts were focused on finding a practical solution. By 1951, a solution was discovered and a plant was opened in Calgary, Alberta producing asphalt saturated kraft paper for the building industry. This was IKO's first product. Still manufactured today, it is proudly considered to be the best in the industry.

IKO Grows

When IKO's product line expanded in 1954 to include roofing shingles, IKO maintained its successful formula of the key ingredients. As a result, IKO asphalt roofing shingles quickly developed a strong and loyal following.

With the success in Western Canada, a shingle manufacturing plant in Brampton, Ontario soon followed (1959). This was followed by a plant in Ham, Belgium (1972), bringing the products to the European market,  and then a plant in Hawkesbury, Ontario (1976) to meet the growing demand in Canada.

In 1979 IKO acquired its first facility in the United States, in Wilmington, Delaware. This was soon followed by the acquisition of manufacturing facilities in Franklin, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois as IKO expanded into the American market.

IKO continued to enhance its capabilities in Canada through the purchase of roofing plants in both Toronto, Ontario (1983) and Winnipeg, Manitoba (1983).

The most recent addition has been our new state of the art manufacturing plant in central Illinois. IKO Midwest, an arm of IKO Industries Ltd. of Calgary Alberta, is IKO's new 150,000 square foot facility in Kankakee. IKO began construction on the site in the summer of 2004. With the work now complete, the new facility will produce a full line of IKO’s fiberglass based residential asphalt shingles, mainly for markets in the US Midwest. The company already owns plants in Wilmington Delaware and Sumas, Washington.

In addition to expanding our production facilities, IKO has expanded its line of asphalt roofing products to include organic and fiberglass-based shingles, roofing felts, and APP and SBS modified bitumen roofing systems for commercial and industrial applications. As well IKO has been manufacturing its own polisocyanurate insulation board and made inroads into the air and vapor market too with the recent introduction of the AquaBarrier Air & Vapor line of products.

IKO Vertical Integration

One of the opportunities that IKO identified early was the advantage of manufacturing the key components used in roofing products, in-house. The advantages include cost savings and better control over the quality of the final product. With this in mind, IKO has worked hard to become an integrated company.

Today, we manufacture our own felt base, proudly considered to be the finest in the industry. Our asphalt is manufactured from our own source of high-grade flux. We also constructed a facility in Madoc, Ontario (1995) and Ashcroft B.C. (2001) to ensure that there was a reliable and consistent supply of high quality roofing weathering granules.

Our plants are also strategically located across North America to minimize freight expense and maximize product availability.

IKO Innovation

IKO has been setting the standard in asphalt roofing products for the last 50 years. In 1980, we started using Kobayashi "K-Formers" to make better felt for our organic shingles. The Kobayashi "K-Former" is able to make a better felt because it is able to keep the thickness across the felt more consistent. This means there is less chance for areas of the felt to be too thin, and prone to failure. Many years later our competitors followed our lead.

IKO was also the first to develop and introduce the metric sized shingle. Slightly larger than the standard imperial sized shingle, the metric sized shingle offers more product and a 20% cost savings in labor.

IKO Today

IKO has remained a strong and consistent leader in the industry. Our combination of knowledgeable, dedicated employees and our state-of-the-art facilities have helped IKO achieve this goal, and become the number one brand in Canada. Roofing contractors, who make IKO their preferred brand, recognizes this.

IKO is your source for quality asphalt roofing products at an affordable cost.