Although she has only served on the Vinyl Siding Institute’s (VSI) Marketing Committee for a little more than a year, Liz Lipply makes clear that her company – American Original Building Products (part of Ferriot, Inc.) – has been a part of VSI for a long time.
“VSI has helped our industry achieve so much, that we felt it was time I got more involved,” Liz said. “Our Director of Sales & Marketing, Dave Harman, is on the VSI Board of Directors, so I followed his lead and joined the Marketing Committee.”
Liz has a strong background in B2B marketing raw chemicals and industrial products which spans over 25 years. American Original was her first foray into plastics, where she has worked since June 2015. Liz also owned a business selling architectural glass through window companies, architects, interior designers and kitchen designers.
“This was a great learning experience because it got me involved with NAHB [National Association of Home Builders] and local trade associations,” Liz explained.
Among her many successes with American Original Building Products and parent company, Ferriot, Liz has been successful with digital marketing campaigns, resulting in a $130 million spike in new sales opportunities.
During her tenure, web traffic has increased by 100% as a result of developing new websites, refreshing logos producing fresh content with new messaging and expanding the company’s online social media footprint. When the Marketing Committee Chair position became open, Liz was an ideal choice.
“I think I was asked to be chair because I spoke up a lot,” Liz said jokingly. “As chair, I want to foster a culture of open communication and idea-sharing. We have a lot of talent and experience on our committee and active participation will enhance our results. By engaging with VSI, our members and industry benefit, and our collective involvement enhances the return on investment.
"VSI has done an exceptional job on the marketing side over the years, especially regarding their work with Interrupt (VSI’s strategic and marketing partner]. Working together, we can continue to raise the bar."
As the new VSI Marketing Committee Chair, Liz sees two pillars of focus:
1) The association’s expansion and rebranding to PEPA (Polymeric Exterior Products Association)
2) The continuing work to improve public perceptions about vinyl siding.
“Plastic still does not have a good connotation,” Liz said. “Yet it’s used everywhere in our daily lives. It’s not just bottles and caps; there is so much going on with other materials. And as for our homes, the plastic we’ve used for years is the same plastic that was installed 20-30 years ago. It’s high-performance and can be reused to make even more beautiful and dynamic exteriors for the places that mean the most to us.”
Liz sees the PEPA expansion and the new Revinylize Recycling Collaborative as golden opportunities to improve significantly the common mindset about vinyl siding and polymeric products.
“VSI has helped us make so much progress in promoting vinyl siding as a sustainable solution,” Liz noted. “Consumers and tradespeople know we have an excellent product – it’s been the top-selling exterior for over two decades. These two ambitious initiatives could be powerful resources for us to tell our sustainability success story to a much larger audience.”
With so much consolidation that’s taken place, Liz recognizes that existing VSI members have other polymeric exterior products to sell.
“There are other VSI committees working on items that would benefit the other materials suppliers,” she said. “It’s really in their best interests to join, grow our membership under the new PEPA tent, and make us stronger as a united industry. I get that the PEPA expansion is a pretty big undertaking, but Kate (VSI President/CEO Offringa) and the VSI team have already gained a lot of traction in such a brief time.”
Liz is originally from Kent, Ohio and attended Kent State University where she played field hockey for two years before she – in her own words – “got real about school.” She enjoys the outdoors and loves boating. She lives in Cataba Island near Port Clinton in northwest Ohio.
Looking Ahead
Liz looks forward to attending VSI’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans in April. She’s also thrilled to be helping VSI in her new role to create greater awareness with contractors, inspectors, architects, anyone specifying products and consumers.
“Giving all these stakeholders a resource for building materials is a good thing, and I look forward to supporting our growth,” Liz said. “I am amazed at the work VSI does for the trade for being such a lean organization. Imagine what they can do with an expanded association that includes more products and more members!”
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Don Browne is a writer, entrepreneur and local legislator who believes that the power of words can change the world. He provides unique writing services for clients in the construction, health care, IT and hospitality sectors. He has a passion for small business and start-ups, as well as writing about Irish history, family and corporate biographies. As a homeowner and father of four who is passionate about community development, Don looks forward to writing more about the exciting possibilities of creating traditional neighborhoods and more sustainable communities using modern materials.
