Member Spotlight: Jennifer Rodriguez Builds the Southeast’s Fastest-Growing Polyurea Operation

When Jennifer Rodriguez left her corporate risk management career in 2019 to start Coastal Barrier Coatings in Jacksonville, Florida, more than a few colleagues questioned the decision. Seven years later, with 11 full-time employees, three spray rigs, and a client roster spanning from Miami to the Gulf Coast, Rodriguez is widely regarded as one of the most successful polyurea business builders in the American Polyurea Southeast Chapter.

Finding Polyurea Through a Hurricane

Rodriguez’s introduction to polyurea came through necessity. After Hurricane Michael in 2018, she watched neighboring businesses spend months and significant money repairing flood-damaged concrete structures that had failed largely due to inadequate waterproofing systems. “I saw the problem through a risk management lens,” she explained. “These weren’t catastrophic structural failures — they were preventable maintenance failures. And polyurea was the better solution that most contractors in the region weren’t using yet.”

She enrolled in a foundational polyurea applicator training program in early 2019, spent six months as a subcontractor to an established applicator to build field experience, and launched Coastal Barrier Coatings in late 2019. Her first year revenue was modest, but she focused on building quality work, documentation practices, and relationships with general contractors and engineers.

Growing Through Specialization

Rather than competing on price across all application categories, Rodriguez made a deliberate choice to specialize in storm water management and marine infrastructure applications — markets where her risk management background gave her credibility with institutional clients. “I can walk into a meeting with a county stormwater engineer and speak their language,” she said. “I understand their liability concerns, their specification requirements, their budget cycles. That makes the sales process very different.”

Her specialization strategy has been vindicated by results. Coastal Barrier Coatings has become a preferred vendor for stormwater infrastructure coatings with three Florida counties and one major port authority, and was recently selected as the primary polyurea contractor for a 10-year bridge maintenance program with a total contract value over $8 million.

Involvement with American Polyurea

Rodriguez joined American Polyurea in 2021 and has been an active Southeast Chapter member since, serving as the chapter’s Membership Chair for the past two years. She credits the organization with accelerating her professional development and business growth. “The network is invaluable,” she said. “Being able to call a member in Atlanta who’s already solved a problem I’m facing on a bridge job — that kind of peer knowledge saves enormous amounts of time and prevents mistakes.”

She also participates in the organization’s mentorship program and has personally mentored four newer applicators since 2022. “Giving back to the community that helped me build my business is a priority,” she said. “This industry is growing faster than the trained applicator pool, and that’s everyone’s problem to solve.”

Advice for New Applicators

Rodriguez’s advice for those new to the polyurea industry is direct: “Invest in your training before anything else. Don’t cut corners on education and certification. The technical complexity of this material is real, and clients in commercial and infrastructure work absolutely evaluate credentials.” She recommends exploring the education and training resources available through American Polyurea and getting certified before pursuing larger commercial contracts.

She also emphasizes the value of chapter involvement: “Find your regional chapter and show up. The relationships you build in those rooms will matter more than almost anything else you do in the early years of your business.” View chapter locations and connect with your regional network at our State Chapters & Regional Network page, and consider joining American Polyurea to access the full member community.