Shane Norman - Experience the Full Line of Malco’s Metal Benders! - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Shane Norman of Malco Tools. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

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Heidi Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we get to talk today about tools. I love talking about tools, and we are here with the experts from Malco Tools to talk about metal benders. Yes, I mean, metal is so hot. So much is going on and every contractor needs to have the right tools and the right benders to make the best roofs or install the best roofs, I should say. So welcome to Shane Norman. Thank you so much for being here today and talking to us about these amazing benders you have.

Shane Norman: Yeah, thanks for having me, Heidi. I'm excited to be with you today.

Heidi Ellsworth: This is a fun topic, I can say, but let's start out with some introductions. So if you could introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about what you do at Malco.

Shane Norman: Absolutely. So my name is Shane Norman. I'm our senior product manager and I manage our portfolio of tools specifically centered around roofing, siding and gutter tools.

Heidi Ellsworth: Excellent. Perfect. Okay, so why don't you just share with us a little bit about Malco Tools. Can you tell us the history and your involvement, not just in the roofing industry, but overall, you guys are everywhere.

Shane Norman: Yeah, that's a great segue, Heidi. So a lot of your viewers might not know much about Malco. Malco has actually been in business for almost 75 years, so next year we're going to celebrate that big milestone. It's going to be a big party at Malco. So 75 years in business and we've been serving not only the RSG market, the roofing siding and gutter market, but also the HVAC industry as well for many, many decades now. So Malco has a very warm history with a lot of different trade pros.

Heidi Ellsworth: We were just at SkillsUSA and you had an amazing presence there with HVAC and now as we know in roofing and siding and everything around metal construction. So let's start out with... I know this is going to sound crazy for the people out there who may not know what are metal benders and give us a little description, a little bit of a feel for the importance of the tools.

Shane Norman: Yeah, good question, Heidi. So metal benders in general, it's a line of products that you can use to make field installed bends on tram. You can use them for a lot of different intricate work that you're going to need to do on site. These benders, they're portable, so instead of having to have all of your trim work prefabbed by a metal fab shop, right? You can actually fab some of these pieces of work on site. So that really helps the contractors stand apart from some of their other competitors because now instead of having multiple pieces of trim installed that had to be joined, individual pieces, now you could actually make a 20, 30, 40 foot piece of trim if you needed to on site as long as you have the right color coil in your truck.

Heidi Ellsworth: Right. And so these benders, let's just give everybody for maybe who don't use them every day, give us some time. They vary in all sizes. They're portable, but they're all sizes, right?

Shane Norman: Yeah, that's right, Heidi. So we have single station benders, so those are going to take metal and they're going to turn up roughly 90 degrees. So that'll have one bending wheel on that bender, right? You can imagine a bending handheld tool that you're going to be using to form that metal, right? And then we also have dual station benders. So that's going to be essentially that single station but in a larger frame that's got two bending wheels on the same tool. So that's going to provide the trade pros a little bit more stiffness in the tool, more rigidity and then you have two forming wheels at the same time. So that's going to bend that metal that much faster and you're going to get through your job a little bit quicker with one of those two station benders. And then we also have a whole line of disc benders.

So the first benders I was mentioning that kind of forms that first 90 or up to 90 degree bends in metal and then the disc benders will then take it from that 90 degrees and then they can actually fold it all the way over close to 180. So if you wanted to make an open ham that you could cleat another piece of trim into, those disc benders are what you would use for that. And as you kind of alluded to, they come in a lot of different shapes and sizes and depths of throat. So the benders themselves, they can go from anywhere from a six-inch total bending depth all the way up close 14 inch. So we have various sizes depending on what you need to do out in the field.

Heidi Ellsworth: Depending on what you need. And let's talk a little bit about that because the tools that are... So first of all, metal roofing as we know is such a craft and it has been centuries, millennium of metal roofing that it's just so beautiful when you see that and to be able to have that craftsmanship. What do you see with modern technology of tools like this? I know some of them just have always been and they're just great tools, but some of them, I know you've incorporated new technologies a little bit different ways to do it. Kind of give us a feel for the metal benders of today. How have they changed from past? How much have they and how are the contractors incorporating these tools?

Shane Norman: So the metal benders of today are honestly light years ahead of where they were even 10, 15 years ago. They may look similar from a distance. But CNC technology has really improved just tolerancing of the tools when you use our Malco benders and you got to adjust that depth for different bends, you can just tell how smooth that tool is when it adjusts and really honing in on that craftsmanship of making the tool and then providing that service to the trade pros to do the best job they possibly can in the field. So you also notice that we have different size radiuses for the benders. So if you're working with really soft material like a copper doing something intricate, we do have a larger radius set of wheels that you can put on our metal benders to be a little bit more gentle with that material.

So you're going to notice not only is the performance of the tool's going to be better, just our tolerances are significantly improved. But just we're trying to think through how are these trade pros using it in the field and then adjusting accordingly so that way we give them enough options with the tools so that way they can do their job properly.

Heidi Ellsworth: And I know having worked with you and a number of the folks at Malco, you put a lot into product marketing... Not marketing, sorry, product management and R&D and really looking at that and you just said something that just really made me think of watching the contractors and understanding what their needs are in the field, how does... With Malco's philosophies around that.

Shane Norman: Yeah. We really want to be plugged in with as many trade pros as possible and in different applications. Especially around metal roofing, there's just so many different ways you can install metal roof. There's so many different types of metal roofing. They do all have some similar aspects to them and that's where this metal bending line really lends itself to virtually any type of metal roofing that's going to be installed. You can find a use for our tools onsite.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow. And when we're looking at the accessibility of installing metal roofs, in the past it seems like it's been a little bit specialized. You have your real specialty metal roofing contractors, but today we see so many more people coming in. It seems to me like these kinds of tools are really helping that happen, making it more accessible to all contractors.

Shane Norman: Yeah, absolutely, Heidi and a lot of contractors say they're installing an asphalt roof, right? But a customer might want to have some decorative metal roof over a porch. Now even with our metal benders, you can hand bend inch and a half or one inch standing seam panels with the benders. And then within our bender line we also do have power assisted seamers and for closing the hems on those mechanical seam panels.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow. Okay and then you have... Maybe just take us a little bit through the history. Because I know that you've just been adding benders, adding tools for metal roofing and roofing overall, what are some of the newest products that are on the market and how do they fit in with what you've had?

Shane Norman: Yeah, Heidi [inaudible 00:09:09] doubling down, I would say on metal roofing in general and really just metal fabrication. So you'll notice if you go onto malcotools.com you can find our vast array of products that are centered on metal roofing.

But some of the latest products we launched are around finishing those mechanical seam panels. So we have power-assisted seamers that run off of a standard drill. So as long as you have a newer lithium drill, now you can seam panels on-site without having to rent a really large cumbersome seamer from another vendor.

Heidi Ellsworth: Nice, nice. And when you're looking... As the contractors are really looking at whether they're already doing metal, they're looking at getting into metal roofing, what's your recommendations or your tips on which tools they should start with? I don't know, I know every job's different, but where would you recommend they start?

Shane Norman: Right, so that's a great question, Heidi. So personally I would definitely throw... In my toolbox, I would have our standard six inch, it's FS2F150 is the catalog number, two-station metal bender. So that's going to cover a lot of your general trim work, you could, if you want to splurge a little and get the larger 14-inch version, that's going to be really handy if you want to create some valley flashing or something on-site where you bring in the coil. So if you've got a complicated roof with a lot of different pitches that are all meeting in different areas, kind of doing that metal flashing work or chimney work, chimney flashing on-site, it's a lot easier than trying to pre-order something that's very complicated from a role former or from one of your larger building supply places. So that kind of helps with some of those barriers' entry too, right? So if you want to get into metal or metal roofing specifically, that's a great tool to have.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, wow. And what are you hearing from the contractors out there who are using your tools, who are on... I mean, with your traditional ones, but then all these new coming in, what's some of the feedback you're hearing from contractors?

Shane Norman: So feedback's been very positive and honestly, it's really nice to hear the feedback from the guys that have been doing it for 10 or 15 years because they've seen it all and tried pretty much every tool that's out there, right? So when they give you feedback that your tools are working great, that's wonderful feedback to hear.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah. So Malco's known for quality and as you are bringing all these out, again as a contractor, there's a lot of choices out there. Why is building their relationship and really striving to make sure you have quality in your lineup of tools, why is that so important and how do you contractors to make that step for that real investment?

Shane Norman: Right. Yeah. So Heidi, Malco's brand promise, when someone sees a Malco badge on a tool that should speak volumes to them that this is going to be a quality tool. Malco was always going to be focusing on that upper echelon of quality, but we also are maximizing the value for the trade pro. We understand that you don't need the Rolls Royce of tools, because you're not going to pay for a Rolls Royce necessarily, right? But we definitely want to maximize that value for the trade pro. Our tools that come with a promise. Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: And let's talk a little bit about with that promise of knowing that you're going to have quality tools that the company manufacturers stand behind them, there's also no matter what you do, there is a lot of training that needs to go on and there's a learning curve and I've watched you at the shows, I've gone by and watched the vending and the training, but how... I know you do a lot with vocational schools, just helping contractors. Talk to me a little bit about your training programs or your continued education around getting into metal and really understanding it.

Shane Norman: Yeah. So that's training in general is definitely a major focus of Malco's here going forward. We have a corporate trainer, his name's John Olson and that is what he lives and breathes every day. He is trying to come up with better improved ways in order how to train those trade pros on how to use our tools as efficiently as possible. And at the end of the day, we all want the best end result for the actual end customer as well. So that's what we're focused on trying to provide. So you can find training, Malco training on YouTube. We are working on some short training courses that customers could also look into and we definitely train all of our distribution partners as much as we can. We do rely on training some of our distribution partners and our reps. And so we want to make sure that everybody in your region, wherever you happen to be located in the United States or even Canada, that you'll be able to find somebody that knows Malco in and out and we can help you out.

Heidi Ellsworth: What do you all see, because I know along with product development you're probably... Also market development and looking at the market, what do you see as the future of metal roofing? Do you just see it growing?

Shane Norman: So I think metal roofing is going to continue to grow faster than any other roofing type for residential. It's always been popular for commercial, but you're going to see more and more of it going into that residential market. A lot of customers are... Quite frankly, you hit more hail now in Minnesota than we seem to used to and there's a lot more customers now that are willing to invest a little bit more on a metal roof that's going to withstand some of that more severe weather over at traditional asphalt roof that they're just not getting the life out of. So I think that's going to continue to grow. Trade pros entering that market are going to continue to grow, but it is an art, so it's more of an art than other forms of roofing. So for the Trade pro that's meticulous and really cares about that end result for their customer, I think if you're not in metal today, you definitely should be considering it.

Heidi Ellsworth: Or find people who... Find the craftsmen and women who are installing those roofs and get them into your company because it's only growing. So what do you see for future developments? I always love to hear about this because what's coming next and what are you working on?

Shane Norman: Yeah, so we're definitely still expanding our tool portfolio into the metal roofing. So we have a new line of seamers and cutters specifically around two inch standing seam that's going to be coming out here in the very near future. So once you get into a two-inch panel, that kind of starts blending the realm between your really high end residential homes versus commercial. So it's a little bit larger of a tool but still power assisted tool. So it'll work with a standard lithium drill and that provides just a lot more versatility for the trade pro. So they'll be able to use that tool to do either residential or commercial net.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's great. That's great. You just made me think of something when you said high end. There's a lot of different metals out there and I mean, we have our traditional coil coatings, but we also now have films. We have oxidized, we have a lot of different finishes and obviously different metals out there. How do contractors work through that with the benders? Does it work with all metals, all coatings or are there things you should consider?

Shane Norman: Yeah, that's a good question, Heidi. So our benders, they are adjustable. So the width between the actual forming wheels and then just the standard rollers, there is an adjustment there that you can make for different thicknesses of metal, which is really the key, especially if a contractor might be doing say 26 or 28 gauge residential panels one day and they get a commercial job with 24 gauge or you're using 24 gauge on residential. But regardless, you can make those adjustments on the tool so that way you get a really nice crisp bend and a nice clean bend where there's no waves, there's no wrinkle. At the end of the day, we want a pristine look and finish for the end customer. And then those larger radius wheels, that's really imperative to use when you're starting to use those more malleable products like copper, some of the really [inaudible 00:17:35] materials.

Heidi Ellsworth: Zinc.

Shane Norman: Yeah, yeah. So we thought about that, as we bring tools to market, we want to make sure that the Trade pro, they don't have to go and source somebody else's tool for a specialty material. We try to cover the gamut the best we can.

Heidi Ellsworth: And those all through there. That is so cool. So what are some of the things... I'm interested too, just you were already telling me you had the seamers automated with the drills. What's kind of some of the future when we're looking at new product development, new things just seems like there's a lot more automation, robotics, machinery. What are some of the things you're seeing that are more handheld tools that direction?

Shane Norman: Yeah. So Heidi, I think we're going to continue to deal... When I go and I talk to trade pros, a lot of times they tell me it's hard to find good skilled work, good skilled labor and no one has enough time to get everything done. So we're going to be definitely focusing on tools that will take maybe some of the manual part more and turn it into more of a powered type installation, a power assisted type tool. We already have nine different types of turbo shears that we use for cutting various materials with a drill attachment as well.

So standard turbo shears, a double cut turbo shears for making really, really nice clean cuts on both sides of your panel. So we're trying to think of ways how we can make that trade pros' life just a little bit easier on the job site. So they can get in, they can get out and onto the next job as quickly as possible.

Heidi Ellsworth: And you're also... I mean, we're talking about metal benders today and the metal industry, but you have a full line of roofing tools also. Why don't you just share with everybody a little bit about that?

Shane Norman: Absolutely. So if you go into a local Beacon or ABC supply pretty much anywhere of your larger, more industrial supply type places, you're going to find Malco products in there for the most part. And we make some of the highest quality snips that are on the market today. So we have a very loyal following for those trade pros that are using our handheld snips. We currently make a lot of our products right in Minnesota, so that's definitely a flagship of ours. We have a whole line of handheld seamers for closing hems. Whether you could use that as a transitional tool between residential or whether it's roofing or HVAC or a lot of our tools can go into multiple industries. So if you are a company that does multiple facets, I see vans all the time, you got roofing, siding, gutters, but then they also have an HVAC division, right? So a lot of our tools can be used in multiple industries.

Heidi Ellsworth: That makes a difference. That makes a difference. And it's so important, I think... We talked about quality a little while ago, but it's so important that the owners and management of these companies, roofing, siding, gutters, HVAC, but that they... I say invest with the right tools for their employees. I know a lot of employees have their own tools and they love them and maybe even-handed down generationally, but to be able to have this kind of investment into your company of really high quality that you're going to get... They're going to be used the same every time. Talk just a little bit to that owner's perspective and how important it is for them to kind of think of that across the board.

Shane Norman: Right. So at the end of the day, you want... The work of your employees is going to speak volumes of your company, right? So that's kind of your outward facing material, is your finalized jobs that you complete when you're in the trades. So to have premium tools that will provide those premium end results for your customer base, that's just going to speak volumes. So not only your end customers, they're going to give you more and more referral business. They're going to have people that come over to their house and like, wow, look at that roof. Looks awesome, right? Who did your roof? I might need one myself.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love that.

Shane Norman: So at the end of the day, you don't want to cut corners on your installs and you don't want to cut corners on the tools that you use either for those installs. So they kind of go hand in hand, Heidi.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. And I think also when it comes to employee retention, employee pride, you want to have... I saw the tools and the bags at SkillsUSA and you can just see these young men and women are so proud of being there, whether it's HVAC or roofing. And I just think it's so cool that Malco is right there, right there at the very beginnings. Because we all get loyal.

Shane Norman: Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely the purpose of ours is to be in front from all the future trade pros, right? So we get very involved with the trade schools and we want the up and coming trade pros to understand who is Malco and what's our history been and then we can kind of help them along the way and teach them something too.

Heidi Ellsworth: Get the right quality tools that they need.

Shane Norman: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Shane, where can contractors... You already said Beacon, ABC Supply, but give us a little bit more on where contractors can go to see these new vendors to purchase them, to get their full line of metal tools.

Shane Norman: Yeah. So I would probably start on Malco's website. So malcotools.com, there's an entire section just on Metal Benders. It kind of gives you the entire array of the product family, and it does a really good job outlining all the various products and their use cases. Why would you need a larger throw tool versus a smaller ones? We have a lot of details right on our websites. And then we also do have a where to buy button on our website so you can type in your zip code and you can find some of those local places that will have access to our tools. And then we do also sell our tools on Amazon as well.

Heidi Ellsworth: Oh, great. Love Amazon-

Shane Norman: Lots of places to find our stuff.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, lots of places. That is great. Well, everyone out there, you can also find all this information about Malco Tools on RoofersCoffeeShop in their directory and also on MetalCoffeeShop in their directory on there. So check it out, see what these tools are doing and make sure you have the right tools for your business. And think about if you're not already doing metal, this is a great opportunity to have the right experience training help to get into metal roofing, which is just up and growing. Shane, thank you so much for being here today.

Shane Norman: Yeah, thank you for your [inaudible 00:24:06].

Heidi Ellsworth: It was great. Thank you so much. And again, please check out the directories for Malco on RoofersCoffeeShop and MetalCoffeeShop and check out all of our podcasts under the read, listen and watch navigation on all the sites. Be sure to get on your own personal podcast channel and 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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