Want to learn more about the metal roofing industry? Here’s a step-by-step summary of how you can successfully start and grow a metal roofing business.
Starting and growing a metal roofing business requires a combination of strategic planning, investment in quality machinery, and efficient operations. The definition of a successful roofing business will look different to every owner, but there are general considerations everyone should make to strive for their desired level of success and production.
Planning
The metal roofing industry can be lucrative if you carefully plan each stage of business growth. Instead of skipping steps for a quick profit, prioritize making the right decisions at the right time. Automated roofing fabrication equipment produces a large amount of roof panels. It’s important to ensure your facility and staff are equipped with the right tools and knowledge to handle the amount of inventory you will need to support your business goals.
Storage & Inventory
Does your current facility have enough space? A productive metal roofing business needs to be able to store:
- Metal sheets and/or metal coils depending on your current capacity
- Equipment (forklift or crane for larger facilities) to unload and move coils around. Coils can range in weight from 3,000lbs for smaller shops to 20,000lbs for larger shops.
- Fabrication equipment that’s at least 10ft long
- Completed roofing panels
- Additional inventory such as clips, rivets and caulking
Depending on what you’d like to offer, you may store coils or sheet metal with different colours and thickness. Most businesses offer a variety of colours and at least 3 different thicknesses. Does your current facility have enough space for this?
As you grow, it’s important to only take on additional work when you’re confident you have the capacity for it.
Efficiency
In larger industrial operations, maintaining efficiency depends on successful communication between the front office and the shop floor. Integrated software that can handle order processing, sales, scheduling, and inventory is the key to success for large industrial businesses.
Machinery
There are key pieces of equipment essential to metal roofing shops at different levels of business:
- Small-scale: Hand brakes and slitters
- Medium-scale: CNC folders and shears
- Medium-scale: Roof/wall panel rollformers
- Large-scale: Coil processing line
The jump from a hand brake to a CNC folder and shear is significant. Although it’s possible to successfully sell business with hand brakes, the reality is that to experience any significant growth and keep up with larger jobs, a CNC folder and shear is necessary.
CNC Folder and Shear
Although the upfront cost can be high, a well-utilized CNC folder can pay for itself over time through enhanced productivity and reduced waste. To prepare for making such a significant investment, make sure you understand the operating costs involved. Most importantly, make sure you have enough demand for an automated machine.
When you consider the precision, consistency, efficiency, and speed a CNC folder can provide your business – plus the reduction of labour costs – it’s a necessity if you want to expand your operations.
Another fundamental tool for your shop is shears. CNC folders and shears are often purchased together. When choosing a shear, consider its cutting capacity, cutting speed and ease of use. Hydraulic and mechanical shears are the most common selection for roofing shops.
Roof/Wall Panel Rollformer
A rollformer shapes metal coils into continuous, uniform roofing panels. The rollforming process involves feeding metal coils through a series of rollers that bend the metal into the desired profile.
When you’re ready to significantly increase your production, consider investing in a rollformer. This machine is a worthwhile investment if your demand and capacity are sufficiently high. Pay particular attention to the versatility of the machine—specifically, how many profiles it can produce and how easy it is to change the tooling when switching between profiles.
Coil Processing Line
If you’ve broken into the industrial market or have consistent jobs that require large volumes of roof panels, creating a rollforming line with coil processing equipment in your shop will help optimize your production.
Below is a complete list of the various machinery a business would invest in at different stages of growth.
Smaller start-up businesses:
- Hand tools
- Single Wheel Slitter or Gang Slitter
- Manual Brake
- Pittsburgh Lock Rollformer
- 4’ Box & Pan Brake
Medium to advanced businesses:
- Hydraulic Brake/Roto-Die
- 10’ – 12’ CNC Folder, up to 20’ (double Folder)
- Roof/Wall Panel Rollformer
- Clinching Machine
- Power Shear
- Cut-to-length/Slit-to-width Line
- Power Seamer
Industrial businesses:
- Coil Processing Line & Coil Warehousing System
- Double Folders
- Automated Rollformers
- CNC Router
Seams, Trims, and Flashing Options
Fabricating seams, trims and flashings is arguably the most important step to creating and installing metal roof panels. They’re essential to the functionality of the roof because they ensure the structure remains watertight and durable. For certain customers, they’re also important to the aesthetic appeal of the structure.
Most shops offer a variety of trims/seams/flashing to support their customer base and go in line with the Roof Panel profiles they may offer.
Seaming
Seaming refers to the method of joining metal roofing panels together. Common types of seams include:
- Mechanical Seam
- Snap-Lock Seam
- Snap-Lock with Nail Strip
Trims
Trims offer metal roofs aesthetic appeal, but they’re also essential to the durability of the panels. Leaks usually occur around trims, so it’s important to correctly fabricate and install them. Common types of trims include:
- Ridge Cap
- Rake Trim
- Drip Edge
- Pitch Break
- Z Trim
- Side Wall
Flashings
“Trims” and “flashings” are often used interchangeably, but they have different purposes and functions. Flashing is used primarily to seal and protect joints and intersections in the roofing system. It’s crucial for areas where the roof meets other structures such as skylights, chimneys and HVAC units. Common types of flashing include:
- Valley Flashing
- Sidewall Flashing
- Endwall Flashing
- Step Flashing
Installation
The final consideration for your metal roofing business is whether you want to keep your installation service in-house or outsource to a contractor.
Many businesses fabricate and install roof panels. Your choice depends on several factors.
In-House Installation:
- Labour costs: Hiring and training skilled staff
- Equipment: Purchasing and storing more equipment such as portable folders or rollformers
- Quality of work: Direct quality control
- Scheduling: Ability to maintain a high volume of regular installations
Outsourcing to a Contractor:
- Labour costs: Contractor fees
- Equipment: No equipment investment
- Quality of work: Offer valuable expertise for more complex projects
- Scheduling: Dependent on contractor availability
Consider your local market and demand, carefully evaluate costs, expertise, resource availability, and project complexity when deciding if you want to offer installation services in addition to fabrication.
Choose the Right Supplier
Despite all the resources available online, it can still be challenging to make the right decisions for your metal roofing business, especially if you’re just starting out.
No matter your challenges or goals, we’re committed to helping all customers with business improvements and growth. We can help you see the full picture of your metal roofing business.
It costs money to invest in a business. We can help make sure the profits outweigh the investment. Get in touch with our team today!