Holcim Elevate Roof Systems in Asheville, NC

Reading an Elevate (Formerly Firestone) Submittal in an Asheville Bid

Holcim Elevate is the renamed successor to Firestone Building Products' commercial roofing line, and procurement teams working from an older master spec that still says 'Firestone' should know the product lines carried forward under the new name before assuming the reference is outdated or wrong.

From Firestone Building Products to Elevate

Firestone Building Products built a long history in commercial roofing, a separate business from the tire company after a corporate split years ago, before being acquired into the Holcim group and rebranded as Elevate. Procurement teams working from an older institutional master spec that still names Firestone are not looking at an outdated or discontinued reference, they are looking at a product line that changed its name, not its manufacturer lineage.

The product lines carried forward under the new name, and a specifier who already knows the Firestone-era products by name should recognize them under Elevate branding without much translation required, beyond updating the name itself in the spec section.

This kind of manufacturer rebrand is not unique to Elevate, and it is a useful reminder for any Asheville procurement office maintaining a long-lived master spec, a product name on file today is not guaranteed to be the current name in five years, and a periodic review of manufacturer references keeps the spec section current rather than quietly stale.

UltraPly TPO and RubberGard EPDM

UltraPly is Elevate's TPO product line and RubberGard is its EPDM line, the same basic split between membrane chemistries that every major single-ply manufacturer offers. A submittal referencing Elevate should name which of these lines is being proposed, along with the thickness and reinforcement, the same detail level any manufacturer's submittal needs.

The line also includes a fleece-backed recover option for adhered applications over an existing roof, relevant to the same kind of recover-versus-replace conversation we cover generally on our roof system pages, and worth naming specifically rather than referencing generically as 'Elevate fleece-back product.'

Updating an Older Master Spec That Still Says Firestone

Some institutional master specs, particularly for hospital systems and university facilities departments that wrote their standard spec boilerplate years ago, still reference Firestone by name. Leaving that reference unchanged risks confusing bidders about which current product is actually intended, and it is worth updating before a bid package goes out rather than after a bidder asks for clarification.

A submittal update addressing the rename should confirm the following:

• The current Elevate product name, UltraPly, RubberGard, or the fleece-backed recover line, replacing any legacy Firestone reference
• Membrane thickness and reinforcement scrim specification
• Site-specific wind uplift calculation and a matching fastening pattern
• Warranty term and NDL coverage language under the current Elevate brand
• Manufacturer field inspection requirement prior to warranty issuance

Why the Rename Matters for Bid Clarity

A bid package that cites a discontinued brand name creates real ambiguity. Some distributors and subcontractors may still be working from old literature, and a bidder pricing against an outdated product name may not be pricing the same thing another bidder is pricing against current Elevate documentation.

Confirming the current product name against current manufacturer literature before the bid goes out is a small step that prevents a real dispute at submittal review, where two bidders may otherwise be arguing past each other about what was actually specified.

Comparing Elevate Against Other Manufacturers in a Bid

Once the naming is current, comparing an Elevate submittal against a Carlisle, GAF, or Johns Manville bid follows the same logic as any manufacturer comparison, matching product tier, thickness, and reinforcement class rather than assuming the rebrand itself signals anything about product quality.

The rebrand changed the name on the data sheet. It did not change the underlying comparison a procurement team needs to make between manufacturers on a given project. We treat an Elevate submittal with the same scrutiny we apply to any manufacturer, checking the specifics rather than resting on either a familiar name or an unfamiliar one.

What Procurement Teams Ask About Holcim Elevate

Is Elevate the same as Firestone Building Products?

Yes, Elevate is the current name for the commercial roofing business formerly branded as Firestone Building Products, following its acquisition into the Holcim group. The manufacturer and its core product lines carried forward under the new name.

Will an older spec referencing Firestone still be honored by a current bidder?

Most bidders will recognize the reference and quote the current Elevate equivalent, but it is worth updating the spec language directly to avoid any ambiguity or a bidder pricing against outdated literature.

What are Elevate's core TPO and EPDM product names?

UltraPly for TPO and RubberGard for EPDM, the same basic product split every major single-ply manufacturer offers under its own naming.

Does the rebrand affect existing roof warranties installed under the Firestone name?

The rebrand is a corporate and marketing change; it does not by itself void or alter a warranty already issued under the Firestone name. Any warranty question on an existing roof, including a partial-loss claim after a storm, should be confirmed directly against the specific warranty document on file rather than assumed from the current brand name.

What should we update in our master spec if it still references Firestone?

Replace the brand name with the current Elevate product name, UltraPly, RubberGard, or the fleece-backed recover line, and confirm the referenced thickness and reinforcement still match current manufacturer literature before the bid goes out.

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