Holcim Elevate is the rebranded name for what was Firestone Building Products until the 2023 name change following Holcim's acquisition of the business. A lot of older EPDM roofs around Evansville still carry the Firestone name on their documentation, and the product lines have continued under Elevate with the same core chemistry and manufacturing history.
RubberGard is the company's long-standing EPDM product line, one of the products most responsible for EPDM's dominance in the single-ply market through the 1980s and 1990s. It's produced in black and, in select configurations, reflective options, with both taped and adhesive seam systems available depending on the installation era and specification. A meaningful share of the older commercial EPDM roofs we inspect and repair around town trace back to this product line under its previous Firestone branding.
UltraPly is the company's TPO membrane line, covering the standard thickness range with heat-welded seam technology and reflective white as the primary color option. It's a newer product family relative to RubberGard, reflecting the industry's broader shift toward TPO for new commercial installations over the past two decades.
SecurShield is the company's polyiso insulation product line, used underneath both RubberGard and UltraPly membrane systems as well as other compatible membranes. Polyiso insulation performance matters directly for managing the cooling load through our long, humid summer stretch, since the insulation package does most of the work reducing heat transfer into the building below the membrane.
Owners with older Firestone-branded warranties sometimes ask whether the name change affects their coverage. The underlying company and manufacturing operations continued through the acquisition and rebrand; warranty administration questions on a specific existing roof are best directed to the manufacturer's warranty service department with the original documentation in hand, since we don't administer manufacturer warranties ourselves.
For new projects, we spec current Elevate-branded product the same way we'd spec any other major manufacturer's line, based on the building's needs rather than brand history.
A good number of the EPDM roofs we're called out to inspect around Evansville are RubberGard product installed under the Firestone name, often 15 to 25 years old at this point. Evaluating whether to repair, recoat, or replace a roof like this starts with checking seam condition, membrane shrinkage at the perimeter, and insulation moisture content underneath, not assuming a fixed age cutoff applies to every roof.
Holcim Elevate product moves through the same general distributor network as other major single-ply manufacturers, with RubberGard EPDM and UltraPly TPO both counted among the higher-volume products most regional supply houses keep in regular stock. That generally keeps lead times short on standard thicknesses and colors, though less common configurations can take longer to source depending on current demand.
System warranties require installation by a contractor meeting the manufacturer's current training requirements for the specific product line, a standard structure across the industry rather than something unique to Holcim Elevate. Warranty length and coverage terms vary by product family and installer certification tier, and we confirm the exact requirements for a target warranty before finalizing project scope and installer assignments on a given job.
The Firestone-to-Elevate transition affected the company's branding and corporate structure more than its core manufacturing operations or product formulations, which is part of why older RubberGard product installed decades ago under the Firestone name still performs consistently with current expectations for that membrane family.
We keep a rough sense of which older Evansville buildings carry Firestone-era product based on our own inspection history, which helps when an owner calls about a roof issue and isn't sure what membrane is actually on their building or when it was installed. For new installations, we don't treat brand history as a substitute for a straightforward comparison against current-generation TPO, PVC, and other EPDM product lines on the specific technical merits of a given project.
Holcim Elevate is the rebranded name of the same building products business previously operated as Firestone Building Products, following Holcim's acquisition of the company.
No, maintenance and repair practices for existing RubberGard or other Firestone-era membrane are based on the product's actual condition, not the current corporate name on the packaging.
UltraPly covers the same general thickness and seam technology standard across the TPO category; specific performance and warranty details vary by product configuration.
Compatibility depends on the specific systems and warranty requirements involved; we verify manufacturer compatibility requirements before mixing insulation and membrane brands on a warrantied project.
Original installation paperwork is the best starting point; if that's unavailable, the manufacturer's customer service department can often look up warranty records by property address and installation date.