A Solar Attachment Solution That Eliminates the Need for Rails

S-5!®'s David Stahler speaks with us about their PVKIT which directly attaches solar to metal roofs.

Editor's note: the following is a conversation between S-5!'s Director of Distributor Development David Stahler, and RoofersCoffeeShop President Heidi J. Ellsworth. You can watch the video or read the transcript below.

Heidi Ellsworth: We are live on the sound stage for Coffee Conversations, and we have our first friend here today, David Stahler with S-5!. Welcome to the show, David.

David Stahler: Thank you so much, Heidi, for having us.

Heidi Ellsworth: We are so excited. We love S-5!. You guys do some very cool stuff.

David Stahler: Well, we really appreciate that.

Heidi Ellsworth: I know. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and about S-5!?

David Stahler: Sure. I am director of sales for S-5!, and I've worked with S-5! for 11 years. And S-5! is a metal roof attachment company, used to attach just about anything to a metal roof.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow, wow. And we got some little samples up here.

David Stahler: We do.

Heidi Ellsworth: I know. Your booth over there, I was just there, because we want everybody who maybe couldn't be here at Western Roofing Expo to be able to see kind of what it's like, what you're talking about in your booth. So go over some of your stuff for us. What is this cool thing?

David Stahler: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Should we hold it up?

David Stahler: Yeah, let's hold that up. So that is a mock up of a solar panel on an S-5! PV kit. And we'll kind of turn it sideways there. And an S-5! PV kit allows a customer to do what we call direct attach. And there's a lot of buzz at this show about solar, and quite a few solar folks at the show.

Heidi Ellsworth: There really are. I've been hearing a lot about it, and it's exciting because you have what it takes to attach it right, the right way, on a roof.

David Stahler: We do. And so for our solar friends in the audience, this eliminates rails. You don't need any rail, no racking. It's called direct attach. You're going to attach to what we call the seam or the rib of the roof. And so it eliminates all of the expense, all of the cost, and, of course, the shipping and logistics of managing rails, which typically come in 12 or 15-foot long pieces.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow, yeah.

David Stahler: So it's a much more convenient way to attach solar.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is very cool. And like you said, with the growth of solar in the West, but everywhere, out East, I mean it's everywhere that the solar... And we're hearing there's going to be a lot more coming.

David Stahler: It is. And with the incentives now, the ITC tax credit's been extended, so there's a lot of rebates. A lot of different states are offering all sorts of incentives. So we expect solar for the next eight or 10 years to really kind of be a boom.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's what I'm hearing, too. Same thing. We're hearing it from everywhere. So some other cool new products that you're working on. What are these?

David Stahler: We do. So let me start with this little gizmo first. So this is just called a CanDuit bracket, and it's made for conduit, and it comes in a, I don't know, I think 15 or 16 different sizes. But it's designed for conduit on a metal roof, and it can attach directly to a clamp.

Heidi Ellsworth: Love it.

David Stahler: Or directly to a bracket. And we also have something called GripperFix. And GripperFix is a utility strut, kind of like Unistrut. But designed for metal roofing. So you can attach satellite dishes, HVAC units, all that kind of stuff. And it can also be used for, let's say you need to have multiple sizes of conduit on that roof, and you kind of want to have a wire management type of tray. You can use it and just line up all the different sizes that you need.

Heidi Ellsworth: So these CanDuits, which I love that name, go right in here. That is so great.

David Stahler: They do. They slide right in.

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, when you think about how much wiring is on top of a roof nowadays, I mean, even forget about solar, but you have Internet, you have your DirecTV, you have your satellite. I don't know, there's just so much up there now.

David Stahler: Everything. Walkways, and handrails, and all this stuff. And kind of my message to everybody, homeowners, business owners, contractors, installers, people in the metal roofing industry, people in the solar industry, whatever it is. If you're attaching something to a metal roof, you don't want to void that warranty on a standing seam metal roof. And it's really easy to attach whatever with a clamp, and/or our GripperFix, if you need it. And we also have a tab that is designed for exposed fasten roofs that has EPDM on the bottom. So that would just go directly, it would fasten directly into the top of the rib. So yeah, kind of a solution for everything. So please, for all everybody new out there, don't penetrate your roof if it's a standing seam. We have a lot of-

Heidi Ellsworth: Use the right stuff, the right attachments. S-5! is constantly doing this. You guys never stop innovating.

David Stahler: We don't. We're an innovation company. We have our own manufacturing plant, which is located in Iowa Park, Texas, I guess technically, Wichita Falls. And we do all of our own manufacturing, and we innovate on the manufacturing side, as well. We're an ISO certified plant, and we're always innovating our equipment and the way we do things to be more efficient and to bring a better quality product. All made in America.

Heidi Ellsworth: All made in America. That is cool. I love it. I love it.

David Stahler: It truly is.

Heidi Ellsworth: Headquartered out of Montana, right?

David Stahler: No, headquartered out of Colorado Springs.

Heidi Ellsworth: Colorado Springs. That's right, that's right. I always think of Montana. I don't know why. You guys, maybe it's the cowboy hats. I don't know.

David Stahler: Yeah, it's the cowboy hats, yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: That might be it. I think so. Great. And then you're going to be back out on the road again with us in two weeks at METALCON.

David Stahler: Oh, that's correct.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

David Stahler: Yeah, so we're looking forward to that. Hopefully, it'll be a good show, as good as this one.

Heidi Ellsworth: I hope so, too.

David Stahler: This has been a very good show.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, it really has, hasn't it?

David Stahler: It has. And I encourage everybody who's not here to come out next year. And if you can't make it next year, just come to METALCON in a few weeks.

Heidi Ellsworth: Come to METALCON in a few weeks. It's going to be great. I have heard from a little birdie at S-5! that you have a brand new booth, and so I'm excited to see it.

David Stahler: We do. And for the audience out there that does know us, we have a pretty impressive fancy booth, with a bar in it and the whole nine yards. And the new one is even going to be more impressive.

Heidi Ellsworth: I can't wait. I can't wait to see it.

David Stahler: Yeah. I can't wait to see it, either. I've only seen some renderings, yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: All the pictures, yeah. I love it. Well, good. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. We're going to get you again in METALCON and talk about more of what's going on. You guys have such a big presence there. And thank you again. This solar, as we know in the West is, no pun, or maybe pun intended, is hot and it's ready to go. And we need to have more of this, the right solutions, because we don't want all those solar units causing problems with our roofs.

David Stahler: Exactly, whether it's a leak or falling off the roof.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, exactly. Thank you, David.

David Stahler: Heidi, thank you so much.

Heidi Ellsworth: So great having you here.

David Stahler: Appreciate it.

Heidi Ellsworth: Thank you. And you can find out all this information about S-5! on Roofers Coffee Shop and on Metal Coffee Shop. So go check out their directory, their articles. Their videos are just amazing, and they have excellent education and webinars. And so we will be back soon. We have a full day. Coffee Conversations is live today, and a lot of great interviews. We'll see you soon.

Learn more about S-5! in their directory or visit www.S-5.com.