Protect your coastal roofs with COASTALUME™ - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Mark Carlisle from U.S. Steel Corp. and Corynn Sheridan of DuPont Tedlar. You can Read the interview below or Watch the video.

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Lunch & Learn from RoofersCoffeeShop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth, and we are here today to hear about a great new product and learn quite a bit while we're doing it. So, this is all about metal roofing and how to protect it in coastal situations, coastal environments. We are excited to have the experts from U.S. Steel and Tedlar here today to help us really understand and learn about this important construction and roofing along the coastlines, and also, making more with metal, as always. So, Mark and Corynn, welcome to this Lunch & Learn. Thank you so much for being here today.

Corynn Sheridan: Thanks for having us.

Heidi Ellsworth: Thank you so much. Before we start our introductions, I do want to remind everybody to get out their discussion sheets. You'll have the full discussion sheet that you can take notes as we go, it's easy to download. And then, don't forget, there's a quiz afterwards, so you can get your certificate of completion with all this great information and be able to show that just proudly in your office. So, let's get going. First of all, let's start with the introductions. So, Mark, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about U.S. Steel?

Mark Carlisle: Sure. So, my name is Mark Carlisle. I'm the industry marketing manager for our construction business at U.S. Steel Corp. We're 122-year-old steel company based in Pittsburgh. We primarily make flat-rolled steels, hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized and Galvalume, as well as some [inaudible 00:01:43] pipe products used in natural gas and other natural resource extrusions.

Heidi Ellsworth: Excellent. Excellent. And Corynn, can you introduce yourself and tell us about Tedlar?

Corynn Sheridan: Yes. My name is Corynn Sheridan. I'm the global marketing director for DuPont Tedlar. Tedlar is one of many businesses within DuPont, which is a 200-year-old manufacturing and innovation company. Tedlar has been in the DuPont portfolio since the 1960s, and it's used in a host of applications, building construction being one of the primary segments where Tedlar is used. And we're really excited to talk about this collaboration with U.S. Steel that's now bringing steel to the coastline.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, this is big deal. This is very exciting. Well, today as you're looking at your discussion sheet, you'll see you'll have three learning objectives, metal roofs and corrosion, the launch of COASTALUME and how to incorporate COASTALUME into your business. So, we're going to start out with our first learning objective, which is metal roofs and corrosion. Big problem on the coast. And Mark, I would love for you to start out, just let's talk about some basics. What is corrosion and what are some of the things that roofing contractors should be aware of

Mark Carlisle: So, as I mentioned, we, U.S. Steel, we're a steel manufacturer. I'd say 90% of our business is flat-rolled coils that the metal building and construction space uses. Of all the steel we make... Let's back up a little bit. Over 80% of steel produced globally is carbon steel, which means that most steel is susceptible to oxidation or what we call galvanic corrosion, which is why we metallic coat or galvanize a lot of our steels used in construction with a combination of zinc and/or aluminum. So, this metallic coating resists corrosion, it essentially extends the service life of our steel before the project or product is retired and melted back down into a new steel again, the recyclability of steel.

But to the point of corrosion, most metals corrode when they're wet. In coastal environments, you have a mix of both moisture and airborne salt spray, which is really the stickler. And that's basically considered atmosphere corrosion, which is how most steel corrodes over time. So, you have the combination of salty, humid ocean air. It's extremely corrosive, very high salinity in the air from breaking surf, basically. And we know that that atmosphere is about 10 times harsher or it can corrode steel 10 times faster than a normal environment inland, essentially. And that's why we designed this coastal steel system to resist the elements of a demanding coastal environment.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, without what you have done, how long would a metal roof last on the coast?

Mark Carlisle: So, this is a new product for us. We know other competing materials last decades on the coast, on a global scale, which Corynn can talk to more. But we know our Galvalume lasts or performs 50 years plus inland. And our initial warranty on the product is 25 years for the steel substrate. I want to emphasize initial. That's our out-of-the-gate warranty, which will likely extend as we did with our current Galvalume warranties last year.

Heidi Ellsworth: Right, that's very interesting. Very interesting. Go ahead.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, and I would just chime in. So, Mark talks about metallic coatings that are put on steel to basically make it self-sacrificial and prevent corrosion. Of course, a big element of that in building construction is the paint that you then put on the steel, and the paint system that you select. Typically, by the coast, you're seeing a lot of three-coat systems, thicker systems that are just making more and more of a barrier between that salty air and the metal. So, in this product, in COASTALUME, it's actually a single layer. It is Tedlar PVF film, which we'll talk about in a little bit. But it's kind of a premium selection for corrosion resistance and UV resistance, and all the things that metal buildings deal with when they're in a sunny, coastal, salty environment.

Heidi Ellsworth: So, as you're looking at this, and when we look at about 40% of Americans live in a coastal environment, this is really important to understand the technology that is changing how long a metal roof will last along the coast. What are some of the other elements that people should be aware of when it comes to metal roofs along the ocean? Mark, maybe starting with you. What are some of the things as contractors are listening to this and they're talking to their customers, what should they be talking about?

Mark Carlisle: Well, steel is inherently stronger than other roofing materials, such as asphalt shingles, or aluminum, or cedar shake, which you find in the northeast of the US. You also find a lot of terracotta tile in the southeast US. Steel is extremely strong and dent resistant. And most standing-seam profiles, which probably isn't new to this audience here, they can withstand winds in excess of 140 miles per hour, some systems are even rated higher. Steel roofing is resistant to fire damage. It doesn't burn or ignite like other roofing materials, which is another great selling point for a steel roof system.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, all important. I mean, when you talk about coastal winds, I don't care what coast you're on, those winds are high. And especially nowadays, we're seeing so much. I mean I'm here right now in Florida and we're seeing high winds coming through, so it's not just during hurricanes. Okay. We kind of have the table set and we see what's been happening in the past with metal roofs and corrosion, and the importance of being able to deal with the elements. So, let's talk about our second learning objective, the launch of COASTALUME. So, Mark, what is COASTALUME?

Mark Carlisle: So, COASTALUME is North America's first licensed Galvalume product that's warranted and designed for coastal environments. The ideal applications or what our customers are telling us they're using it for is concealed [inaudible 00:08:27], roofing or wall system, so basically standing-seam, which is pretty popular among residential and commercial projects along America's coastlines essentially. And the reason we developed this product is a lot of our customers gave us feedback over the years that they get quotes for coastal projects, and they had to pass on because steel didn't perform well or we didn't provide a warranty on our steel for coastal environment. So, that's why we teamed up with Corynn and DuPont Tedlar, and we were able to create a solution that gets us there. We're basically taking our steel customers to the beach.

Heidi Ellsworth: Right. I love it. Who doesn't want to be on the beach? That is great. Well, Corynn, talk to just a little bit about the Tedlar film and how that is working in COASTALUME.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, absolutely. So, Tedlar film is a PVF film, polyvinyl fluoride film. Like I mentioned, it has a very long history. It's been used in building and construction around the world for about 50 plus years. So, we know it works in coastal environments and industrial environments. Some of the harshest places you can build with metal, we've seen 50 plus years of success with Tedlar. So, it is actually a film that's applied in place of a topcoat. So, it's applied directly onto the steel and it is taking the place of Kynar or perhaps an FEVE system, some of the paint systems that are used by the coastline. Like I said, it's single layer applied. It does not require that three-coat system that you so often see by the beach. And the PVF molecule inherently provides excellent corrosion resistance and excellent flexibility.

It's also very, very inert over time. So, what that means is it's not reacting with anything. So, of course corrosive elements, it's not reacting with. It, because of the flexibility, is not cracking on tight bends. So, any profile that you make that you need to fabricate to, it's not going to crack on those bends. You're not going to see pinhole issues with the film the way you might with a coating. And it also doesn't chalk and fade. So, it has really great color maintenance over time, especially in the dark colors that are so popular right now.

We've got 20 plus years of South Florida testing as well as those 50 years of real-world testing. And you can truly hold up freshly made Tedlar film right next to an aged building, and the color change is indistinguishable. So, the benefit of that is of course if you have something that gets damaged during a storm that you have to replace or you put an addition on your home, you have guaranteed color matching. The new part is going to match the old and there is no maintenance with Tedlar. So, this COASTALUME product doesn't require freshwater rinses, which so many paint systems do by the coast. When you get that saltwater buildup, building owners have to get up and hose that roof down. You don't have to do that with Tedlar. It rinses clean in the rain. You could wash graffiti off it. Mold and mildew don't grow on it. It just really is not reacting with anything and it's essentially self-cleaning, low maintenance, no change over time.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's excellent. That's excellent. I love the self-cleaning part of it too, because you think about the buildup of everything that's going on out there and organic matter. So, we have the Galvalume is what I'd like you to talk about Mark a little bit more too. We have the Galvalume and then that has the film on it, which creates this COASTALUME product, which is just so strong. But let's talk just a little bit about Galvalume. Everyone knows has such a great history, great warranties. Tell us a little bit about the product itself.

Mark Carlisle: In today's world, you're familiar with Galvalume. They're pretty well aware of AZ50, AZ55 coating [inaudible 00:12:10], which is basically how thick the metallic coating is on the steel sheet. For COASTALUME, we went on the heavier side with AZ60, which basically is 60 grams per square inch of steel of the metallic coating, which is 55% aluminum, 45% zinc. Galvalume has been around for 50 years, turned 50 years old and 2022, it's the most trusted metal material for roofing and siding in North America, so that's why we chose Galvalume. It also offers great performance and weathering attributes compared to other metals or just say other roofing materials in general. So, I'm not trying to demonize galvanized in any way, but Galvalume is two to four times more corrosion resistant than a standard G90 galvanized product.

Heidi Ellsworth: So, when you put all this together with COASTALUME, that's going to make a huge difference. Let's move on to our third learning objective. I think this is important because a lot of times contractors and companies are like, "This all sounds great, but how? How do we incorporate this into our business?" So, that is our third learning objective, how to incorporate COASTALUME. So Mark, let's start with how do contractors get into... Obviously, for the metal roofing contractors, they already know and this is a choice that they can make, being on the coastline, but also for roofing contractors who might want to get into metal. Talk a little bit about that.

Mark Carlisle: So, our COASTALUME product is exclusively available through U.S. Steel. So, we actually created an email account, coastalume@uss.com. If you have an inquiry, shoot me an email, at least it'll come to me directly. And then, depending on the quantity of steel you need, you could buy it directly from U.S. Steel or I can refer to one of our distributors, who are likely companies that you've probably heard of.

Heidi Ellsworth: So, as we're looking at this, let's talk a little bit about the overall benefits of incorporating COASTALUME. And so, as contractors are talking to their customers, first of all, and Corynn, this is right up with the Tedlar, let's talk about the colors. You mentioned it a little earlier, but what kind of colors are available and how can that be used in that sales process?

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, absolutely. So, we're starting COASTALUME off with a couple of the most popular colors right now, which includes a matte black, a dark bronze, a gray. That's where we're really seeing a lot of the volume by the coast, that's very trendy. Tedlar is available in a host of colors. We've got blues, greens, whites, metallics, you name it. So, certainly, reach out again, like Mark said, reach out and see what colors are available, but you can always check out our website to see the full color library. We're happy to send samples of films if you want to see the actual colors. We've got colors that match to popular Kynar colors, so it's available in pretty much any color you could want. But we definitely focus on those really kind of matte, dark, trendy colors right now that we're seeing so much of the construction in.

And like I said, the low color change over time is a huge selling point for building owners, especially given all the storm work that's happened. I know Mark certainly told me this anecdotally before, there was I think an overhead view of after the storm in Sanibel Island and Naples last fall, that almost every roof was missing, except the steel roofs, they were the only ones that were still intact. So, certainly, all the storm work that's happening, all the insurance claims, hail issues, more and more people are getting driven to build with metal and there's more and more benefits to building with metal. It's going to really stand up to all these crazy weather patterns we've been seeing in recent years and increase the value of a home or a building.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. Well, and let's talk about that a little bit, product warranties. I mean the product warranty with COASTALUME covers breaking surf, large bays, marshes, other coastline. I mean Mark talk a little bit about... I mean that is a strong warranty.

Mark Carlisle: Yeah. So, we use ISO standards category three and four basically to keep the distance from breaking surf. So, our warranty on the steel side applies 300 feet or 100 yards or a football field away from crashing waves on the beach. So, you likely won't find COASTALUME on a dock, like a fishing dock or a pier, but basically everything inland, whether it be a single family home along a brackish waterway, you're covered with our warranty, or if you are a commercial property, like a hotel, or a restaurant, or a school, or an airport that's near the saltwater that has spill water spray, and then your two thumbs up, you're good to go with our warranty. I don't say we were conservative with it, but we could have went further. But again, this is our initial product offering. It's brand new, hot off the press as of mid-October, and things will update accordingly as time progresses. But 300 feet is the threshold. However, Corynn's Tedlar warranty, there's no restrictions with feet from breaking surf, right?

Corynn Sheridan: Correct. No coastal restrictions on Tedlar. So, the warranty is a full 40 years for roofs, 50 years for siding. That covers chalk fade film integrity, and that does not change based on proximity to the ocean.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's great. That's great. And talk about that maintenance-free DuPont Tedlar finish warranty. Maintenance-free, that's saying a lot. And I know we talked about it earlier, but kind of bring that around within the warranty.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, absolutely. So, a lot of the exclusions you see, especially in coastal, those three coastal paint systems, but certainly, in all paint systems across the board, Tedlar does not have those exclusions. It can go to zero T bend without cracking. It can be stored in different environments. It certainly can be built by the coast without you having to rinse it off. So, you really don't have the requirements to maintain a finished warranty, you do with a lot of paint systems. I would also add, while it's not part of the warranty, it is a product fact that it's 100% made in the US between U.S. Steel and DuPont. So, it's a domestically-produced product, and steel is of course recyclable, infinitely recyclable, so it's a very sustainable and domestic product to use.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, that's important. And sustainability is so important. So, not only do you have the fact that it's recyclable, but it's going to last a long time and it's going to look beautiful, so you have that resilience that is so important to everyone. Now, I do want to go back a little bit. For the roofing contractors out there, many of them are going to their metal manufacturer or maybe a fabrication sheet metal shop where they are purchasing their metal roofing. If they are wanting to get this, is it just as easy as getting ahold of you, Mark, but also then asking for it from their manufacturer?

Mark Carlisle: So, we're in the process of setting up defined distribution channels for the product. But right now, if you want a product, send me an email coastalume@uss.com. Our website also has a contact us form you can fill out as well. But yeah, basically, if you require 20 tons or more, you can go mail direct with me. And if it's 20 tons or less, then as I mentioned, I can send you to a distributor, someone who supplies coil and/or roll-form panels. So, it's up to you. It can come in whatever form you want.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, we do have distributors with stocked material, but certainly we do encourage contractors in addition to contacting Mark to talk to their current providers, talk to the people you're buying it from today, ask them for COASTALUME and we'll make sure it happens. But contact Mark as well, so we're hitting it from both angles, since, as Mark said, this product is hot off the press, just launched about two months ago.

Heidi Ellsworth: And all this information is on the DuPont Tedlar directory on RoofersCoffeeShop. So, you can get contact information for Corynn, get the information about COASTALUME, be able to kind of... As you're talking to your manufacturers, if they're like, "What is it?" They can watch this and they can go to the directory and get a lot more information, then get directly to the websites. Well Mark, Corynn, thank you so much. Really interesting. Congratulations on launching an amazing product that is really needed.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having us and we're super excited about this. This is obviously a collaboration between two huge, conservative, old companies, so we really believe this is something very innovative that we have a lot of confidence in. So, we're excited to see what COASTALUME can do for contractors that are building in coastal environments.

Mark Carlisle: Yeah, as I said, generally, we got a lot of praise from our customers because we're basically unlocking a completely a new market for folks who stick with steel, basically. So, this is a whole new market. The US offers 96,000 miles of coastline that we currently do not participate in, which is millions of square feet of roof space that, hey, it's a brand new market for our steel, particularly Galvalume customers.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, I love it. Mark, congratulations. That is so great. And I will say we have a number of case studies with the Tedlar film right on the coast. We have some podcasts that we've done with Corynn, so be sure to take the time to check out all of that information and continue to see that this isn't anything new. Like Corynn and Mark said, these are very well-known, traditional, amazing companies that have come together to create this product that is really going to change life on the coast. So, both of you, thank you so much again for being here today.

And thank you all for listening. Be sure to download the discussion sheet, make your notes and then take the quiz because you might be one to win a prize from RoofersCoffeeShop. We will be having all this information out there. We appreciate you watching. Enjoy your lunch and we'll see you next time on RoofersCoffeeShop Lunch & Learn.