- So you just bought a panel machine.
Well what do you do now?
Do you look for coil? Do you look for engineering?
Do you look for tech support?
Today on Q&A Mondays,
we answer all these questions and more.
(upbeat rock music)
What's up guys, welcome to the metal roofing channel.
Welcome to another Q&A Mondays.
Today we're talking about panel machines and
portable roll forming.
So Adam, tell me, if you bought a portable roll former
what happens next there?
- Often times, somebody might buy a panel machine
because they got a smoking deal on it or
it's used, or they got it from competitor, or
you know, a sale of some sort.
Or they bought it brand new, and they don't always
have access to, where do I go from here?
And there's a handful of questions that I think
need to be answered about, it's not just about coil
it's also about engineering, access to finish warranties,
weather type warranties, access to support
on that roll former. You know, it's machinery,
machinery breaks down. How are you gonna get it fixed?
How are you going to get parts for it and so forth?
So, long and the short of it, we wanted to do a quick
video today. About, you got a roll former, now what?
- So someone buys a roll former they are going to need coil
so how do they find a coil supplier,
what's that process like?
- So you gotta figure out what your market is.
There's a number of coil suppliers that just do a
SMP type product. There's a number of suppliers that do
just a PDVF product or a mix of both.
We put a list together, actually a east coast list
and a west coast list on our blog about,
good suppliers from PDVF finish coil,
throughout the country. So that's a great starting point.
But it really boils down to somebodies market.
So if somebody is new to roll forming
and making their own panels. It's gonna be based on
what market do they, what is their niche,
are they needing a PDVF coded product.
Do they need access to finish warranties?
If they manufacture the panel, is the manufacturer
of the coil, give them access to a finish warranty?
Sheffield Metals, we give people access to
finish warranties, when they manufacture
Sheffield Metal products.
- So in general, as a new panel machine owner,
what is important to that person?
- So I think big thing is, are they going to get their
money out of their investment,
was it a good investment?
We partnered with new tech machinery through and through.
And one of the biggest reasons is, their parts inventory
is phenomenal. They got one of the best warranties,
both for the frame, as well as drive rollers,
in forming rollers in the industry.
What's important is a warranty on the machine.
Can I quickly get parts?
Can I quickly get it repaired?
And is it a reputable manufacture?
New tech's not the only game in town.
There are plenty of great machines out there.
That's who, our engineering's machinery
and profiles are based off of.
- So yeah, let's talk about engineering for a second.
What should someone look for when they got a
new machine? What should they think about
when it comes to engineering?
- With regard to engineering, the engineering is not
inherit in the machine.
There's some things that you can do that, for instance
you can go and get your roll former certified by UL.
That still doesn't mean that you still have engineering.
That means that the panel meets Ul's criteria,
it's within tolerance.
And beyond that, to even hit their construction number,
which still is not engineering, that you would
have to install it the specifications on that
particular UL construction number.
Kind of a mouth full, but at the end of the day,
engineering is not inherit in a roll former.
Engineering can be excess through a manufacture.
Whether it's a fixed in place manufacturer,
or whether it's somebody like Sheffield Metals or
some of our competitors. That can provide engineering
to a contractor, manufacturer, that needs access
to engineering. Now again, just because you're
given access to engineering, it still
needs to be installed and constructed,
in accordance that manufacturers specifications.
Somebody can say "hey, I have access to this engineering"
If they space the clips too wide, essentially that
engineering is irrelevant , void, not applicable.
It's not good.
We can help people that need access to engineering
with their portable roll former.
And I think this really helps take guys that get into a
roll former and really take that next leap into commercial
or government projects or industrial projects.
Where they may have stayed away from in the past.
Where we can really help simplify this middle process,
help with access to engineering, weather tech warranties
and things like that.
- Yeah and you touched on this earlier,
when you buy machine, it is a machine.
So you're gonna wanna have some kind of access to
technical support or technical service.
What should they be considering there?
- It's a machine that breaks.
It wears out, you need parts, you don't want to be
left in the dark, when trying to sources pieces,
parts, even basic maintenance items for your roll former.
So, if you have a drive roller that goes bad,
and it's under warranty,
how quickly you can get back
up and running. You don't wanna be left out in the dark
needing a part from halfway across the world,
for two weeks or six weeks.
More often than not, if you go down, you can't afford
to be down more than one or two days as a roofing
contractor, as a regional manufacturer.
That's what cripples people, get people in really big
trouble on projects when they can't perform.
So whether you buy a roll former, new or used,
new tech or otherwise.
It's important that you take care of this.
I've seen a lot of investments that were just a
couple of years old.
Basically trash cause people don't take care of it,
leaving covers off of it,
leaving it outside.
Meanwhile I've seen machines that are 15 years old,
that are meticulous.
The important thing is that, don't just rely
on the manufacturer to service it, to clean it,
to make sure you maintain it and take care of it.
Machine will continue to perform, and this is regardless.
I should say, an engine, an engineered item,
an engineered object, they perform as long as they
are maintained, more often than not.
They're buying large large, they perform a lot longer
than things that are not.
In terms of service, if you need to reach out to
a rep, we can help connect people if they need a service.
Whether it's a new tech machine or a different machine.
- So if you just bought a panel machine or you're thinking
about buying a new panel machine, these are a few
different things to think about, and keep in mind.
Definitely check out our articles for east and west side
of the United States for coil suppliers,
if you're looking for that.
Otherwise you can contact us at SheffieldMetals.com,
we can hook you up with any of these things,
including engineering, technical support and service.
Thanks for watching today.
Comment below if you have any questions.
We'd love to continue answering them.
Subscribe to the metal roofing channel.
Thanks everybody for your continued support.
And catch you next time.
- Thanks a lot.
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