Foaming the American Dream

Spray Foam Magazine – Many people have chosen to carve their future out of foam, but some journeys have been a tougher road to walk. The Spray Foam Magazine team (SFMT) spoke with Uriel Rodriguez, owner of New Generation Spray Foam, LLC, about his journey into foam and how it’s making his dreams, and others, come true.

Moving from Michoacán, Mexico in 2004, Uriel had a dime in his pocket and a dream as his feet touched down on American soil. He didn’t know a word of English and took his first job as a dishwasher in a restaurant. His cousin was working in fiberglass insulation and wanted Uriel to go and work at the company. 

Uriel reminisces, “I was always nervous to go and work in insulation but then my wife got pregnant with our youngest daughter. We now have three daughters whose ages are 13, 11, and 8. I lost my job as a dishwasher due to the restaurant closing during a bad economy, so I had no choice but to go and work for the insulation company.”

Uriel started working at the insulation company as a driver and helper. After his first day there, he told his then boss that he liked the job and after three months of hard work, he was running the spray foam department. After working there for eight years and achieving the correct spray foam certifications, he decided he wanted to work as his own boss and opened his own company in Athens, Georgia. He’s been very successful, and he attributes some of that success to the connections he has made with manufacturers, techs, Spray Foam WorldWide, and other company owners. After only one year in business, he bought his second rig and now at his two-year anniversary, he has just purchased his third rig.

One of Uriel’s favorite projects is an unusually shaped house that resembles a cattle-shed. He explains, “I really helped the owner out as so many contractors had been unreliable, promising to do the work and then never completing it. Two other insulation companies had turned down the project thinking it was too hard to do as the shape is unusual. The woman has two daughters, and they were living in a small space until their house was ready. I felt bad, I really wanted to help them out so they could move in.”  

Uriel and his crew first sprayed two inches of AccuFoam closed-cell foam and then applied four inches of open-cell over the top of that. They sprayed the metal roof in addition to the walls. This project was to help insulate as well as provide the sound dampening qualities for the building, which was important to the homeowner.

Uriel used his Boss 2 Gun System which he is extremely proud of, “I have two systems. Profoam started the Boss System for me, and I have not had a single issue with it. For me, this has been a game changer. We can knock out jobs quicker and be home faster and make more money. I have a simple Graco GH2 machine and then we added the Boss System to that machine. In six months, I then added another Boss system to a PMC machine. I think I am the first one in the United States that had that system on the PMC machine. A few industry experts checked it over and said that it was all good, one of which was Ted Medford of Profoam.”

Uriel has been using the Boss 2 Gun System for a year and has been very happy with the results, stressing, “You don’t even need to spend all that money having two machines, two pumps, or a bigger trailer for a time saving result,” said Uriel.

Uriel has a total of six people working for him full-time most of whom came from a poultry factory. He trained them every day for 18 months and now it’s been six months since Uriel has retired the gun to dedicate himself to sales.

Uriel is thankful for the United States stating, “I would not be the person I am now if I had stayed in my country. There was no opportunity for me there. We live in a country where if you work for what you want, you can achieve great things. I like to help people too, and when I see other companies that are suffering for labor, I was helping get their jobs done. It helped my company survive during tough times.”

Uriel’s family and friends in Mexico are very proud of him and the success he has made in the United States. He has not forgotten his country and even supports a soccer team over there, “I grew up in the very poor part of the town and I used to play soccer on the local team there. We had no soccer outfits or shoes and used to play in bare feet. So, as soon as I started bringing the money in, I supported my team over there by sending them their uniforms.”

Additionally, Uriel’s wife, Adilene Peralta, dreamed of owning her own ice cream business and Uriel also made her dream come true by buying her a business. Uriel really has gone out of his way to make others happy. Whether it be helping competitors when they have a labor shortage or getting their equipment fixed, training people to start a new career in SPF, outfitting his old soccer team, or making his wife’s dream a reality, he’s doing what he can to make other people’s lives more content.

In just two years, Uriel has built a two-million-dollar company with aspirations to develop this into a 50-million-dollar business in the next ten years. He points out that certain people have really helped him achieve his ambition, “The owner of Profoam, Ted Medford, has helped me tremendously. My first rig had an issue with its axle and was out of commission and I thought I wouldn’t be able to work. Ted let me borrow his rig just so I could keep working on my projects. He doesn’t treat me like competition, he tells me all the time that he wants success for me and helps me where he can. He’s a great guy.

Also, I have to mention, Lauren Meyers from UPC Foam. She was the first sales rep who sold me foam. Originally a lot of people didn’t want to sell me foam as the guy I used to work for is a big name and people were worried about losing his business. Lauren was great, saying, ‘I’m here to support you and will sell you the foam.’ In turn, I try to be good to people too. That good always finds its way back to you.”

In recent challenging times of a pandemic and political unrest, many of us have grown weary and mistrustful of the “American Dream.” People like Uriel are there to remind us that it still exists. A dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each. ‘Where each man and woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.’ Make no mistake, the American Dream is very much alive and kicking, and in Uriel’s case, the spray foam industry helped that dream become his reality.  

For use by SprayFoamMagazine.com & Spray Foam Magazine