J. Fred Gooding harbored a dream of starting his own roofing company. In 1946 his dream was realized. After living and working in Philadelphia for nine years, he came home one evening and told his wife and children that they were moving to Lancaster County. He turned in his company car, bought a ladder and followed this dream. Without a car, Fred Gooding walked, hitchhiked and took the trolley from one end of Lancaster County to the other establishing relationships with local people and businesses. Very quickly, he had roofing work but needed help with sheet metal fabrication. Fritz Mackes joined Fred Gooding as a sheet metal foreman and partner. After WWII, Fred's brother-in-law, Bill Simpson, returned to Lancaster. Bill's vehicle was offered to the fledgling company in exchange for his becoming a partner in the company now known as Gooding, Simpson, & Mackes, Inc. Because of J. Fred Gooding's vision and the hard work of those three men, the foundation was laid for the next generation. Today Gooding, Simpson, & Mackes, Inc. is one of the largest and most respected roofing contractors of Central Pennsylvania, with its main office located in Ephrata.

The reputation of Gooding, Simpson, & Mackes, Inc. has been built on dedication to quality workmanship; as a result, we have earned the respect of major manufacturers. Due to our fine work ethic, we have become approved Master Contractors for Butler, Carlisle, Firestone, GAF, Tremco and others.

Our goal is to provide customers with the resources to meet and exceed their roofing requirements. We are experienced in providing specialty applications including slate, tile, copper, stainless steel and other metal applications in addition to conventional systems.

Today we have a year round staff of approximately 100 employees; 20 office personnel, 65 roofing and sheet metal mechanics and 15 service mechanics who perform leak investigation and repair. Gooding, Simpson, & Mackes, Inc. prides itself on exceptional customer service and prompt response time in reacting to our customer's needs.

Since 1946 we have been changing the expectations of the roofing industry; today we look forward to exceeding yours.


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