FORT GIBSON — All sorts of businesses are willing to stand by their products, but people at BRB Roofing and Manufacturing are willing to stand and work under theirs.

The roof over the BRB offices, on U.S. 62 east of Fort Gibson, is made of 175 steel 8-foot by 18-inch panels crimped together to guard against moisture.

This process not only enabled the business to grow over the past 33 years, but also win several awards for its patented process of replacing flat roofs.

BRB has won several Best Re-Roof of the Year awards from the trade magazine Metal Construction News. Winning projects included the Polk County Courthouse in Missouri, Marshall Elementary and Patrick Henry Elementary schools in Tulsa.

“We re-roof schools, churches, court buildings, prisons, and we’re starting to develop new products,” company president Benny Briggs said. “And we’ve had more repeat customers than ever.”

Going with the motive of “no more flat roofs,” BRB puts new, slanting metal roofs on buildings.

Doss Briggs, vice president of operations, said flat roofs have a potential to weaken under too much rain or snow.

“It’s like building a swimming pool on top of the building then poking holes in it,” he said.

Flat roofs covered with black tar also tend to get hotter than sloped metal roofs, which reflect heat and light, BRB officials said.

Benny Briggs said a sloped metal roof “updates and modernizes a facility.”

One way the metal roofs improve the look is by offering a rainbow of colors. A warehouse stores coils in maroon, hunter green, white, bright blue, all sorts of colors.

Benny Briggs said the coils enable workers to build the roof right at the construction site. The coiled steel, which is about 16 to 18 inches wide, is stretched over the sloped roof frame in panels. The panel seams are crimped together to guard against precipitation and moisture.

Briggs also attributed the company’s success to loyal, hard-working employees. The company has about 100 people on staff.

“We have long-term employees interested in the quality of the product they turn out,” he said. “They are around long enough that people can see and appreciate the value we can provide.”

He said the Fort Gibson, Muskogee and Braggs area has been the perfect place to find good workers.