For the Polymeric Exterior Products Association (PEPA), 2025 was another year of “firsts,” milestones and remarkable growth. And no one could be prouder than PEPA’s President & CEO, Kate Offringa. Consistent success bears new watersheds and accomplishments to recognize, and as Kate reported, 2025 is no exception.
“The #1 highlight is that 2025 was the first year we opened up new membership categories,” Kate said. “The polymeric roof product manufacturers (BRAVA, DaVinci and EcoStar) joined right away and I am thrilled with how quickly they integrated with PEPA. They got involved in committees and meaningful projects including ASTM product standards development and building code language development for the next cycle. Codes and standards are where everyone needs to start and the new members got right to it.”
To Kate, the progress of the new category members in their first year has been a very encouraging start. “It proves that our association model works. We want to build on that.”
PEPA wasted no time on this front – Kate was pleased to announce that PEPA has established a new membership category for distributors that will open on January 1, 2026.
Throughout this year of growth and change, the PEPA team continued to keep noses to the grindstone on existing initiatives and deliver success for the industry.
Product Certification Program Opens New Doors
In July, PEPA’s VSI Product Certification Program gained recognition from the National Building Code of Canada (NBC), significantly expanding the reach of the program. This year, the program was also expanded to allow multiple Certification Bodies (CBs), giving members flexibility to choose based on their needs. PEPA is collaborating with IAPMO and ICC-ES to onboard accredited CBs in 2026.
The Product Certification Program benefited from the addition of two new Technical Committee work groups this year. The Impact Testing Work Group was formed to investigate other impact methodologies beyond ASTM (such as ISO – International Organization for Standardization) to find better ways to measure product performance. And the Recycled Properties Work Group was established to determine ways to define physical properties for recycled rigid vinyl with consistency, which could lead to the creation of a standard for the viability of post-consumer materials.
Sustainability Footprint Expands
Speaking of recycling, the Revinylize Recycling Collaborative continues to grow both geographically and in measured metrics since it was launched by PEPA in December 2023. New verified locations have been added in Dallas, Denver and most recently, New Orleans.
“The New Orleans launch event last October represents the second consecutive year that we could introduce vinyl siding recycling to a new market while also working with community partners to support a local charity,” Kate mentioned. “This year, it was the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity that benefited from our Revinylize mission.”
In 2025, Revinylize set an ambitious goal of recycling 5 million pounds of post-consumer rigid vinyl before the end of the year. The growing collaborative surpassed the 5 million mark last June.
Revinylize also added two new “partners” this year: the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) and Denver-based Direct Polymers.
“Sustainability continues to be a top priority for PEPA, impacting all aspects of our mission,” Kate remarked. “And as we continue to increase new members and new member categories, we can make a stronger case for polymeric exteriors as a holistic solution for more eco-friendly homes.”
Code Development Win Streak Continues
The Code Development Work Group completed another successful round of code hearings last October, with 14 out of 16 proposals accepted. Among the big wins were the addition of the backed vinyl siding (ASTM D7445) category, a new alternative fastening table, and reinforced code recognition for starter strips and utility trims.
“We’ve invested many years in the code process and continue to score big wins for the industry thanks to the hard work from PEPA member staff (including supporting our team at the hearings). This also includes collaboration with our Technical Committee and our Installation Central Work Group,” Kate noted. “I believe we win because we don’t approach code development as a regulatory obligation, but as what [PEPA Senior Vice President] Matt Dobson refers to as a ‘powerful tool for installation success and performance.’”
Workforce Development Primed for New Educational Channels
The Certified Installer program continues to grow at a significant pace with registrants increasing from 12,500 to 14,000 this year. A new automation registration system for retention/recertification is proving efficient as retention rates have improved from 57% in 2023, to 83% in 2024, to 95+% in 2025.
The Installation Central Work Group has been working hard to update installation resources. The Building Code Reference Guide, which was updated to reflect the 2024 I-codes, was completed this year. In addition, the work group is in the process of making upgrades to PEPA’s most popular resource: the Installation Manual. This update will include alignment with updated building codes, important new details on critical installation best practices and a new section on polypropylene siding.
The immense progress of the Installation Central Work Group and the improvements to the online registration system in 2025 have been well-planned to set PEPA’s workforce development program up for future growth.
“This year, PEPA contracted with an education consultant to determine how the Certified Installer program and resources can be efficiently disseminated to other education outlets like community colleges and trade schools,” Kate said. “The research provides a clear path forward for implementation through the development of module options based on current existing collateral.”
To meet the growing demand, PEPA organized two “Train the Trainer” events this fall at two master trainer [PEPA member] locations in Ohio. “These are terrific opportunities to continue to build our trainer base further into our network, including trainers from distribution companies,” Kate said.
Industry Advocacy Extends Reach
This year, PEPA engaged in regulatory and legislative roofing matters for the first time.
“In Florida, we helped kill a bill which would have treated our members’ products unfairly as compared to other roofing materials,” Kate stated. “We also engaged with the Florida Insurance Commission on this same issue with the long-term goal of educating the state’s governing body on synthetic roofing materials. We plan to continue these efforts in 2026 in Florida, Colorado and California.”
PEPA continues to engage in Georgia, in particular assisting locally in legal matters where expert testimony is helpful. Recently, a city [Sandy Springs] legal effort to enforce an anti-vinyl siding ordinance was defeated using PEPA team member Matt Dobson’s expert testimony on fire safety.
Last May, Washington State became the eighth state to eliminate local municipal bans on vinyl siding and other modern materials, clearing the way for more economic growth, more affordable homebuilding and more sustainable communities. In 2025, PEPA also made positive strides in South Carolina for new legislation to be introduced in 2026, including hosting state legislators at an educational plant tour.
“The fact that we are achieving legislative reform in a west coast state while continuing to make progress on the east coast speaks volumes about the strength of our advocacy efforts,” Kate noted.
A Total Team Effort
2025 was another banner year of major project executions and significant milestones for PEPA. And Kate continues to be in awe of all the great work being done by PEPA staff in cooperation with a board of directors and a very proactive membership in what she dubs “a total team effort.”
Of note, the marketing team undertook a major overhaul of the association website to incorporate new members and messaging while continuing to support all the work described above with communications activities and collateral development.
“While all this fundamental change is going on, our staff continues to keep regular work going and delivering wins for the industry,” Kate emphasized. “I am so grateful that our board puts their trust in me and in our team. We also appreciate how our members are true partners when it comes to working with PEPA and putting the industry first.”
With a winning formula and the right pieces and partners in place, Kate looks forward to more growth and more milestones in 2026.
“We have a terrific story to tell about durable, high-performance products that are designer-friendly, installer-friendly, eco-friendly and wallet-friendly,” she said. “With a membership committed to non-stop continuous improvement, the polymeric exteriors industry is going to be more difficult to beat.”