DOW invented TPO Roofing in the early 1990's.

TPO Roofing means “Thermalplastic Olefin” roofing. TPO membranes are made from ethylene propylene rubber, and are a combination of rubber and hot air welded seams. They are highly resistant to ozone, resist algae, environmentally friendly and safe to install. The material is commonly advertised as a monolithic (seamless) roof. TPO resists tears, impacts and punctures with good flexibility to allow for building movement. TPO's are available in white, light gray, and black with thicknesses of either 45 mils (.045") or 60 mils (.060"). The width of the membrane depends on the manufacturer but they usually come in widths of six to six-and-a-half feet and are 100 feet in length.

TPO Roofing is considered a fully-adhered roofing. In other words the roofing membrane is already attached to the substrate material with adhesive, thus it forms a strong chemical bond. TPO is highly heat reflective, fire resistant, and energy efficient. It also resists UV rays and dirt. TPO is also used in the automotive industry where it is known for impact resistance. Because of the potential for hail damage this same property is important in the roofing industry.

Another advantage of TPO, for the roofing contractor and manufacturers at least, is that there is a shift from some lower priced materials like EPDM to more expensive TPO materials. Commercial roofing sales reached $3.3 billion overall in 2007 with single-ply products being the largest segment. TPO has been taking more of that large share.

Because it's recyclable TPO is becoming more and more popular as the green movement grows. It can be recycled as a roofing material but also burned as a fuel. TPO will burn extremely clean with no toxic emissions when no flame retardants are present. It therefore has a high potential as a high energy fuel for waste-to-energy programs.

TPO roofs are categorized as “cool roofs.” A cool roof can be defined in many ways by people or by different municipal codes. But basically, a cool roof reflects and emits the sun’s heat back to the sky without allowing it to pass into the building or home. The more sun it reflects and emits, the cooler the roof. The Cool Roof Rating Council, CRRC, maintains an on line database of cool roof products. Be aware that while some TPO roofs score highly on the scale, some don't.

TPO roofing is the way to go for many .