Pamela Toledo does it all. In addition to juggling five kids between the ages of five and 14, she and her husband, Roberto, own and operate Nova Insulation, an insulation contractor based in Houston.

Toledo and her husband founded Nova Insulation in 2003 with the goal of creating more personal relationships with builders in the Houston-area, matched with a commitment to providing fair and reliable service. Nova Insulation further expanded its footprint following Hurricane Katrina, recognizing an opportunity to help rebuild the community. And their efforts have paid off—Nova Insulation has tripled its revenue after 15 years in business.

“We quickly realized that not only were we able to offer faster and more reliable service, we were building loyalty throughout the area and truly engraining ourselves into the Houston community,” says Toledo.

A Company That Works

Nova Insulation specializes in insulation (fiberglass, mineral wool and spray foam) installation: fireplace installation and poly seal for single family homes, multi-family homes and commercial projects. Nova partners with Johns Manville for all of their insulation needs, Hearth & Home for fireplaces and Tytan for sealants.

One current project that stands out for Toledo is a new apartment complex by Eagle Point Builders in Mont Belvieu, Texas. Nova is providing Johns Manville batt insulation for the 8,000 square-foot structure and installing blown rock wool in between floors.

Toledo’s commitment to first-rate service means that she’s ingrained in every aspect of the business—she handles everything including human resources, receptionist duties, invoicing, scheduling jobs, training, sales and marketing. She enjoys the fast-paced environment and opportunity to build relationships throughout her community, plus, being bilingual gives her an advantage in connecting with industry peers. The strong relationships with her customers and respect from employees enable Nova Insulation to offer next-day service in most circumstances.

Toledo adds, “I pride myself on being flexible, often bending over backward to fulfill a customer need, even if it’s outside our usual scope of work.”

Commitment to Health and Safety

With a background in nursing studies, Toledo is committed to ensuring that employees are properly trained and are utilizing the latest safety practices and equipment. Her spray foam team is certified by Johns Manville TechConnect. The training provides skills that not only protect installers from risks on the job but ensure that JM products are installed properly and yield the maximum coverage.

A strong understanding of how insulation can impact indoor air quality and overall home comfort allows Toledo to provide smart direction to customers on what products or services will work best within their space.

Employee Commitment

Employees are the backbone of Nova Insulation and Toledo has implemented many practices that promote longevity. She continually looks for opportunities to balance workloads between the crews to keep it fair, pays extra when jobs are difficult, offers yearly bonuses and some paid holidays, created an employee loyalty program that awards employees, and last but not least, wraps up each week with “Fajita Friday.”

She aims to keep her team at a sustainable size to account for any work fluctuation, enabling her to keep everyone on staff during slower time periods, and while Nova Insulation has experienced ups and downs due to various labor challenges and changing builder budgets, Toledo is committed to serving customers with the same fairness and respect with which she started the company.

Nova Insulation is always on the lookout for ways to actively give back to the community. During Hurricane Harvey, Toledo offered free installations for elderly homes that flooded, cleaned out debris from impacted buildings and gave free insulation to employees and customers for their personal homes. Outside of the office, Toledo actively gives back to the American Red Cross and donates her time to her children’s schools.

“At Nova Insulation, we pride ourselves on bringing quality service to the industry beyond the balance sheet,” says Toledo. “We go above and beyond to fulfill customer needs, even at times where it doesn’t yield a profit, because we know that long-term relationships and honesty always win business in the long-term.”

Toledo’s long-term goal is to expand and open additional branches in other Texas markets, like San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. She hopes this will enable her to continue building a business that allows for growth from within.