Dave Beiler - Equip your Company in 2024 - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Dave Beiler of Equipter. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts, to on the road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. So fasten your seat belts, and join us as we embark on this exciting roofing road trip.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello, and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from Roofers Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth, and today on this podcast, we're going to talk about one of my favorite topics, equipment. I love equipment, tools, trucks, trailers, you name it. But one of the coolest pieces of equipment that you can have in roofing is the Equipter. So we have asked Dave Beiler of Equipter to join us today, and talk about some of their new innovations, and what's going on in this world. So Dave, welcome to the show.

Dave Beiler: Thank you, Heidi. It is good to be here again. Thanks for having us on.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love this topic. I feel like maybe I should say with your dad, I've grown up in the business together. We've watched the Equipter come to the forefront of the industry, and all the great things you've done for many, many years. So let's start out with an introduction. If you can, introduce yourself, and let's hear a little bit about Equipter and its history.

Dave Beiler: Absolutely. Well, you already mentioned it. We are a family run business. My dad, he's the original owner and inventor of Equipter. And again, my name is Dave, and there's a couple of us sons that are involved. Yeah. So we manufacture equipment and you could say some special technologies. We specialize in the towable, drivable features in most of our equipment. And that's really what we're all about is innovative equipment to help contractors do their jobs more efficiently, safer and cleaner.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Really revolutionized the industry when the Equipter came out, because people just weren't used to that type of equipment. So talk to us a little bit about the actual Equipter, and how contractors are using it on the job, and how it revolutionized how contractors do tear offs and reroof.

Dave Beiler: Yeah. Exactly Heidi. For years, the method was either more hands to carry the debris, or a tarp, or get your trailer, or dump truck, or whatever you can, as close as you can, where about 20 years ago, we came out with the idea of having a mobile trailer, a drivable trailer. And that's what really has revolutionized I would say roofing and general construction as a whole, just in the concept of being able to get your container closer to where the crew is working, closer to where the debris is at. So you're not having to double handle, or throw it on the ground, and drag a tarp. And yeah. That's really what has changed it. And then of course with the lifting feature of our primary model, which is a 4000, lifts up to the roof edge. And just so many different ways that you can use it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah. And because I think for a long time, contractors thought, "We'll just tear off," but no. When you think about loading the roof, I know in certain areas, distribution loads the roof, but there's a lot of areas, and a lot of times, the distribution can't do that. And to be able to load the roof, it's a safety. It's production. It makes things so much faster.

Dave Beiler: Well, think about it. Yeah. If you can have 1 piece of equipment either contain, or catch 4,000 pounds, or lift 4,000 pounds of material, or debris, rather than having one guy take 70 or 100 pounds at a time, it's obviously way safer and it's also way more efficient.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah. It really works. So the Equipter 4000 has been a standard in the industry. I talk to contractors all the time who are like, "We have our Equipters. We love them. We're going to get another one." They have one with their crew, but you were looking at some new technologies, I would say the next level up, that is pretty exciting. And tell us a little bit about this.

Dave Beiler: Yeah. We're super excited about this next level up as you said. I think it's well-worded, which is again, like you said, the 4000 has been our staple product for years, and really, I don't see that necessarily changing in the sense of its application, and how well it fits the roofing industry. Our newest model, the 7000 is just that. It's the next level up, takes things to the next level in, well, for one, in its lifting height. So it goes higher, goes twice as high as the 4000. And yeah. We're super excited. It's got a lot of new technology that the 4000 doesn't have. So we're super excited about this newest product that just hit the market.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Well, I have to tell you, along with equipment, I love technology. So talk to me a little bit. What are some of the new technology that they're going to see in the 7000?

Dave Beiler: Yeah. So on the 7000, one of the coolest features I will say is that it comes with a container, a debris container, just similar to the 4000, has those lids that open up, which again is amazing for catching debris. But one of the coolest features with this 7000 is that it's interchangeable now with forks. You could take the debris container off, and put forks on it. And then it becomes your material handler that then you can lift materials up to the roof. And I would say that's one of the coolest features of this. With the I don't know if I mentioned the height, but it lifts up. With the debris container, it lifts up to 25 feet.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Dave Beiler: So that's to the floor of the bed. With the fork attachment, they'll lift up to 23 feet. So that's what we're projecting for this. Again, it's brand new. It's in the testing phase as we speak here. So it's coming out in a sense, but we're super excited.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so great. Well, let's talk a little bit about use cases, because we're both going to be at the International Builders' Show. We're going to be there with our sound stage, and you're going to have a booth. And I'm really thinking about the amount of builders and commercial contractors that could also be using the Equipter. When it can go that high, 25 feet, now we're talking about being able to do some interior demolition removal, where you're able to do a lot of different things, right?

Dave Beiler: Yeah. Exactly. The sky's the limit, really. And actually, one of the technologies I did forget to mention, which is standard in most of our equipment, is the towable aspect and then drivable. So think of it in this way to where up till now, in order to transport let's say your telehandler, you had to put it on a bigger trailer, or a semi-trailer, or whatever could handle your telehandler, to where now you have the option to tow it behind your truck. And that's the exciting part of this, even for let's say a GC to where now you have a container, or you have a fork option, and either one of these options, you can just tow directly to your next job site, and within minutes have it disconnected from your truck, and maneuvering on the job site, to now lift up your materials or bring debris down. So just, yeah. So many different use case. Yeah, just like you said, remodeling, GC, any type of where you're handling material or debris.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. It's not just the roof anymore people. It is everything.

Dave Beiler: That's right.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And I know that's been the case. I know a lot of contractors are using it. Remodelers have been using the Equipter. It's just an opportunity, also new construction. It's an opportunity to be able to really remove things from the interior in such an easier way along with exterior, obviously.

Dave Beiler: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. It changes the game there where now you're able to lift a pallet of sheeting, or lift your windows, whatever you need to. The sky's the limit there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. We have so many contractors who have differentiated their business. In fact, I had a podcast yesterday with a contractor out of Oregon who does all exteriors on these huge, beautiful, custom homes, and it's just the right equipment to have to be able to do roofing, siding, windows, doors, whatever you might need when you need that help, either getting things there or taking it off, and replacing it.

Dave Beiler: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. That is really cool. So let's talk a little bit about safety, because in our industry, safety is number one. We have fall protection, all of these areas where we work so hard. We're contractors, I should say. Roofing companies work so hard to make sure all of their people go home safe every night. How can the Equipter-

Dave Beiler: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ...help contractors on the safety front?

Dave Beiler: Yeah. Well, there's a couple things there, Heidi, and I totally agree with you. It's so important that we all work safer. And one of the things we have heard over the years with the 4000, and I would say even now with the 7000, even more so with its higher lift height is, when you're able to get your debris container or your materials closer to the work area, obviously that saves everyone. One is to have to not carry the material further than you need to, which eliminates the strain on your body. And especially if you're talking roofing, the less you have to walk on a pitched roof, the better. And just the idea of being able to get your materials, or your debris, and around the debris idea too, where you have your containment system right up to the roof edge, obviously makes that work area a lot safer.

If you're working on a 2, 3, 4 story roof, if you're able to get your containment system closer to the roof edge, obviously it's safer for everyone. So yeah. I would say in the safety aspect, that's really what we've seen. And with that as well for let's say the homeowner, or if you're working in an apartment complex with being able to contain the debris at the work area instead of having it all fall down, it's safer for the people on the ground. So multiple things there that we've heard over the years, and again, really excited with the 7000 release of how it does affect job site safety.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. And when I think about it, even getting safety equipment up on the roof-

Dave Beiler: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ...when you think about prepping the roof with all the safety equipment, making sure obviously everybody has their harnesses on before they head up, but then there's a lot of work to make sure everything gets there. That can all be lifted also, and staged, which I think could help a lot.

Dave Beiler: Exactly. If you're able to lift that to the roof rather than everyone have to carry their bucket, and ropes, and everything up the ladder make a big difference.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. It really does. And we always talk about Grandma's roses. Now, that may sound weird, but Grandma's roses used to get battered by shingles coming down. And that is one of the things when you're talking about a homeowner protecting their yard, protecting all of their foliage around the yard, protecting pets and little children too. Let's be honest. Hopefully little kids aren't out there, but those are some of the things-

Dave Beiler: Exactly.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ...that this does.

Dave Beiler: It is yeah. And that's the thing, even in the roofing industry that we actually set out to do years ago, was to elevate the industry in a sense of there's so many industries that have cool technology, and have all the right equipment and tools to use. And it's felt for years, or it had felt for years, "We're roofing. Okay." I think there have been some good things, but I think that's one of the things that we're excited about to continue to innovate. And I love the innovation we're seeing in the roofing industry, just in software, and different technologies that I think is definitely elevating the industry. And that's when you're talking about even presentations to homeowners, you're saying, "Hey. We've invested in the right equipment. We have the right software to do this well." And again, it's one of those things that can elevate the professionalism of all of us if we use it in our sales pitch. And then obviously when we're doing that project, or that roof, the homeowner, the neighbors see, "Wow. They've done well to invest in the right equipment to do the same project."

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You bring up a great point. And I think this goes back to that 7000 too in that when contractors invest in their business, whether it's technology, equipment, people, however they do that, they need to talk about it. They need to talk about it in their sales presentations, in their communications, in their marketing, because homeowners want to know that. They want to know, "Grandma's roses are going to be safe, because we invest in the right equipment to keep your home."

Dave Beiler: That's right. Yeah. They don't know what they don't know. And again, you don't have to do it in a bragging way as much as, "This is our certifications, our qualifications and this is the equipment that we use." It's all helps again elevate your company, elevate your image and set the bar for the industry that I think as a consumer I would appreciate by hearing that.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Exactly. Those are the things that make a difference to me-

Dave Beiler: Absolutely. Same here.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ...and the fact how easily you're cleaning up the job site and leaving it pristine. I think that's all important. One of the things too that I've loved to watch with Equipter over the last couple years, and maybe it's longer than that, is your rental program. I think through your rental program, you have made this accessible to so many additional roofing companies out there.

Dave Beiler: Yeah. That's right.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Can you tell everybody about your rental program?

Dave Beiler: Yeah. So I totally agree. It's been a great opportunity to see a lot more contractors getting their hands on the equipment by being able to rent it by the day, or by the week, or by the month. Some guys will opt to rent it for a roofing season. And I think that's a great way to get your hands on it, to get the benefits of it, and minimize the investment. And yeah. There are companies all across the US, rental companies all over the US that are renting, and I would say very specifically the 4000. It's been our staple product for years now. So yeah. That you can find on equipter.com. There's a Find a Rental, and it'll give you all the locations nearest you, that you can find, that have primarily the 4000 for rent at this point.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. I think that it's a great way to try it out, to see how it works for your business, and then make that step into purchasing and getting. And there's a lot of incentives out there too to buy equipment now for companies, and be able to get some tax benefits. Talk to your tax accountant. I'm not one, but I think that's important. And Dave, I'd like to just hit on real quick, I think there's a lot. We have seen a total shift in the industry of contractors and especially residential contractors who are utilizing and working very well with sub crews. And there may be some contractors out there right now who are thinking, "Well, I have crews, and they're doing them. I don't need to buy this equipment." But I think one of the things we should talk about is there is a battle. There's a labor shortage, and there's a battle for crews. So those companies that do have the Equipter I think would be more attractive to crews out there. What have you seen?

Dave Beiler: Absolutely. And I appreciate you bringing that up, because I was going to try to mention that. Yes. We have seen that multiple times, and from multiple contractors that there's a couple ways. One, and we already touched on it, is the professionalism, having the equipment. And however you need to implement that equipment onto your job site, whether it's providing it to your subcontractor, or having a job site supervisor, however, we've heard guys implement it different ways. The one thing that I've very specifically heard as well, and you would hear this from Jason from Eustis Roofing, he mentions primarily how it's helped him to keep his better crews, or retain the crews that he's looking for. And you touched on that a little bit, that by providing the right equipment to even your sub crews, it enables you to retain them, and they'll like to work for you, because you're providing the equipment.

So there's a couple of things like that that we have heard that, again, I think in a way, we do need to get over that mindset of just selling the job, and collecting the money. It's like, "Well, what's in between there? There's still that. The job needs to be done. How is it getting done? And it's actually important that it's done well, and let's not neglect the tear off process, and just think that, 'Well, I don't care how it gets done,' because it does matter for safety, and for professionalism." And yeah. I would say there's things like that that we've seen that the Equipter has, again, has elevated the game, and contractors are finding innovative ways to implement it even with their subcontractors.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Exactly. And I am going to put a little clause in here. Just like I said, talk to your tax accountant. Always talk to your construction law lawyer, and make sure that you're following all the 1099, and all the rules properly, but having the right equipment, and being responsible for your crews is only the right thing to do. And...

Dave Beiler: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ...Equipter lets you do that...

Dave Beiler: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ...safety and production. Yeah.

Dave Beiler: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay. So the 7000, let's talk about that. So the 7000 is going to be released soon. Let's talk about when is it going to be released, and how can contractors get in line?

Dave Beiler: Yes. Okay. So currently, we're shooting for production in 2025. So it's coming up. And at this point, they're available for pre-order. So if you go on equipter.com, go to the 7000 product page, you'll see you can go in there, and pre-order it. Get on the list for a unit. And that currently is where we're at. We're really excited this year to do some testing validation, and we love what we see already. It's been in the engineering pipeline and process for over 5 years now.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Dave Beiler: So, we've put a lot of time, and energy, innovation into this product and we're super excited to get it out and have it on job sites. So yes, coming up in 2025 is a current production window. You can pre-order it today.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is amazing. Will it be available as a rental?

Dave Beiler: Great question. The short answer is yes. And I'll say that with, we've had a lot of interest from rental companies already that are really excited about providing this in their rental fleets. So yes. It will be available for rent.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Perfect. Well, everyone can follow this, because we're going to be reporting on it. We're going to be talking about it. So watch Roofers Coffee Shop, the Equipter directory to find out how this is going, how some of the use cases are going this year with the testing, but then also get that pre-order in. One of the things, Dave, that I think is really important for contractors to do this year is stop by the Equipter booth at your local trade show, at whatever shows you're at, and talk about this, that you can, if you want a little chance to get more information, to talk to your sales rep before you get on that pre-order list. I know that Equipter will be at the International Builders' Show. Dave, I'm pretty sure I always see you at Florida, Western States. You're everywhere.

Dave Beiler: Yeah. We'll be there. We'll be there. And if you can't find us, obviously you can find us at equipter.com. Give us a call again. Yeah. We'd love to chat with you. We're all about roofing. We're all about construction, and we just love the industry. We love chatting with our customers and new customers. So yeah. Give us a call. Send us an email. Find us at a trade show.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. That is perfect. So for everybody out there, please check out the Equipter directory. Watch for the 7000. You can get to their website there. You can get all the information, and we will keep you abreast on what is happening. Any last words, Dave?

Dave Beiler: Not other than thanks so much for having me on here, Heidi. It's always good. And yeah. We're so looking forward to this coming year, and yeah. Wishing everyone all the best, and we'll talk to you soon.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. Thank you so much for being on the show. We love Equipter, love hearing about what's going on, and we're going to be excited to see the 7000 come out. So thank you again.

Dave Beiler: Absolutely. Awesome.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And thank all of you for listening. This is great. Stay tuned. You're going to want this equipment for your business. Like I said, it will be available to check out. For more information on the Equipter, directory on Roofers Coffee Shop, be sure to also check out all of our podcasts, underneath our RLW navigation, under Roofing Road Trips, or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe, and set those notifications so you don't miss a single episode. We'll be seeing you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

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