A vision for the built environment

By Jenny Yu.  

At IRE, AWIP showcases innovative building solutions and purposeful partnerships. 

All Weather Insulated Panels (AWIP) is bringing engineering-driven innovation to the forefront of commercial construction, and that was on full display at the 2026 International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas. Charles Schafer, AWIP’s Eastern region sales manager, shared how insulated metal panels are reshaping building performance, timelines and partnerships. 

With more than 20 years in the construction industry and a background in engineering, Charles brings a technical lens to customer conversations. “I’m an engineer by education, and I’ve handled products and marketing, sustainability — a lot of different roles throughout my career with AWIP,” he said. “In a sense, I’m an engineer that likes to communicate.” 

Charles explained the AWIP’s core offerings: insulated metal panels designed as a single-step building envelope solution. “We sell insulated metal panels, which are two roll form skins that come together, and there’s a chemical reaction that fills the core of the panels,” Charles illustrated. “Our panels are a single-step all-in-one panel that goes from the structure out and handles your air, vapor, wind and water barrier and thermal barrier.” 

This streamlined approach is gaining traction as contractors address labor shortages and increased competition. “Instead of up to seven steps for a traditional buildout, it’s a single step, single pass on the building,” he explained. “In today’s world where you have scarcity of labor and aggressive timelines, we’re seeing a significant increase in the usage of our product.” 

At IRE, AWIP showcased its technology through an interactive, two-story booth experience, complete with a VR headset that enabled participants to “walk through” buildings and designs utilizing AWIP products. On display was AWIP’s latest foam system, InnovaCell™. “It’s an industry-leading R value, closed-cell foam that handles your vapor, wind, water and thermal barrier. It’s an all-encompassing system,” Charles shared. “Our DM40-F+ panel can give you an R64 with a one-hour UL fire rating, which is first of its kind.” 

Beyond AWIP’s innovative products, Charles emphasized collaboration. “At AWIP, we’re really about partnership and helping find solutions for the built environment,” Charles said. “We like to innovate and we like to partner.” 

Watch the interview to learn more about AWIP’s newest solutions!