Ottie Bloxsom (known to most as simply OM) started Bloxsom Roofing in the year 1925. Our founder was a strong hard working man; as a young man working as a logger. It was while he was in a logging camp that he contracted The Spanish Flu. Seeing others being warehoused in a make shift tent/hospital he was befriended by the logging cook, who used him as an assistant (not exactly the place to put an infectious person) keeping him from going to the “death tent.”

For a time he delivered furniture and groceries around and between Big Rapids and Grand Rapids basically doing what he could to put a meal on the table. One day he was asked to repair a roof, one project lead to another, thus Bloxsom Roofing was born.

As his four sons came of age they began working for their father. Then in the mid 50’s two sons moved north and opened a branch in Traverse City. OM retired during the 60’s, the company moved and consolidated all interest to Traverse City where it remains today. OM’s last sons remained with Bloxsom Roofing until retirement, leaving our founders three grandsons at the helm. In recent years two of the grandsons have retired. Today, Craig A. Bloxsom (3rd Generation) and Jason E. Bloxsom (4th Generation) have been entrusted with this family owned business.

Just as our family business has evolved, so has the roofing industry. “Hot Tar” (coal tar pitch, asphalt and bitumen) ruled as king over the commercial and low sloped residential market for many years. Some 50 years ago the market began to change with the introduction of the “Single Ply Roof Membrane”, EPDM, PVC, TPO, an alphabet soup of letters representing a new wave of roofing. As with any innovations some worked but needed to be tweaked, other products were a disaster. As a responsible roofing contractor we are challenged with keeping up with market changes without exposing our valued customers to under-performing roofing products.