Elevate is the current operating name for what was Firestone Building Products before the Holcim acquisition, and the product catalog familiar to roofing contractors under the Firestone name, including RubberGard EPDM and UltraPly TPO, continues under the Elevate brand with the same underlying manufacturing behind it. We note the naming history in submittals since some older warranty documents and specification references still carry the Firestone name.
RubberGard is Elevate's EPDM line, available in black and reflective white formulations across ballasted, mechanically attached, and fully adhered attachment methods. UltraPly is the company's TPO product line, covering the standard and heavier-gauge thicknesses that come up across commercial and institutional specifications. Elevate also produces a modified bitumen line and polyisocyanurate insulation products designed to pair with their membrane systems.
Because the underlying manufacturing and technical support infrastructure carried over through the ownership change, product performance data and testing history for these lines extends back through the Firestone years, which is relevant when reviewing older warranty documentation on an existing roof being evaluated for recover or replacement rather than assuming a fresh start every single time a roof changes hands between different owners.
RubberGard's ballasted configuration has a long history on wide-span industrial and warehouse decks in this region, including some of the older manufacturing buildings near Macon's rail and industrial corridors, where ballast weight and structural capacity were already part of the original design. UltraPly TPO in its reflective white formulation addresses the UV and heat-gain conditions typical of Middle Georgia's long summer season on more recently constructed distribution and retail buildings.
Wind-uplift design for either product line follows the same engineering process regardless of manufacturer, accounting for the gust fronts that come with Middle Georgia's frequent summer thunderstorm activity and the heavier, sustained rainfall that trails a tropical system's remnant moving inland from either the Gulf or the Atlantic coast during the late summer months.
Existing warranties issued under the Firestone Building Products name remain administered by the company now operating as Elevate, and we advise owners with older Firestone-labeled warranty paperwork to keep that documentation on file rather than assuming the name change affects coverage. New projects specified going forward carry Elevate branding on all technical and warranty documentation.
Owners evaluating a roof for a recover or tear-off sometimes hand us warranty paperwork that still says Firestone Building Products, and the first step in that review is confirming the assembly and product designation on the original document, since attachment method and membrane thickness both affect whether a recover option is viable regardless of which brand name appears on the paper or how old the file itself looks.
Elevate's polyisocyanurate insulation products, carried over from the Firestone catalog, are designed to pair with RubberGard and UltraPly membranes as a coordinated assembly, and specifying insulation and membrane from the same manufacturer generally simplifies the warranty review compared to mixing insulation and membrane brands. On reroof projects where existing insulation is being reused, we confirm current compatibility guidance before finalizing the specification, since guidance can be updated independent of the membrane product itself.
Cover board selection matters on distribution and manufacturing buildings with a dense rooftop mechanical package, since a denser board improves impact resistance at the membrane surface and gives the deck extra protection from construction-phase foot traffic before the membrane goes down. We specify cover board thickness alongside membrane gauge rather than treating either as a default line item, particularly on buildings where the mechanical schedule shows several rooftop units clustered together in one bay and technicians walk the same narrow paths repeatedly.
Submittal packages referencing Elevate products draw from the manufacturer's current published technical data, which now carries Elevate branding even where product names like RubberGard and UltraPly continued unchanged through the transition.
Elevate is the current operating name for the same manufacturing organization following its acquisition by Holcim; product lines like RubberGard and UltraPly continued under new branding.
Existing warranties remain administered by the company operating as Elevate, and we recommend owners retain original documentation regardless of which brand name appears on it.
Yes, both product lines continue under the Elevate brand, and we reference current published data sheets when specifying them.
Certification programs continue to be administered by the manufacturer under its current name, and we confirm our registration status against current program requirements for any project specifying Elevate products.
It comes up most often on reroof and recover projects over existing ballasted EPDM systems, while new construction more frequently specifies TPO, though the choice depends on the specific project's requirements and the structural capacity the existing deck actually has for ballast weight and long-term maintenance access.
